2018
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has confirmed the line will be moving into “exploration” cruising with the addition of RIBs – Rigid Inflatable Boats — onboard its entire fleet. It wants to move more upscale by offering better appointed ships, smaller destinations and has raised its faires to make the line more profitable.
The new luxury expedition ship from Crystal Cruises, Crystal Endeavor, will have many of the line’s well-known dining venues, as well as spaces designed for maximum scenery views and high-tech vehicles for exploring off the ship, two 8 persons helicopters and even a submarine. She will be delivered in 2020 and this 200-passenger ship will “be an industry game changer”, as Crystal puts it. Crystal Endeavor will have 100 suites and be polar class 6 compliant, meaning it can sail in polar waters year round in the summer and autumn.
Overcrowding in popular destinations, travel security and the future of Cuba were three major themes discussed during the State of the Industry panel at the 34th annual Seatrade cruise conference in Fort Lauderdale. The panel consisted of Arnold Donald, president of Carnival Corp.; Frank del Rio, chairman of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings; Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited; and Pierfrancesco Vago, chairman of MSC Cruises. Matters like spreading sailings over time and over destinations, taking passengers to safe destinations and the impact of US travel restrictions concerning Cuba (which do not seem to have resulted in a lower number of tourists visiting the island) were on the agenda.
A cruise for non-cruisers that’s “an epic sea change” from what’s currently available: that is what Virgin Voyages – the latest brand of business tycoon Richard Branson — aims to offer when it launches in 2020. “We are not trying to be a disrupter for the travel experience,” said McAlpin. “We think about it more broadly; we want to be a new travel experience”. The first Virgin Voyages ship will sail Caribbean cruises out of Miami, beginning in 2020. The line is relying heavily on the upscale “hip,” “witty” and “cheeky” personality that Virgin already enjoys with its customers, McAlpin said. Check out my article on Virgin Cruises for more info on Virgin Cruises.
Princess Cruises is testing a new program that enables cruisers willing to pay a little extra to be among the first group of passengers to board their ship. It is called Princess Advance Boarding and will be on trial during three Ruby Princess cruises between March 1 and March 25. The test price is $49 per cabin, and those who purchase the option can choose an early or late disembarkation time.
During the next four years, Royal Caribbean International will lengthen the life of 10 of its cruise ships through a $900 million investment program. They will start with Independence of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. It is called the “Royal Amplified” program and will touch every facet of the passenger experience on all Freedom- and Voyager-class ships, as well as on Oasis and Allure of the Seas. Innovative features will be introduced, e.g. specialized pools (family-only for example) and the VR bungee trampoline experience Sky Pad.
Royal Caribbean has taken ownership of Symphony of the Seas being the newest addition to Royal’s popular Oasis class of ships, which also includes Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas. While Harmony holds nearly as many passengers, it measures 227,000 GRT (and the title of the largest passenger cruise ship in existence). Oasis and Allure follow that with 225,282 GRT each.
Silversea has placed an order with Fincantieri’s shipyard in Genoa for another sister ship to Silver Muse. The newbuild is to be named Silver Dawn, and is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2021. The order follows the order for a second Muse-class ship, Silver Moon, to debut in 2020. Silver Dawn will be the line’s 11th ship and third in the Muse class.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s newest ship, Grand Classica, has been taken into service. She is the former Costa neoClassica and is the lines second vessel. Bahmas Paradise Cruise Line have now doubled their capacity and are able to offer a sailing aech day year round to the Bahamas.
Famous transatlantic liner Queen Elizabeth 2 – better known as QE2 – is ready to reopen as a hotel in Dubai, 10 years after Cunard sold the ship to Dubai interests. The 48-year-old ship has been completely refurbished and will reopen tomorrow in a “soft opening,” with just certain parts of the ship opening now before a grand opening in October. It has taken 10 years and 2.7 million man hours for the project to materialize, with QE2 languishing in Dubai’s Port Rashid during that time.
Crystal Cruises has revealed details its first expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, which will debut in 2020. Crystal Endeavor will feature 100 suites, all with private balconies and all with butler service. 90 of these will be deluxe veranda suites (304 square feet), eight will be penthouse suites (457 square feet) and two will be Crystal penthouses (985 to 1,130 square feet). The penthouses will have two bedrooms. Crystal claims they will be the most spacious suites in the expedition industry.
