Eleven ships to debut in 2010

This year, 27,263 new cruise ship berths, filling 11 new vessels, will be delivered to the cruise industry.

The ships will range in size from American Cruise Lines' 110-passenger Independence to Royal Caribbean International's second Oasis-class ship, the 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas.

The ships will be launched in locales as far away as Dubai, where Costa Cruises' Costa Deliziosa will be the first cruise ship to be named in the United Arab Emirates, and as close to home as New York, where the Norwegian Epic will be christened in July.

The number of new berths is a slight uptick from 2009, when nine ships, totaling more than 23,000 berths, were launched.

But this year, and next, mark the last two years before the industry feels the full impact from the ship-order drought that began 21 months ago, when the economy started to falter.

The drought ended last month, when Carnival Corp. placed an order for a third Dream-class ship for the Carnival Cruise Lines brand, to be delivered in spring 2012.

There are a handful of ships under construction, such as another Carnival vessel and another Solstice-class ship. But the only ships from a new class on order for 2011 and 2012 are for Oceania Cruises and Disney Cruise Line, and a tall ship for Star Clippers.

Ship historian Peter Knego of MaritimeMatters.com said the ship deliveries would "dip a bit in mid-to-late 2011 and really slow in 2012 as the last of the recent orders are completed."

He predicted that if the economy picks up soon, "2013 could be a good year [for newbuilds], but if not, and new orders are not placed in early 2010, 2013 will be slim, as well."

European cruise industry analyst Tony Peisley said that with European shipbuilders dropping their prices, ship orders would likely pick up once the credit markets open up.

"Once that eases, probably by 2011, the ordering cycle should gradually get back to normal: about eight to 10 deliveries a year," Peisley predicted.

The class of 2010

This year, the Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Cruise Line's largest ship to date, is also the most innovative and revolutionary ship of the crop of newbuilds.

However, the Epic doesn't have much competition.

Last year, the behemoth that is the 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas fundamentally changed the cruise industry, with its split-hull design that allowed for the interior, open-air "neighborhoods" Central Park and Boardwalk. It also introduced loft cabins and an amphitheater with Olympic diving shows.

In 2010, the only ship that will come close to that kind of innovation will be the 153,000-ton, 4,200-passenger Epic.

Set to debut in June, the Epic will be as revolutionary for what it will not have -- cruise ship staples like a main dining room and a main theater -- as for what it will. The ship will have specially designed entertainment venues such as a big-top-style tent for Cirque Dreams dinner shows; the Ice Bar, where the temperature will be set to 17 degrees and the bar, walls, tables and stools will all be made of solid ice; and accommodations like "New Wave" staterooms featuring curved walls and 100-square-foot "studio" cabins with a shared hangout area.

Beyond that, most of the ships coming out will be next installments of existing ship classes, some the third or fourth of almost identical vessels.

Europe-bound

The class of 2010 is remarkable for where the new vessels will spend their inaugural deployments: mostly outside of the U.S. Much of this year's new tonnage will be geared toward Europe.

Like the Celebrity Equinox before it, the Celebrity Eclipse will spend its first full season in Europe.

Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam, which is set for a summer delivery, will spend its maiden season sailing the Mediterranean. Cunard Line's upcoming 90,400-ton Queen Elizabeth will cruise both the Mediterranean and Northern Europe from Southampton, England. Seabourn Cruises' second Odyssey-class ship, the Seabourn Sojourn, will debut in London in June and is scheduled to spend the summer in Europe, as well. In addition, Italian line MSC Cruises will send its 93,300-ton, 2,550-passenger Magnifica to the Mediterranean.

Following its naming ceremony, the Costa Deliziosa will spend its inaugural season homeported in Dubai, along with its sister vessel, the Luminosa.

This article has been updated to reflect that the MSC Magnifica will be sailing in the Mediterranean instead of North America.