At first glance, familiar "faces" from already-established ship classes (Independence of the Seas, Ruby Princess and MSC Poesia) suggest similarity between 2008's roster of ship launches and 2007's.
However, scratch the surface, and you'll see that beyond the prototypes are more new-builds -- and never-before-seen designs -- to look forward to this year than last. For example, Holland America, Carnival and Celebrity are all breaking ground with brand-new classes of vessels in 2007, while Queen Victoria was truly the only "new" design to have emerged in 2007.
In cruise industry parlance, we might characterize 2008 as the year of new construction -- and 2007 as the year of a new deal from a reshuffled deck. Of this year's launch schedule, 91.7 percent (11 out of 12) of planned entries into the cruise market are new from the keel up; in 2007 the figure was 77.8 percent (7 out of 9, with the remaining two launches being former Renaissance R-Series vessels that received new names). This is also a strong year for boutique-sized vessels. Two new-builds (Tauck World Discovery's Swiss Sapphire and Pearl Seas Cruises' new, heretofore unnamed ship) have about 200 berths. American Safari Cruises' Safari Explorer, which is among those ships to undergo a major refurbishment, carries a maximum of 37.
With cruise lines competing to make amenities bigger and better (or in the case of boutique lines: more intimate and luxurious), 2008 promises to be a year of ship launches that will excite the newcomer, as well as the seasoned cruiser. Big, small or midsized, here are the ships of 2008 and where they'll be sailing.
The Inside Scoop: Sister ship to the 89,600-ton, 2,550-passenger MSC Musica, (and the third in the Musica class), eighty percent of Poesia staterooms will be outsides, and 65 percent of the total number of cabins will feature balconies.
Where It Will Sail: MSC Poesia departs April 6 for an inaugural cruise to Cork, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Messina and Dubrovnik, arriving in Venice on April 19. The ship will be based in Venice through November, departing every Saturday for weeklong cruises visiting Greece, Turkey and Croatia.
The Inside Scoop: Sister ship to 68,500-ton, 2,050-passenger AIDAdiva, Carnival Corp. is aiming its new-build at primarily German-speaking, active travelers. AIDAbella, like its sibling, features a number of alternative restaurants and will be marketed as an ocean-going analog to popular Germany-based Club Robinson.
Where It Will Sail: In the spring and summer, passengers of this ship will cruise in Europe; Aida has yet to announce the ship's winter itinerary.
The Inside Scoop: Launch number three in the enormously popular (not to mention enormous in size) Freedom-class ships, Independence of the Seas will boast such diverse offerings as a boxing ring, ice-skating rink, onboard mall, rock-climbing wall, and the line's exclusive FlowRider surfing simulator. Because it's the nearly identical third in a class, its greatest claim to fame is the fact that it's the biggest ship (160,000 tons with a 3,600-passenger capacity) ever to homeport for a season in Europe.
Where It Will Sail: Independence of the Seas will spend its first six months cruising from Southampton before repositioning to Ft. Lauderdale for a winter in the Caribbean. Beyond these itineraries, expect interesting shoulder season voyages that include the Canary Islands and an Atlantic crossing.
The Inside Scoop: Based on the basic hull design of Crown Princess, Ventura puts a distinctly British spin on its design philosophy. According to the line, this ship is the "First Superliner Designed for Britain." There will be 12 bars and lounges and 11 restaurants, but the most notable culinary attribute is the controlling presence of Michelin-starred London chef Marco Pierre White, and his signature restaurant, "White Room." Other -- very international and eclectic -- alternative dining options abound including pizza (Marco's), Pacific Rim (East), and Spanish-style tapas (Ramblas). Another innovation for P&O is a concentration on family. Ventura will have both a "family restaurant" (the Beach House) and "family cabins."
Arguably, the most exotic innovation (other than the ability to run 3-D movies in the main showroom) is an onboard circus school, titled "Cirque Ventura," conducted in partnership with the U.K. circus skills school, the Generating Company. During eight-passenger, two-hour sessions, participants of all levels of acrophobia -- from zero to off-the-charts -- will be able to experience everything from bungee trampolining and flying trapeze to tight wire, stilt-walking, clowning and break dancing.
Where It Will Sail: Ventura will begin with a 14-night maiden voyage from Southampton, calling at popular ports in Spain, Italy and France, before continuing with a variety of itineraries out of Southampton to the Eastern and Western Med, Baltics and Canaries through the middle of October. This will be followed by a repositioning cruise to the Caribbean, where Ventura will berth for the winter, sailing out of Barbados on two basic alternating itineraries, one including more of the Southern Caribbean isles (Aruba, Bonaire), with those emphasizing the Eastern ports (St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos).