Norwegian Cruise Line has taken delivery of its third Breakaway-Plus Class ship, Norwegian Bliss. The ship is the 13th to be built for the cruise line by Meyer Werft. She features the largest go-kart racetrack at sea (being 40 percent bigger than on board fleetmate Norwegian Joy), a 20,000-square-foot Observation Lounge covering the entire forward section of the ship, two looping waterslides, an outdoor laser tag course, and the Waterfront, which offers outdoor al fresco seating for 13 restaurants and bars.
Royal Caribbean has stated it will introduce an all-suite, separate access suite complex on its next cruise ship, Spectrum of the Seas. In a first for the line, Royal’s first “Quantum Ultra” class of ship – set to launch next spring – will feature a dedicated suite zone that will include a private pool, sun deck and restaurant for suite passengers only. Spectrum of the Seas will also feature the Ultimate Family Suite, which debuted on Symphony of the Seas.
Now the third MSC Cruises ship to launch in less than a year, MSC Seaview was delivered to MSC at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The 4,132-passenger vessel –along with sister MSC Seaside – is the largest cruise ship ever to be built in Italy. Seaside and Seaview feature 20 decks with 10 restaurants, 20 bars and lounges, seven new theater productions, five waterslides, dual ziplines and bowling lanes, a Formula-One simulator and 4D cinema.
In order to become more environmentally friendly, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines will from now on ban single-use plastics onboard its ships. In a statement, the line said it will eliminate plastic drinking straws and cutlery, as well as to single-use coffee cups, single-serving plastic jam and butter containers, and plastic laundry bags on its Braemar, Boudicca, Balmoral and Black Watch ships.
Quark Expeditions, a specialist in polar cruising, has ordered a new expedition ship from Croatia’s Brodosplit shipyard. The 200-passenger ship will launch in the third quarter of 2020. “This ship will be more than just a new ship — it will be an unrivalled operational base for polar expeditions,” said Andrew White, Quark Expeditions president.
MSC Cruises and STX France signed an order for the construction of a fifth Meraviglia-class cruise ship for delivery in 2023. With this liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered ship MSC now has 13 new ships on order for the coming decade.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has announced they wil acquire a majority 66.7 percent stake in luxury cruise operator Silversea Cruises. This $1 billion deal means Royal Caribbean will enter the ultra-luxury sector, just like two other big cruise lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Corp. Norwegian bought luxury line Regent Seven Seas Cruises in 2014 while Carnival Corp. owns luxury line Seabourn.
P&O Cruises has announced the departure of Oriana from the fleet next year. This happens just ahead of the arrival of new ship Iona in 2020. The news comes two months after the departure of Adonia, which was the line’s smallest ship.The line wants to concentrate on its mid-sized and bigger ships.
Holland America Line’s smallest ship, the 835-passenger Prinsendam, has been sold to German cruise company Phoenix Reisen and officially left the HAL fleet on July 1, 2018. However, the ship is being chartered back to Holland America to continue sailing its planned voyages through July 1, 2019. Afterwards, Veendam and Volendam will take over some of Prinsendam’s scheduled cruises.
Like many other lines, luxury line Seabourn will diversify into expedition cruising and the company will add two new ultra-high-end 23,000GRT expedition ships to its fleet, with the first scheduled to arrive in June 2021 and the second in May 2022. They have a capacity for 264 passengers in 132 balcony suites, and will carry two submarines, 24 Zodiacs boats and several kayaks. Seabourn has been offering kayak and Zodiac tours as part of its Ventures by Seabourn program since 2015.
Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed an order for two new ships. The 3,300-passenger ships will be the fifth and sixth in Norwegian’s new Leonardo Class, and are planned for delivery in 2026 and 2027. The first Leonardo-class ship is set to debut in 2022. Leonardo-class ships will be larger than the line’s 2,500-passengger Jewel-class ships but smaller than the 4,000-plus-passenger Breakaway- and Breakaway Plus-class ships. This has been planned on purpose, to enable geusts to choose from different ship sizes.
TUI Cruises has become the latest cruise line to order new Liquified Natural Gas ships, which will be delivered in 2024 and 2026. The ships will weigh 161,000 gross tons and will be the largest ships ever built in Italy.
