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USACruise news this week is big on, you guessed it, the Coronation and all things regal onboard ships, plus some fab cruise deals.
Cruise news this week is big on, you guessed it, the Coronation and all things regal onboard ships, plus some fab cruise deals.
In honour of King Charles’ coronation this weekend, P&O Cruises has announced a range of offers including up to £100 off per person based on a balcony cabin, £70 off per person on sea view cabins and £50 off per person on inside cabins.
The cruise deals are available on applicable seven-night holidays departing between October 2023 and November 2024 and booked by May 9, 2023.
Special coronation-themed events onboard include a Coronation Party where guests will be encouraged to wear red, white and blue outfits and enjoy live music from bands and resident DJs; the Coronation Big Lunch where holidaymakers will be invited to join the entertainment team for games, live music and royal-inspired light bites; and The Big Help Out – cruisers will be asked to celebrate P&O Cruises charity partner, Teenage Cancer Trust by signing up to a 5km Trek the Deck challenge.
In further P&O Cruises news, the line has announced that WaveLength, an interactive gameshow virtually starring presenter and game show host Ben Shephard is now available on its adult-only ships, Arcadia and Aurora.
WaveLength provides guests with the opportunity to find out how well they know each other as they try to match their partner’s answers. The show will then be rolled out across the rest of the fleet in time for the summer season.
Further cruise deals come from Holland America Line. The cruise line has launched a special Coronation offer with up to 25 percent off cruises and enhanced On Board Credit, offering $300 to spend at sea!
Cruises can be secured for just a £150 deposit, but guests need to be quick to book as the offer is only valid from May 1-10.
The offer is available on summer and winter 2023 and spring 2024 cruises on voyages ranging from the Norweigan fjords to the incredible wilderness and wildlife of Alaska.
Holland America Line also offers cruises from Asia, Australia and New Zealand to South America, Antarctica, Hawaii and Tahiti, many of which are available in the Coronation offer.
Princess Cruises has launched a new cruise deal to celebrate the King’s coronation. From May 3-5, guests can make a 2024 cruise booking with a deposit of just £1 per person, plus benefit from 50 percent off the line’s all-inclusive Princess Plus package.
The offer means that guests can secure their 2024 cruise for just £1, rather than the normal 15 percent of the cruise fare, and book on the all-inclusive ‘Princess Plus’ fare for £25 per person per day, a saving of 50 percent.
‘Princess Plus’ includes drinks up to the value of $15, compromising cocktails, wine, beer, speciality coffees and more; Wi-Fi; crew appreciation; Premium Desserts (two per day); Xponential fitness classes (two per cruise); and Juice Bar (unlimited).
MSC Cruises is also celebrating the royal bonanza. Festivities on MSC Virtuosa, which offers no-fly cruises from Southampton, will include several new additions and exclusive events for guests to celebrate this momentous occasion while at sea.
These include a Coronation Gala Dinner; new, limited-edition menu items (think King’s Summer Pudding, a clotted ice cream dessert served with a wild berry compote, and a special coronation high tea); a giant ‘crown cake’, which will be on display in the onboard Infinity Atrium, for guests to view and of course taste; a brand-new entertainment programme plus Coronation décor and event screening.
What’s more, a special Coronation offer of up to 20 percent off standard prices is available for specific sailings onboard MSC Virtuosa and MSC Euribia, booked between April 28 and May 31, 2023.
Not only that, MSC Voyagers Club members will receive 700 extra points on all cruises booked until May 31, 2023, which will be granted prior to departure to help upgrade membership levels faster to enjoy greater privileges.
In further MSC cruise news, the brand has announced the opening of sales for its Winter 2023/2024 Japanese itineraries on board MSC Bellissima. This addition will mark its first-ever winter season and 15 years sailing in the region.
The new winter programme on MSC Bellissima will commence from November 2023 with an 11-night, 9-night and 6-night cruise from Yokohama.
From January to March 2024, MSC Bellissima will homeport in Naha/Okinawa offering guests from around the world the opportunity to experience the best of Japan.
Destinations include: Okinawa, Japan – the fifth largest island of Japan;
Ishigaki, Japan – a stunning beach destination; Keelung, Taiwan (China) and Miyako Island, Japan – revered for its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
Seabourn has announced new value-added offers available for select 2023-2023 voyages.
The “Bon Voyage Event” features a complimentary two-category suite upgrade and up to $2,000 shipboard credit per suite on select Seabourn ultra-luxury voyages and expedition sailings in 2023 through 2024.
“The Finale Sail” is ideal for travellers looking for a spontaneous, last-minute adventure, who can unlock savings up to 30 percent when they book a fully non-refundable cruise fare for select suite categories on select 2023 and 2024 sailings.
