There are a number of dozen main new cruise ships scheduled to debut over the following few years, with some already accessible to e-book.
But be warned should you’re beginning to plan your future holidays round them: They won’t all arrive on time.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of a rising variety of cruise vessels scheduled to be accomplished over the following few years is falling behind, typically by many months.
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Just final week, two main cruise strains introduced vital delays within the arrival of recent vessels:
- Cunard pushed again the debut of its first new ship in 14 years, the two,794-passenger Queen Anne, by 4 months to May 3, 2024. It was initially on account of begin service in January 2024.
- Norwegian Cruise Line mentioned the arrival of the third and fourth vessels in its new Prima-class collection can be pushed again from 2024 and 2025, respectively, to 2025 and 2026.
The debut of the second ship within the Prima-class collection, Norwegian Viva, was delayed twice, from June 2023 to July 2023 to August 2023.
The delays come simply months after Virgin Voyages delayed the arrival of its third ship by almost a yr and startup luxurious line Explora Journeys pushed again the debut of its first ship by two months.
Other latest ship unveilings which were delayed, in some instances considerably, embody the arrival of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s first vessel, luxurious line Seabourn’s first expedition-style cruise ship and Disney Wish, the primary new Disney cruise ship in a decade.
Related: New Disney cruise ship delayed by 6 weeks
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Like many of the strains earlier than them, each Cunard and Norwegian final week blamed shipyard building delays triggered partially by pandemic-era provide chain points for the delayed ship unveilings.
“Due partially to unexpected occasions which have occurred lately, the shipbuilding business, like different industries, has confronted quite a few challenges together with vitality shortages and world provide chain constraints,” Cunard mentioned in a press release despatched to TPG.
The line mentioned passengers already booked or waitlisted on Queen Anne’s previously introduced maiden voyage, which had been scheduled for Jan. 4, 2024, would have the reserving or waitlist place transferred to the vessel’s new maiden voyage.
The Norwegian ships have been delayed “100% on account of shipyard delays from provide chain constraints,” Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Chief Financial Officer Mark Kempa mentioned final week throughout a convention name with Wall Street analysts.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is the father or mother firm of Norwegian Cruise Line, in addition to Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The firm introduced the Norwegian ship delays Nov. 8 as a part of its quarterly earnings launch.
While the arrival dates of the 2 Norwegian ships have been pushed again into later calendar years, Kempa mentioned the precise time delay for the development of every of the 2 vessels was within the “4 to 5 months” vary.
Related: Why the very best worth in journey proper now could be a cruise
Neither Norwegian ship had opened for bookings earlier than the delays have been introduced.
Not the entire ship delays of late have been completely on account of fallout from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The delay of the debut of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s first vessel, Evrima, was partly attributable to shipyard troubles that predated the pandemic. The line initially used a shipyard with little expertise in constructing luxurious cruise vessels, and building of the ship rapidly bumped into issues.
Supply chain points within the wake of the pandemic simply made the scenario for Evrima worse.
Evrima lastly debuted in October after eight delays that pushed again the ship’s arrival by three years.
Other strains which have introduced delays for brand spanking new ships prior to now yr embody Atlas Ocean Voyages, P&O Cruises, Oceanwide Expeditions, Swan Hellenic, Viking and Ambassador Cruise Line.
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