Even with the cruise industry not knowing what the fully extent the Carnival Triumph disaster will have on their industry--in terms of passengers and profit, Avalon Waterways, following in the foot-steps of Windstar Cruises, became the latest cruise line to announce a significant fleet expansion, with the order of three ships slated for a 2014 delivery, according to USA Today.
The company says the delivery of those three ships, in addition to two new ships scheduled to enter service this spring, would add nearly 10% more capacity to Avalon's fleet, reported USA Today.
Their three new vessels, according to USA Today will be:
128-passenger Avalon Poetry II.
166-passenger Avalon Illumination.
The still unknown,Avalon Impression.
These three will follow the 128-passenger Avalon Artistry II and 166-passenger Avalon Expression which are expected to debut in April and May of this year, respectively, reported USA Today.
Avalon said this week that it has already chosen a godmother for one of the three new vessels: Deborah Hutton, an Australian television host and former international model, will christen the Avalon Illumination in June 2014, stated USA Today.
The line has not released renderings of what the new ships will look like, but said they all will be sister ships to the Avalon Panorama, Avalon Vista and Avalon Visionary. A virtual tour of the Suite Ships is available, according to USA Today.
However, they did state that all of the new ships are part of Avalon's Suite Ships class, the line's newest type of vessel which offers suites with "Open-Air Balconies," extra-large sliding glass doors with seven-foot openings. The line also says that Suites Ships' cabins are among the industry's roomiest, with 80% of the cabins either 200-square-foot Panorama Suites or 300-square-foot Royal Suites, reported USA Today.
Adding,"No other European river cruise line can say this," said Avalon's managing director Patrick Clark, in a statement, according to USA Today.
Related Story:
Windstar Cruises Adds Three Seabourn Ships To Its Fleet
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