Is the cruise ship building party over?
For the past decade cruise lines have been ordering dozens of new vessels with many lines taking deliveries of multiple ships within a single year. Unfortunately, high gasoline prices and a slumping economy have put a damper on leisure travel and the timing couldn’t be worse for the cruise lines. With 35 vessels on order over the next four years at a total cost of 22 billion some cruise lines are cutting back their fleets, laying off employees, and holding off from ordering new ships. Expensive ships With all the economic uncertainty most cruise lines are cutting the biggest expense of all ‘ new ships. All of the new ships coming on line within the next few years were ordered several years ago when the dollar had a favorable exchange rate. Carnival Corporation chairman Micky Arison says soaring fuel and steel costs combined with a weak dollar have made it virtually impossible to put together a new ship building project past 2012 for any of Carnival Corporation’s North American brands:
