Make no mistake about it, capacity in China is down year-over-year in 2018, and will be at best, flat in 2019, according to the 2018-2019 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
Supply and demand concerns combined with a challenging sales model have led a number of operators to pull ships or trim capacity in the region. Meanwhile, new ships have done well, as evidenced by the Norwegian Joy and a pair of Dream Cruises newbuilds.
After a significant drop this year, capacity is trending down roughly 4.4 percent in 2019, according to estimates based on deployment and ship announcements.
Come 2019, Costa and Royal Caribbean add large newbuilds to the market during the year, offsetting ship movements by both of those respective brands. Full year capacity of the new Spectrum of the Seas and Costa Venezia will be realized in 2020.
Looking ahead, Dream Cruises adds more big tonnage into the market, although most likely on a seasonal basis, in 2020 and 2021
In addition is the MSC Bellissima, which joins the Chinese market in 2020.
Following that are more new ships, but this time from a Chinese shipyard as China State Shipbuilding Corporation and Carnival Corporation are poised to add new, made-in-China newbuilds, with capacity for 5,000 guests each, in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
—
About the Annual Report:
The Cruise Industry News Annual Report is the only book of its kind, presenting the worldwide cruise industry through 2027 in 400 pages.
Statistics are independently researched.
See a preview by clicking here.
The report covers everything from new ships on order to supply-and-demand scenarios from 1987 through 2027+. Plus there is a future outlook, complete growth projections for each cruise line, regional market reports, and detailed ship deployment by region and market, covering all the cruise lines.
