Carnival said it has ordered two cruiseships at Italian yard Fincantieri, bringing the industry titan's orderbook to 19 ships with deliveries through 2022.
The Miami giant said the order, which will be finalised in early 2017, will provide new vessels to its Holland America Line and Princess Cruises brands.
The announcement confirmed reports in Italian media that Fincantieri had scored a $1.5bn order.
"We are extremely pleased to formally announce these two new ships and build on the success and popularity of their sister ships already sailing guests around the globe," said Arnold Donald, Carnival's chief executive.
Analyst Robin Farley, who covers leisure stocks for UBS, said the newly ordered ships still keep Carnival within its growth targets of two to three ships per year, even before factoring in likely ship withdrawals over the next few years.
Holland America will receive its 2,660-passenger vessel from Fincantieri's Marghera yard in 2021.
The 99,500-gt vessel will follow the design of the Koningsdam (built 2016) and Nieuw Statendam, a newbuilding due in November 2018.
"Using our strategic fleet enhancement plan to introduce new ships is an important part of our measured capacity growth strategy, which includes replacing less efficient ships with newer, larger and more efficient vessels," Donald said.
New York and London-listed Carnival said Princess Cruises will receive its 145,000-gt newbuilding in 2022.
The 3,660-passenger ship will be the sixth in its Royal class of vessels.
"This is an extraordinary moment for the cruise sector and it is particularly rewarding for us to be able to seize all the opportunities coming from the industry growth, also thanks to our deep-rooted partnership with Carnival Corporation," said Fincantieri chief executive Giuseppe Bono.
