The boss of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has revealed that the next order he places for a newbuild ship will be for its Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand.
Speaking at the Seatrade Cruise Virtual conference in the ‘State of the Global Cruise Industry’ session, Frank Del Rio said: “We have nine vessels on order across our three brands.
“But if I place any more, the likely brand that we’ll consider a newbuild for first would be Regent. It’s expecting its last Explorer class vessel in 2023, so it would be another one for Regent that I would look to place next.”
Fellow leaders of leading cruise brands were also asked about potential newbuilds.
Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain said: “None of us has cancelled ships but Covid has disrupted supply chains and the situation at shipyards. We’re delaying a number of ships but this industry is not going to tail off. It’s going to continue to grow. When we’re past this crisis, people will see the value of cruise. Protocols will taper off as the science gets better. This industry has a bright future.”
Pierfrancesco Vago, chairman of MSC Cruises, added: “We have 11 ships on order. I don’t think anybody should be concerned about newbuild orders being placed. We have enough. The industry looks strong and solid, and there is growth to come.”
Finally, Arnold Donald, president and chief executive of Carnival Corporation, said: “We have quite a book of orders for new ships. We just took delivery of Enchanted Princess for our Princess Cruises brand and we have ships on order until 2025 at least. And all these ships are going to be needed. The industry is on a growth path. This [Covid] has been a disruption but we’ll be back to where we were.”