01 APR 2019: A new order for two next-generation ships makes Princess Cruises the fastest-growing line in the premium cruise market and adds to an unprecedented roster of over 100 cruise ships due to debut in coming years. In addition to Sky Princess arriving this year and two more coming in the next couple of years, the line announced contracts for two more ships that will be the largest ever built in Italy and accommodate about 4,300 guests each.

They will run with a new generation dual-fuel propulsion system that’s powered primarily by liquefied natural gas, which burns with minimal exhaust. They’ll be built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone and be delivered in 2023 and 2025.

The contracts are following up on reports by Cruise Lines International Association and the United Nations that growth in the number of people cruising between 2004 and 2014 outpaced land-based vacations by over 20 percent. CLIA projects 30 million people will take an ocean cruise in 2019, an all-time record.

Read it in The Cruisington Times: