Cruise news: Royal Caribbean new terminal, MSC World Cup ship, Celebrity itineraries & more

Cruise news is in no short supply in this week’s round-up as a plethora of cruise lines reveal updates about new ships and new itineraries.

From Royal Caribbean’s new terminal and Celebrity Cruises’ latest itineraries to Carnival opening bookings for its upcoming ship, there’s plenty to read about.

We’ve rounded up the top cruise news from the past well to help keep you up to date.

Last week Royal Caribbean International opened its new $125 million cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas and welcomed the Lone Star State’s largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas which sailed from its new homeport on November 13.

The cruise line held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Port of Galveston to mark the state-of-the-art facility’s opening and the Texas debut of its revolutionary Oasis Class of the world’s largest cruise ships.

The terminal – estimated to welcome as many as 630,000 holidaymakers annually – will break even more new ground as the first LEED Zero Energy facility in the world, generating 100 percent of the energy it needs through onsite solar panels.

MSC Cruises hosted the Naming Ceremony for its newest flagship MSC World Europa on Sunday at the brand-new Grand Cruise Terminal in Doha, Qatar.

MSC World Europa (above) is the most innovative and environmentally advanced cruise ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, boasting 22 decks, 2,626 cabins and featuring more than 430,000 square feet of public space. The vessel is 215,863 gross tons and 154 feet wide.

MSC World Europa – which is providing accommodation to World Cup attendees in Doha – will spend her inaugural season in the Middle East offering seven-night cruises to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Dammam and Doha.

Her season will commence on December 20 with a special 4-night sailing from Doha, Qatar to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In further MSC Cruises news, the one yesterday officially took delivery of its new fun-filled flagship, MSC Seascape – the largest cruise ship to be built in Italy.

Following a star-studded Naming Ceremony in New York on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, MSC Seascape will sail to Miami for an inaugural season in the Caribbean.

Key highlights of the new ship include six fantastical new productions, technologically advanced onboard entertainment options, 11 dining venues, 19 bars and lounges and six swimming pools (including a stunning aft infinity pool with ocean views).

Last week Celebrity Cruises announced nearly 500 sailings for its 2024-2025 season.

The line’s fleet of 16 relaxed luxury ships, including Celebrity Ascent, the fourth ship in the highly acclaimed Edge Series, will sail to more than 250 destinations in 70 countries.

Highlights of the new 2024-25 season include:

• Year-round sailings with more than 40 different itineraries in Europe, along with overnights in 11 of the world’s most popular cities from Lisbon, Portugal, to Istanbul, Turkey, and Reykjavik, Iceland; and brand-new ports of call including Pauillac (Bordeaux), France; Brindisi and Trieste, Italy; and Kavala and Volos, Greece.
• The Edge Series ships deployed to new regions of the world with Celebrity Edge sailing to Alaska roundtrip from Seattle; and Celebrity ApexTM sailing from London to the Norwegian Fjords and the Arctic Circle, the latter a destination Celebrity hasn’t visited since 2014.
• Year-round sailings from Asia, including a summer of sailings from Tokyo, Japan.
• New three-night Caribbean itineraries, complemented by sailings up to 12 nights from four departure ports – Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Yesterday Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) celebrated a new milestone as Norwegian Epic became the first of its 18 ships to homeport in Haifa, Israel (above).

The 4,100-passenger and 155.873-gross tonnage ship will sail a variety of 10-, 11- and 12- day sailings in December 2023 as well as in March and October 2024, calling to Ashdod, before stopping in Limassol (Cyprus), Rhodes (Greece) (Turkey), Patmos, Piraeus (Greece) Naples, Livorno, Venice (Trieste) and Civitavecchia (Italy) as well as Split in Croatia.

Norwegian Epic’s The Haven by Norwegian underwent an extensive refurbishment at the end of 2020, which resulted in 75 reimagined and upgraded suites combined with redesigned experiences including The Haven Restaurant and The Haven Courtyard Pool and Sundeck.

Norwegian Epic was the first in the fleet to premiere the brand’s key-card access ship-within-a-ship concept in 2010, complete with private amenities, dedicated services and the most luxurious accommodations on board and she continues to feature one of the largest The Haven spaces in the NCL fleet.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Borealis has completed a multimillion-pound refurbishment programme at Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, becoming the first cruise liner to undergo work at the site for over 25 years.

Borealis (above) arrived on October 28, for a 14-day refurbishment, including steel repairs, an overhaul of the shafts and propellers as well a new application of underwater paint.

The ship sailed out at lunchtime on Saturday, ready to welcome guests back onboard for a cruise in search of the Northern Lights, which left the city on Sunday.

Upcoming sailings from Liverpool include the chance to visit both Northern and Western Europe, including a special two-week Christmas sailing to the Canary Islands – before setting sail on an exciting ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ cruise in February – the first time Fred. Olsen has offered the chance to join a World Cruise from Liverpool.

Viking has taken delivery of the company’s newest ocean ship, the Viking Neptune as the line continues to mark its 25th anniversary this year.

While identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the Viking Neptune is equipped with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for onboard operations.

Viking’s ocean vessels (above) have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests; the ships feature all veranda staterooms, Scandinavian design, light-filled public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options.

Viking Neptune will spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean before embarking on the company’s 2022-2023 Viking World Cruise, a journey from Fort Lauderdale to London that spans 138-days, 28 countries and 57 ports, with overnight stays in 11 cities.

Carnival Cruise Line this week opened reservations for the inaugural season of its next new ship, Carnival Venezia.

The vessel will begin sailing year-round from New York City starting June 15, 2023, and will showcase “Carnival Fun Italian Style.”

The ship will offer guests a wide range of sailing options, with 10 different cruise durations and 22 unique itineraries featuring visits to 25 ports across 14 countries.

Following a 15-day transatlantic Carnival Journeys cruise from Barcelona that departs on May 29, 2023, Carnival Venezia (above) will sail a variety of cruises from New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal, and for the summer will alternate between sailing four-, five- six- and eight-day sailings to the Caribbean, Bermuda and ports in Canada and New England, including Halifax and Saint John.

Beginning September 29, 2023, the ship will alternate between operating eight- to 12-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean and The Bahamas, visiting popular destinations such as St. Thomas, San Juan and Aruba, along with four of Carnival’s private destinations: Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Amber Cove and Grand Turk.

In addition, Carnival Venezia’s nine-day cruises will feature Miami as a port of call.

Azamara has revealed 44 new voyages for Winter 2024/2025 spanning the four corners of the world with Azamara Quest sailing South Africa, Azamara Journey cruising along South America, Azamara Pursuit visiting Asia and Australia, and Azamara Onward embarking on the 2025 World Voyage.

Travellers can fully immerse themselves in each destination thanks to 171 late stays and overnights in port.

Maiden Ports include: Pago Pago, American Samoa; Apia, Samoa; Nuku ‘Alofa, Tonga; Lautoka, Fiji; Suva, Fiji; Puerto Princesa, Philippines; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; and Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands.

Havila Voyages celebrated the official naming of coastal cruise ship Havila Castor (above) in Ålesund on Monday. The event comes six months after the vessel – which can operate on pure battery power, emission-free and silent – started operations along the Norwegian coast.

The ship’s godmother is Aurora Sævik, granddaughter of chairman of the board and main shareholder Per Sævik.

Havila Castor is named after a star in the constellation Gemini. Pollux, after which Havila Voyages’ last ship is named, is the second star in Gemini (the twins), stars which are historically used for navigation at sea and which take ships and crew safely home to port.

River cruise specialist, VIVA Cruises, has launched new themed cruises for 2023 on board its “culture ship”, SWISS RUBY (above).

SWISS RUBY has a length of only 85 metres and features 44 comfortable outside double cabins for 88 passengers. The ship’s small size allows it to use waterways that are inaccessible to larger vessels,

The new itineraries, starting in summer 2023, will include historical-themed cruises, wine cruises and more – with prices starting from just £1,695 per person for an eight-day cruise.

VIVA Cruises’ 2023 themed cruises will be rounded off with autumnal wine cruises on the rivers Rhine, Neckar, Moselle and Saar.

All VIVA Cruises itineraries include VIVA Cruises’ signature VIVA All-Inclusive product, which includes snacks, full board, high-quality alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, minibar, beauty products from luxury cosmetic brand, Rituals, Wi-Fi and all tips and gratuities.

Fred. Holidays has launched its first-ever Nile cruise product featuring four- and five-star seven-night cruises round-trip from Luxor as well as land stays taking in Cairo, The Pyramids and a Red Sea beach stay.

To give you an idea of the new itineraries, the seven-night Pharaohs of the Nile cruise round trip from Luxor onboard the five-star MS Farah discovers the ancient history of Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, Philae Temple, Aswan and more.

The Ten-night Pyramids of Giza & Pharaohs of The Nile cruise features either a four- or five-star cruise as well as a three-night stay in Cairo with a private guided excursion to the Great Sphynx and the Pyramids of Giza.

A 14-night holiday combining either a four- or five-star Nile cruise with a stay in Cairo, private guided excursion to the Great Sphynx and the Pyramids of Giza and a four-night stay in Hurghada on the Red Sea.

Holland America Line is encouraging loyal past guests to share their passion for the brand with a new “Refer a Friend” program launching this week. Running indefinitely, Refer a Friend is aimed at introducing both new and seasoned travellers to Holland America Line.

Refer a Friend rewards members of the line’s Mariner Society loyalty program for encouraging their friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances to make a new booking.

The referred guest, who must be new to Holland America Line, receives $50 Onboard Credit per person, and the past guest who made the introduction earns a $50 Future Cruise Credit once the booking is made to put toward their next Holland America Line voyage.

The referred friend can use their Onboard Credit for a variety of amenities, including speciality dining, spa services, shore excursions, gift shop purchases and more while Future Cruise Credit can be put toward any of Holland America Line’s cruises to destinations around the world.