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New Cruise Ships Coming to Seas in 2018
May 9, 2018
Our clients are always asking about the new cruise ships that are coming to market.
2018 is a big year in the world of cruising, with a variety of new cruise ships entering service, ranging from traditional to luxury.
Several ships are entering into the mainstream category and offering onboard attractions such as electric Go-Kart courses, multi-slide water parks, laser tag arenas and floating deck space. Others fall into the expedition category, where kayaks and snorkel gear are kept onboard for daily use and observation lounges offer some of the most prime sightseeing in the world. There are also ships that are considered luxury, offering high-end service and posh accommodations.
Below, you will find information about some of the new cruise ships.
For more details on on-board features, home ports, itineraries and pricing, send us an e-mail to info@familytc.com
1. Royal Caribbean - Symphony of the Seas
Symphony of the Seas is the new World's Largest Cruise Ship. It has more cabins than earlier vessels including a first-of-its-kind, two-deck-high family suite with a slide between floors. The ship features dozens of lounges, bars and restaurants as well as an array of deck-top amusements. Other new features include a New England-style seafood restaurant and a sports bar that sprawls across the vessel's rear-facing Boardwalk area. Symphony has a new candy and ice cream shop and a new casual Mexican eatery.
Symphony has a trio of giant, multi-deck water slides, two FlowRider surf simulators, a mini-golf course and a nine-deck-high zip line. It also has a version of the Ultimate Abyss slide - a nine-deck-high twin tube plunge that might be the most ambitious attraction ever conceived for a cruise ship. Symphony also has a Bionic Bar where the drinks are served by robot bartenders.
Itineraries: After an inaugural summer in the Mediterranean, Symphony will re-position to Miami to offer alternating, seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages.
2. Carnival Cruise Line – Carnival Horizon
Horizon boasts an 800-foot-long sky ride around its top deck and, on the inside, an IMAX Theater. Other notable features include a 455-foot-long water tube attraction that is part of a Dr. Seuss-themed water park. Passengers are able to ride it on inflatable rafts.
New on Horizon is a Guy Fieri-themed smokehouse and brewpub that serves up smoked-on-board barbecue and house-made craft beer. It is the latest eatery on a Carnival ship to come from a partnership between the line and the celebrity chef.
Itineraries: Horizon will operate four Mediterranean sailings out of Barcelona before crossing the Atlantic to New York for a series of cruises to Bermuda and the Caribbean. In the fall, it will move to Miami.
3. Norwegian Cruise Line – Norwegian Bliss
Bliss will feature such amusements as a two-deck-high racing course where passengers compete against each other in electric go-carts. Bliss will also have sprawling water park with multi-story water slides, a restaurant-lined boardwalk, Tony Award-winning production shows including Jersey Boys and a giant spa. Dining options will include a modern Texas barbecue eatery called Q that will feature live pop country music. Bliss will also have an upscale, modern Mexican restaurant called Los Lobos.
In addition to the new venues, Bliss will feature many of the signature eateries and bars that are staples of the Norwegian fleet, including a Cagney's steakhouse, French restaurant Le Bistro and Italian restaurant La Cucina. There will also be versions of familiar Norwegian food venues Ocean Blue, Food Republic and Teppanyaki as well as the Norwegian craft beer outlet District Brew House.
As with past Norwegian ships, Bliss will feature the line's signature "ship-within-a-ship" luxury suite area, The Haven, which has its own private pool, restaurant, butler service and concierge.
Itineraries: Bliss will spend summers sailing to Alaska out of Seattle, with seven-night trips to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, B.C. The ship will spend winters sailings the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami.
4. Seabourn Cruise Line – Seabourn Ovation
Ovation will offer luxurious, elegant, contemporary spaces created by noted hospitality designer Adam Tihany, including an airy main dining room and a version of the club-like social hub called Seabourn Square found on other Seabourn ships. It will include a sushi eatery and a private, deck-top sanctuary called The Retreat. Ovation also will feature a restaurant by celebrated chef Thomas Keller, something that already is found on several Seabourn ships.
Itineraries: Ovation will spend the summer and fall of 2018 sailing in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe before moving to Asia for the winter.
5. Viking Ocean Cruises – Viking Orion
Orion will have a modern Scandinavian look and an upscale feel. Cabins on the vessels will be large for cruise ships, with the smallest of five cabin categories having 270 square feet of space. In addition, every cabin will have a balcony. Fourteen two-room suites on each of the ships will range from 757 to 1,448 square feet and offer sweeping views from wrap-around private balconies.
Orion will operate itineraries that feature more than the typical time in ports. It will also feature shore excursions that are included in the price — a relative rarity in the cruise world. Also included will be beer and wine with lunch and dinner, and even WiFi access — something that can cost up to 75 cents a minute at other lines.
Itineraries: Orion will operate a diverse range of seven- to 92-night sailings over its first year in operation that include voyages in the Mediterranean, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Alaska.
6. Celebrity Cruises – Celebrity Edge
Edge will offer an innovative new design with most notable features being a platform the size of a tennis court, called the Magic Carpet. It will move up and down the side of the ship serving functions that range from tender boarding platform to 90-seat alternative restaurant.
Among other unusual features, Edge will have a jogging track that spans two decks and winds around the ship's terraced pool area, a relaxation area called the Rooftop Garden, as well six poolside cabanas. Hot tubs will be perched on stems in a “martini glass” design.
Edge will feature Infinite Veranda cabins designed to blend the indoor and outdoor experience. Infinite Veranda cabins will have balconies that are incorporated into the main cabin area. Bi-fold doors in the rooms either can be completely closed, creating a traditional room area separated from a balcony area, or left open, creating a wide-open indoor space that is about 25% larger than traditional balcony cabins.
Itineraries: Edge initially will sail to the Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale before moving to the Mediterranean for the summer of 2019. In the Caribbean, the ship will operate seven-night trips. In the Mediterranean, it'll mostly offer 10- and 11-night voyages.