Silver Explorer will become the first luxurious cruise ship to sail the Northeast Passage through the Arctic. The voyage will start from Nome, Alaska, to Tromso, Norway, on August 10, 2019. This special cruise has been planned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Silversea’s expedition branch.
Celebrity Cruises is investing more than $500 million in a fleetwide refurbishment Celebrity Revolution program that will include upgrading the suites on all ships, refurbishing all Millennium-class cabins with new designs, rolling out its popular Qsine restaurant to all ships, and upgrading the entire spa on Millennium-class ships.The first ship to get a makeover will be Celebrity Millennium in early 2019, followed by Celebrity Summit in March 2019; the rest of the fleet will be refurbished through 2023.
Lindblad Expeditions has ordered a second polar expedition ship, to be delivered in 2021. It will be the fourth polar ship in the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet, but only the second built specifically for Lindblad.
Princess Cruises has ordered two new cruise ships for delivery in 2023 and 2025 respectively from Fincantieri; they will be the largest in the Princess-fleet., measuring 175,000GRT and will hold 4,300 passngers at double occupancy. They wiil ve LNG-powered. Fincantieri already has a firm order from Princess for three other newbuildings, Sky Princess and two Royal-class vessels.
Carnival Triumph will receive a thorough makeover. A nearly $200 million refit in spring 2019 will transform the ship into Carnival Sunrise — adding new restaurants, bars and entertainment options, while redesigning everything from the cabins to the adults-only sun deck. Carnival Sunshine, formerly Carnival Destiny underwent similar treatment in 2013.
National Geographic Expeditions and Ponant have announced a new range of co-branded, luxury expedition cruises on small ships with a common vision for responsible travel and unique experiences. They aim at developing global expedition cruising by offering 130 itineraries over the next four years, covering all seven continents.
Oceania Cruises announced a multiyear project called OceaniaNEXT, which will upgrade all aspects of the line’s upscale cruise experience: its ships, emphasising on fine dining and special destinations. The program will start with a $100-million refurbishment of its four oldest and smallest ships, the Regatta Class.
Royal Caribbean will celebrate its 50th anniversary by organizing a “50 Years Bold” birthday cruise. The one-week sailing will take place onboard Symphony of the Seas, departing from Miami on November 2, 2019. It will include special events and surprise performers and will also visit the line’s brand new Perfect Day at CocoCay experience, where there will be even more surprises. The line states this event will be only one of a year-long row of celebrations.
Sea Cloud Cruises ordered a newbuilding for summer 2020. She will be a sailing ship like her fleetmates and will be named Sea Cloud Spirit, a 136-passenger vessel that will “set new standards in the luxury sailing cruise market” according to the line. Of the 69 cabins, 29 will have balconies, the rest are outside cabins with windows. Also she will feature a fitness and spa area with three treatment rooms, a Finnish sauna, a steam bath and a salon. There will also be an elevator, not often seen on a sail cruiser.
Small-ship cruise line Windstar has revealed its new Star Plus Initiative, a $250 million refurbishment program for its three Star-class ships: Star Breeze, Star Legend and Star Pride. All three will be stretched, renovated and re-engined.
Again expansion for new cruise line Virgin Voyages. With shipbuilders Fincantieri they have signed a 700 million euros contract for a fourth cruise ship, to be delivered at the end of 2023. The new vessel will be a sister to the three 2,770-passenger vessels Virgin currently has under construction at the Italian shipyard. The first ship Scarlet Lady will be delivered in 2020.
Chantier de L’atlantique yard in France hase delivered Celebrity Edge. She boasts some spectacular novelties: moving up and down the side of the ship, the Magic Carpet bar will enable passengers to have drinks while being outside of the vessel. The new Edge cabins with their Infinite Veranda will make it possible to integrate the balcony space into the stateroom, giving a quarter more spece. And there is the Eden lounge, a 3-deck high lounge which will provide guests with different experiences during the day, yoga in the morning, wine tasting in the afternoon and a special (a bit psychedelic) atmosphere at night with shows featuring acrobats etc.
MSC Cruises is planning to enter the luxury cruising market with a surprise order for four new generation, “ultra luxury” ships. With 500 cabins and a gross tonnage of 64,000 GRT they will be significantly smaller than the line’s current ships. The first vessel will be delivered in Spring 2023, to be followed by another one each following year.
