Three new luxury ships from Silversea Cruises combined with the entrance of MSC Cruises to the luxury cruise market with four new ships will add up to an estimated 5,700 new luxury berths in the cruise industry announced over the last two weeks alone, according to Cruise Industry News estimates.
In 2018, the luxury market represented approximately 19,000 berths, meaning the latest wave of orders will add some 30 percent more luxury capacity over the next eight years.
Silversea added to its growing portfolio earlier this month. Two newbuilds set to join Silversea in 2020 and 2021, respectively, will now be joined by another three ships. Of those three, two will be part of a new class to be built in Germany, with an estimated 800 berths each, while a third will be a 100-guest ship for the Galapagos.
For MSC, the plans are bigger, with four 1,000-guest luxury ships set to join the world’s fastest-growing cruise line with annual deliveries starting in 2023 from Fincantieri.
That combined with ships on order from Regent, Viking Ocean, Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd, Ritz-Carlton and other players will see a surge in globe-trotting luxury cruise ships.
By 2027, Viking Ocean Cruises will be the largest of the luxury and small ship brands with 16 930-guest ocean-going ships in service, plus two smaller expedition ships, based on the current cruise ship orderbook.
