Carnival, the cruise ship operator, has signed an agreement for the construction of two new cruise ships, a 99,000-ton, 2,660-passenger ship for Holland America Line and a 135,000-ton, 4,000-passenger ship for Carnival Cruise Lines.

The smaller of the ships is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2015, with the larger due in winter of the following year.

The combined cost of the two vessels (which includes the US dollar denominated contract price and all owner's costs), will be about $195,000 per lower berth.

"Today's order continues the company's strategy of introducing two to three ships per year across the corporation's 10 brands. We have strategically timed the introduction of these new ships to allow ample time for those brands to further grow their passenger base and absorb the new capacity while minimizing revenue yield dilution in the remainder of their existing fleets," said Micky Arison, Chairman and Chairman of Carnival Corporation.

Including the newbuilds announced today, Carnival currently has nine new ships scheduled for delivery - two for 2013, two for 2014, three for 2015 and two for 2016.

The Holland America ship is the first to enter service for the line in five years, while the Carnival Cruise ship will enter service four years after the introduction of Carnival Breeze, which debuted in spring of this year.

NR

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