According to ABTA’s latest Holiday Habits report, 12 percent of 18-34 year olds are considering taking a cruise in the next 12 months. Also, 53 percent of the 18-24 year group stated they are interested in taking a cruise in the future. Of all age groups, this percentage is 58.
Carnival Victory will undergo a nearly $200 million makeover in 2020 during a 38-day refurbishment in Cadiz, Spain. She will be renamed Carnival Radiance in the process. She will be the third ship in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to be completely transformed and modernised. Carnival Destiny became Carnival Sunshine in 2013 after a $155 million refit and Carnival Triumph will be transformed into Carnival Sunrise next year.
Expedition cruise line One Ocean Expeditions has expanded its fleet with the addition of 1989 built RCGS Resolute – formerly Hanseatic of HAPAG-Lloyd (146 pax) , which will sail alongside fleetmates Akademik Ioffe and Akademik Sergey Vavilo. Though One Ocean normally operates Antarctica Cruises, it will be operating RCGS Resolute on worldwide itineraries, even including warm-weather non-polar destinations..
SunStone Ships has ordered a second ice-class expedition vessel from China Merchants Heavy Industry shipyard. The line’s first ship Greg Mortimer is already being built at the same yard and is scheduled for delivery in August 2019. Both vessels will be chartered out to Aurora Expeditions.
Luxury cruise line Silversea has confirmed the order of three new ships — two Evolution Class vessels to be built at Meyer Werft, Germany and a third one destined for service in Galapagos Islands region from Dutch yard De Hoop. This last vessel will replace Silver Galapagos currently sailing the Galapagos Islands.
Holland America Line took delivery of its second Pinnacle-class ship during a ceremony held at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Venice: Nieuw Statendam, which will introduce the line’s first Rolling Stone Rock Room and and array of other new features. She is a near sister to Koningsdam and is scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on December 19, for its inaugural season in the Caribbean.
National Geographic Venture, Lindblad’s latest vessel carries 100 passengers in 50 cabins, almost half of which have balconies. Venture and sister ship National Geographic Quest are the first ships in the line’s fleet to have family accommodations. Other spaces onboard include a fully equipped fitness room and a spa, a restaurant and a lounge with bar, facilities for presentations, as well as sea kayaks and paddleboards. The ships also carry diving gear and underwater cameras for use by onboard experts.
The first ship for new cruise line Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will be called Azora, a word of Spanish origin that means “sky blue.” Blue is one of the main colors already used in Ritz-Carlton branding. Azora relates to the beauty of the sky and the ocean, and according to the line also suggests peace of mind and clarity. Azora will be a yacht-like soft expedition ship.
According to Carnival Cruise Lines, on board their new Mardi Gras (delivery 2020) will be BOLT, the first rollercoaster at sea which has been developed together with German rollercoaster specialist Maurer Rides. The vehicles will be inspired on motorcyles and will have digital speedometers and speakers for sound effects. Maximum speeds will be 65 km/hour and racing 57 m above sea level will provide stunning views. BOLT is part of the Ultimate Playground, one of six theme zones which are on decks 18 – 20. Waterworks, another theme zone, features several spectacular waterslides like Blue Lightning which is a 95 m long slide with high-speed turns. Finally, Sportsquare zone has a 182 m long trail of hanging ropes, a 9-holes midget golf track, a jogging track and a basketball field.
The world’s first ever hybrid cruise ship, Hurtigruten’s Roald Amundsen, was unveiled to the cruise industry at the Kleven shipyard in Norway. The 530-passenger ship will be the first in the world to use electrical propulsion to help it cruise silently in environmentally sensitive seas. The new ship is fitted with a battery room, which will help power the vessel and is expected to cut CO2 emissions by up to 20 per cent. She can sail for a short period powered only by electricity not to disturb wildlife.
Silversea’s Project Invictus will see its entire fleet updated through different refurbishments. This wil be done in cooperation with new majority stockholder Royal Caribbean. Silver Whisper and Silver Wind will be turned into ice-class ships, making it possible for them to make polar cruises. Interior decorations will be redone to bring the vessels more in line to Silver Muse, the companiy’s latest ship.
