Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 12:55AM

Earlier this week, Princess Cruises finalized an agreement with the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy to construct two new ships to add to its current fleet of 17. The two ships will be the two largest in the current fleet, and two of the largest ever constructed for Princess. Exact dimensions and exact cost are unknown at this time. What is known is that the ships will have a passenger capacity of roughly 3600 each. Additionally, Princess will expand the size of the central atrium on the new ships to dimensions never before seen on any ship in the Princess fleet. Moreover, with the two new ships, the cruise line will continue to adhere to its ever popular ratio of balcony staterooms to interior staterooms. That ratio, which has traditionally been 4 to 1, is one of the highest ratios of that kind in the industry.

The Chief Executive Officers of both the Fincantieri shipyard and Princess Cruises expressed enthusiasm and gratitude to each other on behalf of their companies, for finalization of the contract. It was not lost on either CEO that the contract was signed during an economic recession. Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono thanked Princess for placing its trust in the shipbuilder despite the unpredictable world economy. Princess CEO Alan Buckelew expressed confidence in the ability of Princess Cruises to weather the economic storm.

Design specifics for each of the two ships are forthcoming. Princess Cruises was purchased by the multinational Carnival Corporation in 2003. The Fincantieri shipyard is well acquainted with Carnival Corporation, as it is currently in the process of constructing what will become the second-largest ship in the fleet of another Carnival Corporation line, Holland America. In total, cruise lines owned by Carnival Corporation will add a dozen new ships over the next four years, bringing the total number of ships operated by all lines within the Carnival Group to 107.

original story (Princess Cruises)