Carnival Corporation has announced that it has ordered two new ships for its Princess Cruises brand to be built by Fincantieri shipyards. Both ships will be 141,000-tons each and carry 3,600 passengers – deliveries are slated for spring 2013 and spring 2014.

Carnival stated the per berth costs will be approximately €155,000 ($204,000). The company says the ships’ design will keep with the themes of the line’s newest vessels, but will features new innovations such as the addition of balconies to all outside cabins, bringing the percentage of balconies on the ships to 80 percent of all staterooms. The company’s signature Piazza— a ship’s central atrium featuring dining, entertainment and retail— will be expanded, as will the Sanctuary, spa, and restaurants. Specific amenities and design elements for the new ships will be revealed over the coming months.

Stay tuned for more information…

Carnival Corporation has signed a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of two 3,600-passenger cruise ships for its Princess Cruises brand. The agreement is subject to execution of a definitive contract, financing and other customary closing conditions.

The new ships – which will have an all-in cost of approximately €155,000 ($211,628 per lower berth – are scheduled to enter service in spring 2013 and spring 2014. At 139,000 tons each, the as-yet-unnamed ships will be the largest in the Princess Cruises fleet.

Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Princess Cruises is reviving a tradition that vanished years ago when more security became a way of life – the line is debuting a program to give passengers the opportunity to invite their friends and family aboard ship on embarkation day and will be able to spend approximately four hours together on the ship prior to sailing. The cost is $39 per person and includes a ship tour and lunch in the dining room. Additionally the price can be applied to a future cruise.

The program will debut in March in Los Angeles and Port Everglades, and then will roll out to New York, San Francisco and Seattle. The number of guests who will be able to participate in the ‘Bon Voyage Experience’ on any given embarkation day will be approximately 50.

Like the mighty glaciers, Alaska’s cruise industry is melting away. Today, two more cruise lines announced that they are pulling ships from Alaska’s waters. Both Princess Cruises and Holland America Line stated they would each pull a ship from Alaska in 2011. Both Princess Cruises and Holland America are owned by Carnival Corporation.

Princess, the largest cruise operator in Alaska, said it would pull the 710-passenger Royal Princess in early 2011. Princess had previously said it would reduce its Alaska-bound fleet by one in 2010.

Holland America announced that it is transferring the 1,270-passenger m/s Ryndam to Europe for 2011. Rick Meadows, executive vice president of marketing, sales and guest programs, for Holland America says the change reflects the rising demand for Europe itineraries. “‘Our guests are finding a cruise to be the best value for their money in Europe, and interest in Mediterranean and Northern European itineraries continues to grow,” he said.

So far cruise lines have pulled seven ships once bound for Alaska for new ports of call in either 2010 or 2011. So, much for cruising the USA.