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RCCL Orders Fifth Quantum-Class Ship

Published Nov 3, 2015 8:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft in Germany to order a fifth Quantum-class ship for delivery in the Fall of 2020.

The Quantum-class ships surpass the earlier Freedom-class ships by over 14,000gt, becoming the second largest class of passenger ships behind Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class ships on a gross tonnage basis. The first two ships of this class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas were delivered in November 2014 and April 2015, respectively. The third ship, Ovation of the Seas, is expected to be delivered in April 2016. A fourth Quantum-class cruise ship was ordered in May, and it is expected to be delivered in 2019.

Quantum of the Seas measures 348m in length and 41m in width. The depth to keel below the surface will be 8.5m. The ship has a gross tonnage capacity of 168,666t and a passenger capacity of 4,905 passengers.

"It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Quantum-class ship as we are welcoming Anthem of the Seas to North America," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  "These ships have been received with excitement, and performed exceptionally well, across the globe.  We fully expect that momentum to continue as we add to this innovative class of ships."

Based upon current ship orders, projected capital expenditures for full year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are $1.6 billion, $2.4 billion, $0.5 billion, $2.5 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.

Capacity increases for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are expected to be 5.4 percent, 6.4 percent, 3.4 percent, 3.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. These figures do not include potential ship sales or additions that we may elect to make in the future.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France, as well as TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture. Together, these six brands operate a combined total of 44 ships with an additional eleven on order. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 480 destinations on all seven continents.