Fincantierii, Italy’s largest shipbuilder, announced that the Letter of Intent signed with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) and announced on April 8,2024 has been transformed into a firm order for the construction of four new cruise ships, destined for the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) brand. The value of this agreement, subject to financing and other typical terms and conditions, is considered very important.
With a gross tonnage of approximately 226,000 tons, the new units will be the largest ever built for NCL. The ships will be built at the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard, with the first unit to be delivered in 2030 and the others to follow in 2032,2034, and 2036. With over 5,100 berths, the ships will be able to accommodate over 8,300 people, including crew. Designed according to the highest standards of comfort and technology these ships will also include sustainability features.
Fincantieri has not explicitly announced the value of the contract, while according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, the total price of the four new ships amounts to a staggering $9.34 billion, with the average price of a single ship amounting to $2.335 billion, and the recent cost of a cruise ship of that tonnage being around $1.5 billion. If this price is confirmed, it will be the largest shipbuilding order in 2025 to date.
Since last year, Fincantieri has received orders for a total of eight cruise ships from NCL, all of which are now in force.
Back in April 2024, Fincantieri announced that it had signed a contract with NCL to design and build three types of eight large cruise ships for NCL’s three major cruise brands, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Two of the ships are being built for Regent Seven Seas Cruises and are expected to be delivered in 2026 and 2029, with a gross tonnage of 77,000 and a capacity of approximately 850 passengers, and two of the ships are being built for Oceania Cruises and are expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, with a gross tonnage of 86,000 and a capacity of approximately 1,450 passengers. The shipbuilding contracts have come into effect in April 2024.
In addition, the construction of four 226,000 gross ton luxury cruise ships for Norwegian Cruise Line will become effective upon receipt of financing guarantees and fulfillment of other terms/conditions.On February 5, 2025, the shipbuilding contract was formalized.
Fincantieri has already built two ships for the NCL brand, “Norwegian Prima” and “Norwegian Viva”, while “Norwegian Aqua”, the first unit of the Prima Plus class, will be delivered in the coming months. In addition, three other units are in various stages of design and construction.
Fincantieri has taken on a large number of orders thanks to a strong rebound in the cruise market after the New Crown epidemic. As of July 2024, the European shipbuilding giant had 27 orders (including yachts, luxury cruise ships and mega-cruise ships) and 96 ships on order, with a total value of more than $42.7 billion.