Monday 15th December saw MSC Cruises announce a $1.1 billion investment in two more Vista series cruise ships. The two ships are to be built by STX Europe in Saint‐Nazaire in France with delivery scheduled for 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Four days later Carnival Corporation announced plans to add two more ships to its vast fleet of cruise vessels operating worldwide. The company signed an order with Fincantieri shipyards for a 133,500gt/3,954 passenger vessel and a 99,500gt/2,650 passenger vessel which will be sister ships of two ships currently under construction, the Carnival Vista and the Pinnacle-class Koningsdam, respectively. The ships will operate under the Carnival Cruise Line and the Holland America Line brands. The vessels will be delivered in March and November 2018 respectively. Since 2007, Carnival Corporation’s global fleet has expanded by more than 30 new ships, including its two newest ships, Regal Princess and Costa Diadema of 2014, with another 10 ships scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2018.

In March, P&O Cruises will introduce the Britannia, which is the largest ship ever built for the British cruise market. In the autumn of 2015, AIDA Cruises will christen its new flagship, the AIDAprima.

Looking forward to 2017, Carnival is working with Fincantieri to build a 143,000-ton vessel featuring design elements introduced by the Royal Princess and Regal Princess.