Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has big plans for its fleet.
Over the next 10 years, the global cruise company will debut its largest ships yet and introduce new classes of ships for each of its three cruise brands — Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line places order for its largest ships yet
The long-term fleet expansion plan includes the addition of 13 new ships across its three brands through 2036, which will add approximately 41,000 berths to its fleet.
But as the Norwegian fleet swells, there are a couple of things the company doesn’t plan to do in the process.
During the company’s Q4 2024 earnings call, CEO Harry Sommer shared his thoughts on possible ship retirement plans and the opportunities other cruise lines are going after in the river cruise market.
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Image source: Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian's CEO doesn’t expect to start retiring ships anytime soon
“Obviously, we always look at what the market is out there,” Sommer said, speaking about the potential for the company to consider selling its oldest ships as it adds new ones.
Sommer thinks Norwegian’s oldest cruise ships still have plenty of life left in them, however.
“But I'll just point out that our oldest ships in our fleet are from 1998 and 1999, so none of them have reached yet 30 years,” Sommer noted. “And we believe our ships can even perhaps get to 35 years or beyond. So there still is a little bit of room there, if you will, before we have to be more aggressively considering ship retirements.”
Careful maintenance is Norwegian’s secret to extending the life of its ships.
“One of the blessings of coming on after the previous CEO, [who] was a huge believer in investing in our product, is our ships are extraordinarily well maintained,” Sommer explained.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line passengers reveal why they’re loyal to NCL
He’s confident that the oldest ships in the company’s fleet are aging well.
“I too visit them on a regular basis, and I'm very pleased with even the older ships in our fleet, how well they have stood up,” Sommer added.
Passengers who love Norwegian’s older ships like Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sky don’t need to worry about the cruise line retiring these ships anytime soon.
“So, I don't think that there's anything imminent coming,” Sommer reiterated. “But of course, we always keep our eye open.”
River cruise ships are not part of Norwegian’s fleet expansion strategy
When asked for his official thoughts on the river cruise business, Sommer made it clear that the company’s fleet expansion plans won’t include building river cruise ships.
“We have, I think, one of the most robust order books in the industry with 13 cruise ships on order, two being delivered this year, a book that extends out for the next decade,” Sommer noted.
The company will debut Norwegian Aqua in April, and Oceania's Allura in July. As the company continues to plan its growing lineup of new ships, each ship will be designed to give passengers more of what they want and expect from its cruise line brands.
Related: Fan-favorite Norwegian Cruise Line ship just got better
“We are very passionate about what we do. We're very passionate about what we do today because we do it well, and we can deliver outstanding financial performance by delivering a guest experience. And we are putting all our efforts behind continuing to do that,” Sommer explained.
Sommer says the company has no plans to shift its focus, or to compete with Royal Caribbean’s recently announced Celebrity River Cruises for a share of the river cruise market.
“If there are other brands that want to do something else, I leave that with them. But for our company, we are very happy with our current strategy and direction.”
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