Carnival new ship, Regent multi-million first & Princess voyages – latest cruise news

Cruise fans continue to have plenty to get excited about when it comes to future voyages and upcoming ships.

Carnival’s new ship sails this weekend and Regent’s next vessel will boast a real jewel of the seas, while Riviera Travel and Oceania Cruises have unveiled exciting new programmes.

We’ve rounded up the cruise news from the past week to help keep you abreast of what’s going on.

Carnival has taken delivery of its latest cruise ship Carnival Celebration. The event welcoming the new Excel-class cruise ship took place at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

Carnival Celebration will commence its 14-day maiden voyage on November, 6, sailing transatlantic from Southampton to its homeport of PortMiami where it will arrive on November 20.

The cruise ship will then proceed to carry out a series of eastern and western Caribbean itineraries year-round, featuring such ports as Cozumel in Mexico, Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos and San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Last week Royal Caribbean unveiled a first look at its brand new cruise ship Icon of the Seas (above), set to be the biggest cruise ship in the world when it sails in 2024.

Incredibly, the line saw its single largest booking day in its 53-year history when reservations opened for the Icon Class ship.

“The enthusiasm and excitement for Icon are undeniable in more ways than one,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “The incredible response we have received from our loyal guests, vacationers new to cruising, crew members and travel partners continues to come in, and this is just the beginning. We can’t wait to share more of what Icon has in store in the coming months.”

Princess Cruises has announced the spring and summer 2024 European season for its next-generation ship Sun Princess (above).

The 4,300-guest Sun Princess will sail on a 10-night Grand Mediterranean inaugural voyage on February 8, 2024, and will then offer a range of further Mediterranean cruises.

These newly announced itineraries through to September 2024 will go on sale on November 9, 2022.

The full European season aboard Sun Princess includes 10-night itineraries visiting popular stops throughout the Western and Eastern Mediterranean and a series of seven-night voyages departing from either Barcelona, Rome or Athens, which can be combined for 14-night or 21-night voyages.

Currently under construction, Sun Princess will feature a freshly designed Piazza and a new cutting-edge entertainment space, The Dome, inspired by the terraces of Santorini.

Weighing 175,500 tonnes, the cruise ship will feature more than 29 restaurants and bars and 21 decks. There will be more than 1,500 balcony staterooms and all balcony and oceanview staterooms boast an in-room sofa.

This week Celebrity Cruises revealed that for the first time, Celebrity Apex (above) – one of its industry-transforming Edge Series ships – will homeport in Southampton, UK for its entire 2024 season.

Celebrity Apex will replace the recently-revitalised Celebrity Silhouette, with the former carrying out four-to-13-night European sailings from May to November 2024.

Brand new for Celebrity Cruises from the UK, Celebrity Apex will head to the peak of Europe on a 12-night Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle cruise, visiting the region’s capital, Tromso and Norway’s northernmost city, Honnigsvag and more. Ibiza is another new addition to Celebrity’s itineraries from Southampton.

Oceania has released a new raft of cruises for 2024-25. The Tropics and Exotics Collection boasts 300 ports of call and 157 voyages across seven continents, varying from seven to 200 days in length.

There are 14 new ports of call on offer including Camarones in Argentina, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Hualien in Taiwan and Champagne Bay in Vanuatu.

Oceania’s programme also includes the Amazon, coastal villages of Brazil, a circumnavigation of Australia, Japan and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Tropics and Exotics Collection features 123 voyages with 451 overnight stays and holidaymakers will spend between 30 percent to 50 percent more time in port than premium lines, according to Oceania. Seventy Grand Voyages, spanning multiple continents, are also on sale now.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has collaborated with Fabergé, the globally revered jewellery maison to create a hand-crafted Fabergé x Regent Seven Seas Cruises Egg Objet.

Titled ‘Journey in Jewels’, it will be the pièce de résistance of a multi-million dollar curated art collection which will debut on Seven Seas Grandeur, which sets sail in November 2023. It will become the first Fabergé Egg Objet to reside permanently at sea.

The Egg Objet takes inspiration from the iconic Fabergé Winter Egg of 1913, while also representing the natural elements of the sea – the egg’s three-tiered base is a waterfall of ocean greens and turquoise, while its outer shell’s deep blue waves become lighter, before breaking into a sea spray of pearls.

Exterior features of the egg object design include a ground-breaking ombre enamel shell; this is the very first time that Fabergé has applied this intricate enamelling technique to an egg, marking this a milestone moment for the Maison.

The outer egg ‘shell’ is composed of seven blades, representing the seven seas, which will unfurl to reveal a surprise hidden inside, details of which are being kept as a closely guarded secret until Seven Seas Grandeur is christened in 2023.

‘Journey in Jewels’ is not available for sale and the prized art piece will only be on display to guests aboard Seven Seas Grandeur.

The partnership extends to the creation of two exclusive ‘Spotlight Voyages’ which will immerse guests and art enthusiasts into the world of Fabergé and provide exclusive access to Fabergé experiences and experts onboard these sailings.

Riviera Travel has announced four new ocean sailings across 2023 and 2024 – there will be a brand-new ocean cruise for 2023 and three new 2024 ocean cruise departures, all now available to book.

New for 2023 is An 11-day Icelandic Adventure onboard MS Seaventure (above right) which comprises seven guided tours and visits including Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Dynjandi Waterfall, Goðafoss Falls and Lake Mývatn, Eastern Fjords drive from Eskifjordur, an overnight in Djupivogur, Heimaey Island drive and Reykjavik city tour, along with scenic cruising along some of Iceland’s most beautiful fjords.

In 2024 there will be A 14-day Mediterranean Odyssey onboard the Royal Clipper (above left), An 11-day Aegean Odyssey onboard the Star Clipper, and The 11-day French Riviera and Corsica onboard the Star Flyer.

All itineraries include return flights and transfers, a full programme of guided tours and visits, all meals onboard the ship and the services of an expert tour manager throughout.

Katja Hildebrandt, Riviera Travel’s head of product river and ocean cruise, said: “We’re thrilled to once again be able to offer Tall Ship sailings, as these cruises are always incredibly popular with guests. Their classic itineraries allow passengers to take in the very best of southern Europe from these exclusively-chartered, stunning 19th-century sail-vessels – an experience that can’t be matched.

“The introduction of MS Seaventure on our new Icelandic Adventure is equally exciting, and we’re confident guests will enjoy this bucket-list voyage. This cruise offers the perfect combination of exploration and stunning scenic sailing.”