New players in the big league

The current enthusiasm for cruising seems to show no sign of abating. New tonnage orders continue, especially from the smaller lines.

While there is little likelihood that the `big three` operators – Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and P&O – will be knocked off the top of the league, there is no room for complacency as many of the less prolific operators are upping their activities with a vengeance. Disney and Renaissance are both looking set to make inroads into the big league, and other players such as Norwegian Cruise Lines, Silversea Cruises and Star Cruises have significant fleet expansion projects underway.

The second quarter of the year saw tonnage and berths increase with the debut of P&O`s Grand Princess, following a delayed delivery from Fincantieri which resulted in the cancellation of the maiden voyage and a disappointed 2,600 passengers. (Holland America Lines, which has three vessels on order at the Italian yard, has announced that it has now revised the delivery date from May 15 to July 31, 1999 for Volendam.

The P&O Princess` fleet will be boosted further this year with the delivery of the 2,020-passenger Sea Princess from Fincantieri, which will be followed in 1999 by Ocean Princess from the Italian yard. The first new ship for P&O Cruises in 2000 will be hull number 640 from Meyer Werft which will boost fleet capacity by approximately 1,840 berths. A further two vessels of the Grand Class will be delivered to P&O Princess in 2001 from Fincantieri.