Oceania founder hints at new class of ship for line

ABOARD THE SIRENA -- Oceania Cruises' next ships are likely to feature an entirely new design, the CEO of the line's parent company told cruise writers this week.

Speaking at a christening event for Oceania's new Sirena, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio said the 684-passenger vessel would be the last of eight older "R class" ships that Oceania adds to its fleet.

With the addition of Sirena, Oceania now operates four of the vessels, which original were built for now-defunct Renaissance Cruises between 1998 and 2001. Two more sail for Azamara Club Cruises. Princess Cruises and the new social impact-focused brand Fathom each operate one.

In addition to four R class ships, Oceania operates the 1,250-passenger Marina and sister ship Riviera, which debuted in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

New Oceania ship christened in Barcelona

"I think four (R class ships) is enough," Del Rio said in response to a question from USA TODAY. "The next time we think it's time to add capacity, we'd be looking for a whole new design. You've got to stay fresh."

Del Rio noted that only 68% of cabins on the R class ships have balconies, which is low by today's standards -- at least for upscale vessels such as those marketed by Oceania.

"From (a return on investment) perspective, the money is in selling balconies," he said. "But on the other hand, we got these ships at a very, very good price, so there's a balance there."

Del Rio said the company looked at acquiring the R class ship currently being marketed by Fathom but decided against it.

"Like anything else, you can't go to the well over and over and over again," he said.

Del Rio added that the same philosophy applies to Norwegian Cruise Line, which he also oversees. Norwegian currently is rolling out a series of four "Breakaway Plus" vessels that will finish debuting in 2019.   

"After we take delivery of the fourth Breakaway Plus, there won't be a fifth Breakaway Plus," he said. "There will be a whole new series that we've begun designing."

Del Rio suggested that due to shipyard constraints the next series of Norwegian Cruise Line ships probably wouldn't begin appearing until 2022.

In addition to Sirena, Oceania's four R class vessels include Insignia, Regatta and Nautica. For a deck-by-deck tour of Sirena, scroll through the carousel at the top of this story.