Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will build three new ships for the
newly acquired Silversea Cruises. Two will be a new class of luxury vessels and
one an expedition ship.
Silversea has signed a memorandum of understanding for the
two "Evolution-class" ships with shipbuilder Meyer Werft, with the
first expected for delivery in 2022.
The expedition ship is intended for the Galapagos and will
be built by Shipyard De Hoop, the same Dutch shipyard that is building a
Galapagos vessel for RCCL's Celebrity Cruises.
RCCL acquired a two-thirds stake in Silversea Cruises
earlier this year.
The expedition ship, to be called Silver Origin, will serve
the Galapagos Islands, starting in March 2020. The Silver Galapagos currently
sails there, where Ecuador limits cruise to a maximum of 100 passengers.
RCCL didn't release the size or other details of the new
Evolution class. Silversea's most recent newbuild is the 596-passenger Silver
Muse, and it expects a sister ship, the Silver Moon, in 2020.
Silversea's current fleet consists of the Galapagos ship,
three expedition ships and five luxury vessels.