2020 should have been a banner year for the cruise industry on the newbuilding front. Instead it turned out to be an unmitigated disaster.

The 22 cruiseships that were originally scheduled for delivery last year were fewer than the 24 delivered in 2019, but included the industry’s first LNG-fuelled vessels, a flurry of new luxury expedition vessels and the ship that was to have launched Richard Branson’s eagerly awaited Virgin Voyages.