NCLH Plans $20 Billion Fleet Overhaul with 16 New Ships

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is planning to spend almost $20 billion on modernizing its fleet, with 16 new ships scheduled to join Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises through 2037.

At the same time, five older vessels are set to leave the group between 2026 and 2028 through a combination of sales, charter arrangements and agreements involving residential cruise operators. The strategy will significantly reshape NCLH’s existing 35-ship fleet, which currently consists of 21 Norwegian Cruise Line vessels, eight Oceania ships and six Regent vessels.

The first transactions involve some of the oldest ships operated by the three brands. Oceania is also planning an extensive refurbishment of another vessel that will considerably reduce its passenger capacity.

We are not simply adding capacity for the sake of growth,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Kempa said.

Kempa said the combination of newbuilds and transactions involving older vessels is intended to improve the overall quality of the fleet while ensuring ships are better suited to the individual products offered by each brand.

Five Older Ships Set to Leave the Fleet

Oceania Cruises’ *Regatta *is expected to be the first vessel to depart, starting a two-year charter with Australian tour operator myCruises in August 2026.

The 30,200-gross-ton ship entered service in 1998 and accommodates 684 passengers. NCLH has said the charter could potentially be extended, while the vessel could alternatively be sold to another cruise operator once the initial agreement ends.

*Norwegian Sky *will follow in September 2026 under a 10-year bareboat charter with India-based Cordelia Cruises. The agreement includes a nominal purchase option. The 77,104-gross-ton vessel, which was completed using a hull originally ordered for Costa Cruises, entered Norwegian service in 1999 and accommodates approximately 2,000 passengers. It will be renamed Cordelia Sky when it begins operating in India.

Cordelia Cruises will also take over the 78,309-gross-ton Norwegian Sun under a similar arrangement in September 2027. The approximately 2,000-passenger ship entered service for Norwegian in 2001 and was developed from the design of Norwegian Sky with relatively minor changes. It will be renamed Cordelia Sun.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator is due to be delivered to Avora Residences in December 2027. The 28,550-gross-ton vessel will be renamed* Avora Lumina* and used for a residential cruise program scheduled to begin in 2028. Its nine-year lease is expected to provide NCLH with approximately $100 million in payments and also includes an option to purchase the ship.

Oceania’s Sirena, meanwhile, will continue sailing until spring 2028 under a leaseback agreement before being transferred to an undisclosed buyer. The 684-passenger vessel joined Oceania in 2016 and underwent a significant refurbishment in 2019 as part of a $100 million fleet enhancement program. Neither the buyer nor the sale price has been revealed.

Oceania Reduces Its R-Class Fleet

The departure of *Regatta *and *Sirena *will reduce Oceania’s fleet of R-class vessels. Both ships are approximately 30,277 gross tons and accommodate around 684 passengers alongside roughly 400 crew members.

At Oceania Cruises, our focus is on aligning the fleet more closely with the brand’s luxury positioning,” NCLH Chief Executive Officer John Chidsey said.

Oceania’s *Nautica *will remain with the company but is scheduled for a major reconstruction in late 2027. Following the work, the vessel will return to service as Oceania Aurelia. Its number of accommodations will be reduced from 340 to 238, including 179 suites, while overall passenger capacity will fall from 684 to fewer than 400 guests. The rebuilt ship is expected to focus on longer itineraries, including Oceania’s 180-day world cruises.

*Oceania Insignia *will also remain in service for the time being. An earlier agreement that would have seen the vessel transferred to a residential cruise operation in 2027 was canceled. Oceania has since published itineraries for the ship through November 2027, although no new long-term plans have been announced.

Norwegian Orderbook Adds Nearly 33,000 Berths

Norwegian Cruise Line represents 32,760 berths within NCLH’s current orderbook. That figure is equivalent to more than half of Norwegian’s existing capacity of approximately 63,300 berths.

Norwegian Aura, a roughly 170,000-gross-ton newbuild from Fincantieri, is scheduled to arrive in 2027. Featuring 1,976 cabins, the ship will accommodate almost 3,900 passengers. A sister ship is expected to follow in 2028.

Norwegian will subsequently introduce a new class consisting of five 227,000-gross-ton vessels, with deliveries scheduled between 2030 and 2037. They will become the largest ships ever operated by the cruise line.

Based on announced berth capacity, Norwegian’s newbuild pipeline sits behind MSC Cruises, which could add approximately 49,000 berths if it proceeds with a potential Meyer Werft order in addition to its World-class ships.

Royal Caribbean International currently has around 31,100 berths under firm order, while Carnival Cruise Line has approximately 30,000.

NCLH Expects Capacity Growth to Moderate

NCLH expects its Capacity Days to increase by 7% in 2026 before the pace of expansion slows. From 2026 through 2029, the company is forecasting a compound annual growth rate of approximately 2.5%.

NCLH also anticipates that gross spending on newbuilds and other growth-related capital expenditure will decrease by almost $1 billion per year as the pace of ship deliveries begins to slow from 2028.