AIDA Cruises books multi-fuel cruise ships at Fincantieri

German cruise line AIDA Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation, has placed an order for two new multi-fuel cruise ships from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

The cruise company revealed the shipbuilding contract for a new class of mid-sized vessels on April 7.

Under the contract worth more than €2 billion, Fincantieri will design, engineer, and build multi-fuel-capable ships, with deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of fiscal years 2030 and 2032.

According to AIDA Cruises, the newbuilds will be designed to operate using a range of fuel types, including LNG as well as low- and no-carbon bio and synthetic fuels when available at scale.

“With approximately 2,100 cabins each, these remarkable new ships give our guests a completely new class of ship which slot in perfectly between our 1,600 cabin Hyperion Class vessels and our more than 2,600 cabin Helios Class vessels,” said Felix Eichhorn, President of AIDA Cruises.

“Our next generation of ships will delight our guests with amazing new features and experiences that we will reveal over time. Its innovative technology with multi-fuel propulsion systems including LNG will future proof our operations into the coming decades.”

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri, added: “We are honored that our long-standing partner Carnival Corporation has selected Fincantieri to build ships for AIDA Cruises for the first time in our history. This milestone confirms our ability to serve the entire Carnival Corporation portfolio, while ensuring long-term term visibility for our shipyards. These new ships will embody the most advanced technologies for sustainability and efficiency, further strengthening Fincantieri’s and Carnival Corporation’s roles as leaders in cruise industry innovation.”

Once the two new ships are delivered, AIDA will have a total of 13 ships in its fleet. The latest order also brings Carnival Corporation’s newbuild pipeline to eight new ships scheduled to enter service between now and 2033, including Star Princess this year and one each year from 2027 to 2033.