Norwegian is following Royal Caribbean’s giant cruise ship playbook

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to debut four of its largest-ever cruise ships starting in 2030.

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Norwegian Cruise Line plans to debut its four largest ships starting in 2030.The Fincantieri-built vessels would weigh about 226,000 gross tons and sail more than 8,300 people.Norwegian is following its competitor Royal Caribbean’s successful “build bigger” strategy.

The bigger, the better — Norwegian Cruise Line is betting on giant floating resorts to compete with Royal Caribbean’s wildly successful fleet of mega ships.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ flagship brand plans to debut four new vessels from 2030 to 2036. The coming ships would be the biggest in its collection, each weighing about 226,000 gross tons and accommodating more than 8,300 passengers.

At this size, they would surpass or approach some of Royal Caribbean’s largest Oasis-class ships — a sign that Norwegian is following its competitor’s “build bigger” footsteps.

Norwegian’s current largest ship, Norwegian Encore, measures 169,116 gross tons and sails more than 5,690 people.

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Royal Caribbean has been in a race with itself to debut increasingly mammoth ships — first with the Oasis class and now with its subsequent Icon class, which launched with the world’s largest 248,663-gross-ton Icon of the Seas in early 2024.

The giant floating resort is jam-packed with amenities to woo cruising families, from a zipline to a waterpark to more than 40 restaurants and bars. It was a big bet (about $2 billion, to be exact) that’s now paying off — Michael Bayley, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, has repeatedly called the Icon the “best-selling product” in the cruise line’s history.

Following this success, the company plans to debut at least three more Icon sister ships, all to be built by Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku.

Icon of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship.

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To compete with them, Norwegian has tapped Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for its coming largest ships.

Fincantieri has become a go-to for Norwegian The Italian company constructed Norwegian’s latest Prima-class ships — Norwegian Prima and Viva — and is now working on four coming Prima-Plus class vessels, which Norwegian Aqua will inaugurate in April.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ two other brands, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas, are also each scheduled to welcome two Fincantieri ships through 2029. The eight-ship order, announced in early 2024, was the largest in the cruise giant’s history — and a shot at winning a larger share of the increasingly popular vacation-at-sea market.