The Norwegian cruise lines Holdings have large plans for its fleet.
Over the next 10 years, the global cruise company will debut its largest ships so far and will introduce new classes of ships for each of its three cruise marks – Norwegian cruise lines, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
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The long -term fleet expansion plan involves the addition of 13 new ships through its three brands by 2036, which will add approximately 41,000 beds to its fleet.
But since the Norwegian fleet swells, there are a few things that the company does not plan to do in the process.
During the winning of the Q4 2024 profit, CEO Harry Harry shared his thoughts about possible plans for the retirement of ships and the opportunities that other cruise lines go on the cruise river market.
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The Norwegian cruise line will add Norwegian Aqua to her fleet in April. Image source: Norwegian cruise line
Norwegian CEO does not expect to start retireing ships soon
“Obviously, we always look at what the market is,” Soomer said, talking about the potential to consider selling the oldest ships as he adds new ones.
Soomer believes that in the oldest cruise ships of the Norwegian, they still have a lot of life in them.
“But I will simply point out that our oldest ships in our Navy are from 1998 and 1999, so none of them has reached another 30 years,” Somer noted. “And we believe that our ships can even reach 35 years or after. So there is still little space there if you wish before we have to be more aggressive to consider retirement of ships. “
Careful maintenance is the secret of the Norwegian to extend the life of its ships.
“One of the blessings to appear after the previous CEO, [who] He was a huge believer in investing in our product, our ships are extremely well maintained, “Somer explained.
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He is confident that the most ships in the company’s fleet are getting well.
“I also visit them regularly and I am very pleased with even the older ships in our fleet, how well they have stood up,” Adr added.
Passengers who love the older Norwegian ships like the Norwegian spirit and the Norwegian sky do not need to worry about being withdrawing from these ships soon.
“So, I don’t think there’s anything upcoming,” Soomer repeated. “But of course, we always keep our eyes open.”
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River cruise ships are not part of the Norwegian Fleet Expansion Strategy
When they asked him for their official thoughts about the river cruise business, Somer has made it clear that plans to expand the company’s fleet will not include the construction of the river cruise ships.
“In my opinion, we have one of the strongest books for orders in the industry with 13 cruise ships, with two being delivered this year, a book that has been expanding for the next decade,” Somer noted.
The company will debut Norwegian Aqua in April and Aluras of Oceania in July. As the company continues to plan its growing composition of new ships, each ship will be designed to give passengers more than what they want and expect from its Cruise Line brands.
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“We are very passionate about what we do. We are very passionate about what we do today because we do it well and can achieve exceptional financial results by providing a guest experience. And we make all our efforts to continue to do this, “Soer explained.
Soomer says the company has no plans to shift its focus or compete with the recently announced Celebrity River Cruises of Royal Caribbean for a share of the river cruise market.
“If there are other brands who want to do something else, I leave it with them. But for our company, we are very pleased with our current strategy and direction. “
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