New ships should drive returns at Carnival Corporation, with more modern vessels being more efficient to operate and offering a better cabin mix.

President and CEO Josh Weinstein said the company had exited 23 smaller, less efficient vessels while taking delivery of nine large and very efficient ships.

“While we’ll all be four years older than we were in 2019, next year, the average age of our fleet will actually be a year younger than in 2019 at 12 years,” he said, on the company’s third quarter earnings call.

“It also means our average berth count per ship is increasing nearly 20%, the largest among our public peers,” he added.

“We expect benefits of this profile to include a fleet with 10% higher fuel efficiency, 6% more efficiency in remaining operating costs, a richer cabin mix and larger overall platforms to deliver onboard experiences and generate associated revenues,” he continued.

“We have also begun to address the brand portfolio to improve ROIC and drive durable top and bottom-line growth.”