CARNIVAL TO EXPAND GERMAN CRUISE FLEET

Carnival Corporation has responded to rival Royal Caribbean's joint cruise venture with TUI AG by ordering two more ships for its German brand AIDA Cruises.

The two 2,174 passenger ships will cost 380 million euros and 385 million euros respectively and are due to enter service for summer 2011 and 2012.

Another ship pencilled in for AIDA is to be enlarged to match the size of the two 71,000-ton new orders and is to be delivered in 2010 at a cost of 350 million euros.

The two newbuilds means that Carnival cruise lines has ordered six new ships dedicated to the German market in the past three years.

The vessels will operate an informal 'club resort' concept marketed exclusively to German-speaking passengers and will be aimed at younger, more active passengers.

The new ships will join the 68,500-ton ADIAbella due to enter service next April and a sister ship due to be delivered in April 2009. The first in this series, AIDAdiva, was introduced earlier this year.

Carnival chairman and CEO Micky Arison said: "With the interest in cruise vacations among Europeans continuing to grow significantly, we are committed to investing in our European brands."

by Phil Davies