Cruising’s epic building boom

By Greg Miller

A wave of new cruise ships is about to hit the high seas. Are the ports of the Caribbean ready?

The cruise industry – already rapidly expanding and evolving – is about to go into overdrive. The pace of newbuilding deliveries over the next half-decade will be unprecedented.

In the Caribbean, expect higher revenues for island businesses and governments and more exposure that could translate into future hotel stays: but at the same time prepare for more overcrowding, more infrastructure investment requirements and more intense competition for calls.

Excluding river vessels and ships that primarily serve as ferries, and assuming a minimum occupancy of 100 passengers, there were firm contracts for 114 cruise ships totaling 10.34 million gross tons (gt) with an aggregate capacity for 253,800 passengers as of mid April.

Newbuildings will be debuting over the four-year stretch between 2020 and 2023 at a sustained clip that has never been seen before. Over 1.6 million gt of new capacity will hit the water in each of these years, with a record 1.84 million gt set for delivery in 2021.

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