THE Carnival Corpor-ation, which has its European headquarters in Southampton, has announced new cruise ship orders for two of its brands – Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line.

The ships will be built at the Fincantieri ship yard in Italy.

Carnival Cruise Line’s as yet unnamed 3,954-passenger vessel, which is the 26th ship in the line’s fleet, will offer many of the newest and most popular features from Carnival’s current ships, along with several innovations that will be exclusive to this vessel.

The delivery date for the new cruise ship is scheduled for March 2018. 

Its home port and itinerary will be announced at a later date.

The new ship will be a sister ship to Carnival Vista, which will be delivered in spring 2016.

For Holland America Line, the new order adds a second Pinnacle class ship to the fleet, a new class of vessels that will debut with the delivery and launch of the MS Koningsdam in February 2016.

The new ship, scheduled for delivery in late November 2018, will accommodate 2,650 guests and 1,025 crew.

The new, as yet unnamed, ship will feature new public spaces and venues that will debut on Koningsdam.

In addition, many of the familiar spaces that are currently featured across the Holland America Line fleet will be included.

Arnold Donald, president and chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation, said: “These beautiful new ships on order from Fincantieri signify our ongoing commitment to provide the best possible guest experience across our industry-leading brands.

“New ships with the latest in features, accommodations and innovations really bring the modern cruise experience to life and will help us continue to grow new demand for cruising.”

All told, Carnival Corporation has refreshed its global fleet – the largest in the world – with more than 30 new ship additions since 2007, including its two newest ships, Regal Princess and Costa Diadema, with another ten ships scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2018.

In March, Carnival owned P&O Cruises plans to introduce Britannia, which is the largest ship ever built for the British cruise market. In the autumn of 2015, AIDA Cruises will christen its new flagship, AIDAprima.

Looking forward to 2017, Princess Cruises is working with Fincantieri to build a 143,000-ton vessel featuring the highly popular design elements introduced by the brand’s two newest ships, sisters Royal Princess and Regal Princess.

Carnival Cruise Line has 24 ships operating three to 16-day voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Holland America Line’s fleet of 15 ships offers more than 500 cruises to 415 ports in 98 countries, territories or dependencies.

Carnival Corporation is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises ( Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Together, these brands operate 100 ships totalling 212,000 lower berths.