here's
nothing we love more than snagging
a peek at those first facts and
figures about cruise ships that
are on order. We just love learning
about new cruise ships. The process,
from design to keel laying to launch,
generally takes two to three years.
We keep track of the larger cruise
ships under construction in our
chart below. If you are interested
in Expedition ships under construction
check out our New Expedition and
Adventure Cruise Ships on Order
and if the luxury market piques
your interest, you can see all of
those under construction in our
New Luxury Cruise Ships on Order
article.
Want
to learn more about what it takes
to make an older ship feel like
new? Peruse our comprehensive list
of cruise ship refurbishments for
information about upcoming overhauls.
Costa
Smerelda
Launch
Date: December 2019
Tonnage: 180,000
Berths: 5,176
Costa
Smeralda (the name means Emerald
in Italian and the ship is named
after Sardinia's popular tourist
coast), will be the Carnival Corp.-owned
brand's first LNG (liquefied natural
gas)-powered ship.
The
6,518-passenger (at maximum capacity)
ship is currently being built in
the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland
and will launch in October 2019.
A sister ship will be delivered
by Meyer Turku in 2021.
Costa
Smerelda will weigh in at 182,700
gross tons and will have 2,612 cabins.
It is one of seven new LNG-powered
ships ordered by Carnival Corp.
-- the first will be German-based
brand AIDAnova which launches in
fall 2018. U.K. line P&O Cruises
also has a LNG-powered ship on order,
which will launch in 2020.
LNG
is the world’s cleanest burning
fossil fuel. It will be stored in
special tanks onboard the ship and
will be used to generate 100 percent
of the energy required for navigation
and onboard services, thanks to
dual-fuel hybrid engines. The use
of LNG is a major innovation in
terms of environmental impact, as
it will significantly reduce exhaust
gas emissions, in particular sulphur,
nitrogen, carbon dioxide and particulate
matter.
Costa
hasn't released many details on
what to expect onboard Smeralda,
but the line has revealed that the
cabins will be designed by Milan-based
architectural studio Dordoni Architetti.
The firm is one of four commissioned
to design the ship, and the overall
design will be led by Adam D. Tihany,
who has worked on numerous ships
including Celebrity's Solstice class
and Seabourn Encore and Ovation.
