A seventh newbuild order from SunStone Ships at the end of May pushed the global cruise ship orderbook to 124 ocean-going ships representing over 260,000 berths set to be introduced between now and 2027.
Fourteen ships are still set to be delivered this year, including the hybrid Roald Amundsen from Hurtigruten and larger vessels, such as the 4,888-guest Grandiosa from MSC Cruises.
The fast-moving MSC brand has the biggest plans of all, with an orderbook of 13 ships and over 49,000 berths, including four new luxury vessels. Royal Caribbean International has 25,362 berths on order, while Norwegian Cruise Line has 24,000.
Download the latest cruise ship orderbook as a PDF here.
The capacity expansion is diverse, with the 124 newbuilds representing 37 cruise brands and being built by 20 different shipyards. The average capacity of the orderbook is 2,181 guests per vessel, for a total value of just over $68 billion, and a per berth cost of $262,560, according to Cruise Industry News estimates.
Twenty-five of the 124 ships will be powered by LNG, while 38 are set for dedicated expedition service, its own booming segment of the industry, according to the 2019 Expedition Market Report by Cruise Industry News.
The month of May saw SunStone confirm its seven expedition newbuild, while Oceanwide Expeditions ordered a sister to its recently-delivered Hondius from Brodosplit shipyard. The new Janssonius is set for a late 2021 debut.
2020, 2021 and 2022 are all set to be big years for capacity introductions with 24 ships set to debut in each year, and more orders for smaller ships, such as expedition and luxury vessels, expected for 2021 and 2022.
