Princess Cruises has announced a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build two new cruise ships.

The vessels will be based on a next-generation platform designed and are slated to be delivered in late 2023 and spring 2025.

The two ships will be 175,000 gross tonnes and accommodate approximately 4,300 guests (lower berths).

Specification details for the ship design, along with anticipated features and amenities of this all-new platform design for Princess Cruises, will be shared in the future.

The new vessels will be Princess Cruises’ first ships to be dual-fuel powered - primarily by liquefied natural gas.

The new ships, which will be the largest by capacity in the Princess Cruises fleet, will be built at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said: “This revolutionary platform for next-generation, LNG-powered cruise ships will introduce innovative design and leisure experiences driven by the future holiday and lifestyle trends of our guests – further evolving the already best-in-class Princess Cruises experience we deliver today.

“We look forward to collaborating with Fincantieri to bring our vision for this next-generation premium cruise ship into service.”

In addition to today’s news, Princess Cruises has three new Royal-class ships on order with Fincantieri, including its next new ship, Sky Princess, which is currently under construction and scheduled for delivery in October 2019.

The two other Royal-class ships are planned for delivery in 2020 and 2022.

Giuseppe Bono, chief executive of Fincantieri, said: “We are proud to extend our long-established partnership with Princess Cruises, a brand we have been tied to since our return to the cruise ship building industry in 1990.

“After so many years, we are ready to enter, together, a new era of this industry, increasingly aimed at reducing even more of our environmental impact.

“We proudly do this with an all-time record project, both in terms of size and technology.

“We believe that there are no more significant milestones than these to reaffirm our market-leading position.

“This builds upon the solid partnership between our country and Carnival Corporation - the largest foreign investor in Italy - while at the same time building upon our technological strength and increasing employment.”