United Kingdom
USANew cruise ships in all shapes and sizes are on the horizon for 2024 as cruising becomes increasingly popular. Here’s the full list of upcoming ocean ships.
New cruise ships in all shapes and sizes are on the horizon for 2024 as cruising becomes increasingly popular. Here’s the full list of upcoming ocean ships.
Launch Date: January
Number of passengers: 5,610
Capable of carrying up to 7,600 passengers if every cabin is full with children sleeping on sofa beds, plus 2,350 crew, the next Royal Caribbean new cruise ship – the whopping Icon of the Seas – will sail into the record books as the world’s largest cruise ship by gross tonnage; taking the title from its fleetmate Wonder of the Seas.
Floating resort Icon of the Seas will have eight themed neighborhoods, including the all-new AquaDome, Thrill Island, Chill Island, Surfside and The Hideaway. If you want to push the proverbial boat out the biggest suite on the Royal Caribbean new cruise ship is the three-storey Ultimate Family Townhouse, with room for up to eight passengers.
Launch Date: February
Number of passengers: 4,300
The new Princess cruise ship is taking the famous Sun Princess name – first used in 1974 – to its biggest-ever ship and first of two all-new Sphere-class vessels from Princess Cruises.
The standout feature on Sun Princess is The Dome, inspired by the terraces on the Greek island of Santorini and the first-of-its-kind glass dome at sea. The multi-level venue will be a pool area by day and an entertainment venue with high-flying aerial performances at night. Brits will be among the first to get aboard the new Princess cruise ship as it’s spending its inaugural season sailing in the Med.
Launch Date: May
Number of passengers: 3,000
Queen Anne is Cunard’s first new ship in 12 years and it will be the first time since 1999 that the luxury line has had a fleet of four ships. The plush interiors take inspiration from Cunard’s past, celebrating the retro Art Deco style the line is known for, and introducing modern concepts to take Cunard into the future.
Top chef Michel Roux has been brought onboard Queen Anne to create posh pub grub for the ship’s Golden Lion watering hole. Queen Anne will also have a new Bright Lights Society live music bar and a gallery of 4,000 contemporary works, many by upcoming artists. The new Cunard ship will sail out of Southampton and spend an inaugural season in the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Scandinavia and Norwegian Fjords.
Launch date: June
Number of passengers: 100
American Liberty is the third of 12 catamaran-style small ships offering all-American cruises. The so-called “coastal cat” will sail on itineraries that hug the U.S. coastline as well as exploring inland lakes and rivers such as the Intracoastal Waterway through Florida and Georgia.
Passengers can expect lashings of southern hospitality served against a backdrop of stylish interiors created by Miami-based Studio DADO which works on many of the top ocean vessels. With land never out of sight, it’s a great alternative for passengers who don’t want to – quite literally – be all at sea. For those that want to take the plunge there’s a swimming platform at the back.
Launch date: July
Number of passengers: 5,668
Royal Caribbean’s second ship launching in 2024 will be the sixth and last in the popular all-singing, all-dancing Oasis class. The Royal Caribbean new cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas, will be the first Oasis vessel to be powered by eco-friendly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and for thrill-seekers it will have the longest dry slide at sea.
There will be more than 50 drinking and dining options on Utopia of the Seas, including the first sushi bar on an Oasis-class vessel. Elsewhere, the new Royal Caribbean cruise ship will boast lots of popular favourites such as a surf simulator and climbing wall. Utopia of the Seas will sail on three- and four-night cruises in the Bahamas with a stop at Royal Caribbean’s private island playground Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Launch: July
Number of passengers: 728
For the Downton Abbey vibe at sea, all suites on Silversea Cruises come with a butler. Silver Ray, the second of the line’s Nova-class vessels, is no different and with almost one crew member for every passenger you can expect really high levels of service.
The new Silversea ship features huge areas of glass, including sea-facing lifts with glass walls, to make the most of the great outdoors. Even the swimming pool has been located on one side of the ship, rather than in the center, to provide unobstructed views. Dining options on Silver Ray include the line’s signature S.A.L.T. (Sea And Land Taste) restaurant showcasing the cuisine of destinations being visited.
Launch: August
Number of passengers: 922
This sleek newcomer is the second ship in the MSC Group’s luxury brand Explora Journeys. Aimed at attracting people that ‘don’t do cruises’ the interior design resembles a hotel with plush cabins dubbed “homes at sea” and a program of shore excursions renamed experiences.
Foodies on the new Explora Journeys ship will love the restaurants – all included in the fare – such as pan-Asian Sakura inspired by the ancient tea rooms of Kyoto in Japan, the casual Med Yacht Club serving sharing plates, upmarket French-influenced Fil Rouge and the Emporium Marketplace with live cooking stations.
Launch: September
Number of passengers: 456
Ritz-Carlton was the first luxury hotel chain to break into the cruise world in 2022 with Evrima. It’s following up with the Ilma, which has also been created to replicate the Ritz-Carlton ambiance at sea and entice landlubbers to dip their toes into the cruise world.
With an upmarket yachtie feel, the LNG-powered ship has a marina platform with space for lounging and direct access to the sea for watersports. The new Ritz-Carlton ship has its very own wine vault and a fine dining restaurant with a tasting menu to rival any on dry land. The pool deck, with a bar and al fresco grill, on Ilma has been designed to make the most of the ship’s itineraries which will follow the sun in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Launch date: December
Number of passengers: 998
Unlike other cruise lines, Scandi-cool Viking has never tried to make ships that are bigger and better than the previous ones. This has changed – but only in a teeny tiny way – with Viking Vela. The new Viking cruise ship is slightly larger to make room for additional technical equipment and the rest of the space has been given over to extra cabins, so instead of carrying 930 passengers it will have room for 998.
Elsewhere, things are the same on Viking Vela with venues such as the indoor and outdoor Aquavit Terrace, Mamsen’s food counter serving Scandinavian specialties and airy Wintergarden beneath a wooded canopy. Reflecting its Norwegian heritage, the swanky Owner’s Suite comes complete with a private sauna.
Launch Date: 2024 tbc
Number of passengers: 4,000
You’ll find an extra touch of magic at sea on the new Disney cruise ship – the second of Disney’s Wish-class ships – the class encompasses the largest vessels in the line’s six-strong fleet. Inspired by adventure and Walt Disney’s love of exploration, the line says the adventure-themed vessel will immerse passengers in legendary stories.
The young, and young at heart, can expect to meet Mickey Mouse and his mates on the high seas aboard the new Disney cruise ship, and areas on Disney Treasure will be themed around the fantasy land Agrabah from Walt Disney’s Aladdin. Disney ships have a tradition of a large character statue in the atrium and this has been upped to three on Disney Treasure; Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and a magic carpet.
Launch date: 2024 tbc
Number of passengers: 198
When World Seeker sets sail it will become the fourth ship to join the luxury expedition cruise line that launched in 2021. Almost identical to sibling vessels World Navigator, Traveller and Voyager, the polar-class World Seeker will sail to destinations including Antarctica and the Arctic.
Providing sailings to far-flung places in comfort, the ship will have a L’Occitane spa and offer a private charter jet service between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia on Antarctica expeditions and between Oslo and Longyearbyen on Arctic sailings.
