MIAMI -- Carnival Corp. placed an order for Carnival Cruise Lines'
fourth Conquest-class ship, scheduled for delivery in fall 2005.
The as-yet-unnamed vessel will be built at the Fincantieri
shipyard in Italy for $450 million to $460 million, Carnival
said.
The announcement from Carnival came just days after both P&O
Princess and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said they were holding
off on placing ship orders.
Carnival said the "attractive price" offered by Fincantieri
played a key role in the decision.
"We're so confident in the success of these ships that we have
committed a $2 billion investment in the Conquest-class [ships]
alone," added chairman and chief executive officer Micky
Arison.
At 2,974 passengers and 110,000 GRT each, the Conquest-class
ships are the largest in the Carnival fleet. The first, the
Carnival Conquest, will begin service from New Orleans in
November.