Celebrity Cruises is investing more than $250 million to completely modernize a well-loved class of ships. Guests can look forward to eight new experiences, including four new-to-sea spaces, and many redesigned favorites which elevate everything that makes these ships unique.
Viking’s got good news and that could mean you’ll have a tough time finding available space on one of their ships. But there are many more ships on the way and its fleet will soon top 100 ships.
Bigger, badder, bolder. Those are the lofty goals Royal Caribbean wants to hit with its massive new destination for its cruises to Mexico. Perfect Day Mexico in Costa Maya will be Royal Caribbean’s largest private water park development, featuring the tallest water slides in the Americas, a river more than a mile long and six enormous pools. They’re promising 12 eateries and 24 drinkeries — including six swim-up bars.
They call the atrium Starlight and its design swirls into the heavens. Regent Seven Seas Cruises is taking inspiration from the past and looking to the future with the showy interiors of its newest ship Seven Seas Prestige.
A surf and turf burger in the Waves Grill tops a thick patty of wagyu beef with medallions of lobster. A spicy salad in Red Ginger stacks strips of crispy duck with succulent cubes of watermelon and cashews. And wherever you go there are decadent pastries that are tiny works of art.
Who’s number one? It depends who you ask as Florida’s big cruise ports keep going for records. Greater Miami and Miami Beach have just branded the city the ‘Cruise Capital of the World’ to celebrate milestones that include the opening of the world’s largest cruise terminal and the arrival of several huge new cruise ships.
By Wallace Immen/ While Champagne’s traditional, it was premium Canadian whisky anointing the Great Lakes cruise ship Victory 1 in a recent christening ceremony at the Port of Toronto, where Godmother Emily Coleman broke a bottle across the bow of the first of two ships offering round trips between Toronto and Chicago.
Caution: Don’t take a course in Oceania Cruise’s Culinary Centre on a full stomach. You’ll learn why soon enough. I’m just a guy whose past culinary achievements have been grilling burgers at summer barbecues and frying eggs at breakfast.
AmaMagdalena has inaugurated the first-ever luxury river cruises on Colombia’s Magdalena River. The historic launch is a significant milestone for AmaWaterways, introducing a new region to its offerings beyond Europe, Asia and Africa and a pioneering tourist development in South America.
With cruise lines busy christening a new generation of ships, older members of their fleets are moving on to new roles. On the same week in April that Norweigan Cruise Line showcased its shiny new 3,600-guest Norwegian Aqua, it announced that veteran fleet-mates Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun are going to be transferred to Cordelia Cruises to sail in Asia and the Middle East.
Since when did finding a spot to lay down a beach towel on an island made of sand become a competitive sport? We’re about to find out on a day docked at the only cruise port in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
It’s so easy to settle into a cruise that you might wonder: “What would it be like to live at sea?” Forget days, or even weeks. Cruise lines are planning voyages that last for two and three seasons. One is selling a year of sailing and there are even companies turning ships into globe-circuiting floating residences.
It seemed a bafflingly abrupt end to a brilliant career at sea when long-time, well-known Capt. Kate McCue announced she was retiring from Celebrity Cruises after a groundbreaking 22-year career.
The countdown is the final hours for what MSC Cruises is promising is a world of experiences in its biggest ship yet – MSC World America. As its name implies, the 22-deck tall ship featuring 2,614 staterooms is aimed for the interests and tastes of North Americans. And it offers seven onboard districts designed to help guests choose their own holiday experience.
Seabourn Cruises says it will have one of the youngest fleets at sea with the sale of Seabourn Sojourn. The ship will continue to sail for Seabourn until May, 2026, as a charter from new owner Mitsui Ocean Cruises. Guests and their travel advisors with bookings after May 15, 2026, will receive a message from Seabourn with details on changes or rebooking options.
The Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is expanding, with three brand new river cruise ships due to start sailing in 2027, completing the line’s transformation to an all Super Ship fleet.
How hard is cider in Halifax? How do you forge a Japanese knife worthy of Kobe beef? They’re among the insights you can gain in an expanded range of ‘Culinary Discovery Tours’ from Oceania Cruises.
Imagine if R2D2, the cute little droid from Star Wars, retired and got a job as a waiter. “Your order is here: please wait to be served,” the happy little robot chirps as he (it?) rolls up to our table on Sun Princess, loaded with comfort food. I half expected a natty C3PO to arrive next and set out the nachos and burgers at our table in the Americana Diner, one of the restaurants included in the fare on the newest ‘Love Boat.’
What’s a wood ear? You’ll find out as Windstar Cruises whips up new tastes with its new complimentary Asian/Mediterranean specialty restaurant Basil + Bamboo. The new concept is taking the place of Cuadro 44 restaurant across the line’s fleet in 2025. It’s first on Star Breeze in February 2025, and will debut as the new alternative dining venue aboard Star Seeker, due in December.
A new concept on the coming Celebrity Xcel will be unlike anything at sea, offering guests activities to “explore the world before you even get there,” Celebrity Cruises promises. The Bazaar is is a three-level, multi-sensory space designed to physically transform several times over the course of each sailing to introduce travellers to experiences inspired by the destinations they visit.
Nearly as long as four football fields and carrying up to 5,000 guests on 19 decks, Sun Princess is the biggest ‘Love Boat’ ever. She’s a floating city filled with entertainment, and more restaurants and bars than anyone can reasonably be expected to discover in a full week on board.
Celebrity Cruises is aiming to shake up European river cruising with a plan to build 10 new ships with Edge Class features and service “The Celebrity Way.” Celebrity River Cruises announced it will open bookings soon for cruises due to start in Europe in 2027, with bookings opening later this year.
We’re told that Cozumel Island, where Sun Princess is docked alongside four more of the biggest cruise ships ever built is the place the ancients came to get into the mood for love. Cozumel island was considered sacred to the Maya moon spirit Ix Chel, so women made pilgrimages to temples here in hopes of boosting their fertility and finding a mate.
In an unexpected but very strategic move, Ponant Explorations Group is buying majority stake in small adventure ship line Aqua Expeditions to expand its range to South America and Asia. Aqua Expeditions operates small ships in ecologically diverse areas including the Galápagos, Indonesia, the Mekong River and the Peruvian Amazon.
I didn’t expect to find myself in handcuffs for ordering a cocktail aboard the new Sun Princess. But then there were a lot of things I didn’t anticipate about an evening of mystery and illusion on my Caribbean cruise.
If you’re still unsure whether the cruise industry is on track to set new records, look no further than the latest announcement from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. They named a new team to lead a multi-billion-dollar fleet expansion and upgrading program for its ultra-premium and luxury cruise brands.
Some of the biggest ships ever built are beckoning in 2025 as cruising attracts record bookings. Many new arrivals are sisters of ships that were already the largest ever when they made their debuts. Even new small ships are bulking up.
What do you get when you add another half to Half Moon Cay? You get a private island complex big enough for both Carnival and Holland America ships to comfortably visit daily, says Carnival Corp. which owns both cruise lines.
Virgin Voyages is inviting freebooting entrepreneurs who can “work for anywhere” to make the company’s Lady-ships their home by buying a year-long pass. And they can pay in crypto.
Looking for a deal on a cruise getaway in the Caribbean this winter? A record number of other people have the same idea and that’s created an unprecedented demand. While the plethora of Black Friday and upcoming January Wave Month cruise sales offer(ed) some amazing deals, many come with a catch – they’re for cruises a year or more in the future.