Both promotions are available until July 10, 2023. The promotions are not combinable.
Fred.Olsen is another cruise line unveiling a sale this week! The brand is helping travellers to ‘make it a year to remember’, with savings of up to £500 per person revealed on a selection of sailings in 2023.
Running to June 14 inclusive, cruises included in the savings offer chances to seek out Lapland’s summertime wildlife, venture into the Arctic to witness the Midnight Sun, and to sail many size-restricted waterways including along Norway’s narrow Trollfjord and the Hudson River and Cape Cod Canal in America.
More than 50 cruises are included from May to December 2023, with departures available from Liverpool, Newcastle, Rosyth, Southampton and Dover, and ranging from two to 93 nights. Sailings start from £599 per person.
Royal Caribbean has revealed more next-level experiences designed specifically for kids, teens and any adults who fancy getting involved onboard upcoming ship Icon of the Seas, set to sail in January 2024.
In Surfside, the ultimate stay-all-day neighbourhood designed for young families, highlights include:
For older kids and teens there’s the following to name a few:
Adults and kids alike will enjoy an array of attractions, including:
Viking has revealed it has doubled its capacity in the Great Lakes, USA for 2023. There are two 378-guest expedition vessels now in the region – new purpose-built Viking Polaris has just arrived in Toronto for her first port of call in the region, joining her identical sister ship, the Viking Octantis, which began sailing in the Great Lakes for the 2022 season and returned to the region in April 2023.
The ships will remain in the Great Lakes through to September 2023, sailing all five lakes and a variety of itineraries that operate between Toronto and Duluth.
Viking is also sailing grand voyages between the Great Lakes and “the end of the world,” including the Viking Longitudinal World Cruise I, which will complete its inaugural 65-day journey from Antarctica to Milwaukee on 5 May, 2023.
The Polar Class Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris vessels are purpose-built for expeditions, at an ideal size for safety and comfort in remote destinations. With more indoor and outdoor viewing areas than other expedition vessels, guests are as close as possible to the most magnificent scenery on earth.
Silversea Cruises has celebrated the float out of its new ship Silver Nova in Papenburg, Germany, on April 28, 2023.
After water had filled the drydock, tugboats manoeuvred the vessel from one of the world’s largest enclosed construction halls into the adjacent harbour. Set to become the 12th ship in the leading ultra-luxury cruise line’s fleet when she launches in summer 2023, Silver Nova will be the most environmentally conscious ultra-luxury cruise ship ever built.
Commemorating the important milestone and in observance of shipbuilding traditions, Captain Cosimo Pontillo welded a special coin to a wall on the pool deck, which will remain visible to the ship’s future guests as a symbol of good luck. Meyer Werft’s skilled craftspeople cleaned the ship’s hull, attached her funnel and installed her LNG and radar masts.
When it launched, Silver Nova will represent the next iteration of Silversea’s unique take on luxury, with the largest choice of bars, restaurants, and lounges in ultra-luxury cruising; some of the most spacious guest suites at sea; and a range of innovative features – including an asymmetrical design and horizontal layout – that are unprecedented for the leading ultra-luxury cruise line.
Oceania Cruises has welcomed its newest ship Vista. Delivered at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Genoa, Italy, Oceania Cruises’ initial Allura Class ship features several firsts in the realms of dining, accommodation and guest experience.
The 67,000-ton, 791-foot-long ship is one of the most anticipated new ships to join the global cruise fleet in 2023. The 1,200-guest Vista boasts the most spacious standard staterooms at sea, three brand-new dining concepts and operates with a market-leading service ratio of two staff members for every three guests.
Vista will be christened on May 8, 2023, in an exclusive glittering ceremony in Valletta, Malta, by her godmother, celebrated Italian-American chef, author, restaurateur and Emmy Award-winning food personality Giada De Laurentiis.
After her summer season in the Mediterranean, Vista will sail to Canada and New England before heading south for a series of winter itineraries exploring the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.
Norwegian adventure travel operator Hurtigruten Expeditions has partnered with Evoy, a manufacturer of maritime electric motor systems, to electrify the first ‘ship to shore’ and wildlife-spotting tender boats.
The tenders, custom-built for Hurtigruten’s expedition cruising, are the first of its kind with sufficient range to deliver excursions in some of the most remote places in the world, including in Arctic and Antarctic waters, and in all regions in-between the poles.
The electric tenders can carry up to 20 guests, along with scientific and safety-related equipment, for use on landings and carefully planned day trips that enable guests to experience destinations in an intimate and sustainable way.
Hurtigruten Expeditions will introduce the first electric tender boats on expedition cruises with MS Otto Sverdrup along the Norwegian coast this season.