The Inside Scoop: Founded in 1996, American Safari Cruises pioneered the rarified -- but people-pleasing -- niche of upscale expedition cruising. ASC's ships truly qualify as yachts with the capacity to hold 6 to 37 guests, the latter figure representing 2008's launch of Safari Explorer. Expedition cruising is the ideal vacation for eco-tourists, as well as those seeking soft adventure and enrichment. A naturalist and captain share command equally on expedition ships. Because itineraries can often change on a dime when wildlife sightings present themselves, together they choose the day's destinations and anchorages. While most expedition cruises are relatively bare-boned, ASC's yachts feature pampering, five-star service and top-of-the-line cuisine. Explorer, the newest in the fleet, will also feature spa services and an onboard masseuse.
Where It Will Sail: Safari Explorer will spend summers in Alaska sailing the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay. During the winter months, the ship will head south to warmer waters. The line originally planned to send the ship to Hawaii for winter 2008/2009, but has since put off those plans. Replacement itineraries have not yet been determined.
The Inside Scoop: Prince Albert II is Silversea's new name for the refurbished World Discoverer II. The luxury expedition ship (it has an ice-rated hull) will offer 66 oceanview cabins, many with private balconies.
Also onboard will be a full-service spa, a fitness center, a beauty salon, Jacuzzi pools, a boutique, a library and an Internet center. State-of-the-art satellite communications systems will provide Wi-Fi and cell phone service throughout the ship. Prince Albert II will carry a fleet of eight latest-model Zodiac boats.
Where It Will Sail: In June and July, the ship will sail to the Arctic Circle, Iceland and Greenland. Then it will cross the Atlantic, sail through the Panama Canal and offer a handful of Sea of Cortez cruises before heading down the west coast of Central and South America. From November through February 2009, the ship will cruise to Antarctica.
The Inside Scoop: As the first launch in the newly minted Signature class, this is Holland America's largest ship in the series but only by a thousand tons (86,000 vs. 85,000). The Signature-class nameplate seems to echo HAL's highly-touted Signature of Excellence Initiative, which began a fleet-wide menu of enhancements and upgrades beginning in 2005. The new class seems to consolidate, maximize and solidify those improvements. The signature Pacific Northwest cuisine Pinnacle Grill, as well as Italian and pan-Asian specialty restaurants, is here, as is the attention paid to the stateroom upgrades begun with the Signature of Excellence effort. With these upgrades, an entirely new stateroom concept has emerged: 10 cabins with floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall panoramic windows.
Where It Will Sail: Eurodam will enjoy its inaugural season in northern Europe and in the Mediterranean. In the shoulder season, the ship will reposition to Canada and New England for fall leaf-peeping before heading to the Caribbean for the winter.
The Inside Scoop: Carnival promises this to be the first of a new class of ships, but it's only a couple of thousand tons larger than the Conquest-class ships and substantially smaller than the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream (and its siblings) due to launch in October 2009. The new ship increases space by about 2 percent while passenger capacity is expanded only by 1 percent. The extra space is given to an enlarged 21,000-square-ft. health and fitness facility, which includes the 68 surrounding "spa staterooms."
Where It Will Sail: Carnival Splendor will usher in a pair of firsts for Carnival -- cruising the Baltic Sea and sailing South America itineraries. Part of its maiden season will entail cruising the waters of the Baltic Sea from Dover, but it will also cruise the Mediterranean from Rome's Civitavecchia. After an Atlantic crossing in the fall, the ship will offer a blend of Caribbean itineraries before cruising in South America.
Launch: Delayed until further notice -- 2010 at earliest
The Inside Scoop: Though coming up with definitive descriptions of this new cruise line's first ship is a bit like reading tea leaves (which fits in with the vaguely Asian-sounding name of the line), it is clear that this small, boutique cruiser will fit a similar niche as Sea Dream. With its river, coastal and island ship, the line holds the potential of calling at under-visited, off-the-beaten-track ports while offering the pinnacle of luxury and amenities. All 108 staterooms are outsides with balconies, and the smallest cabin will be 302 square ft. If Pearl Seas holds to its current specs, there will be a relatively large number of single-occupancy cabins (about 10 percent of the total number of staterooms). The cruises will also emulate the enrichment attributes of "expedition" cruising, with naturalists, historians or other experts conducting onboard lectures that will interface with off-ship excursions (which these experts will also lead). In some parts of the world, these experiences will include "soft adventures" such as scuba diving, hiking and fishing.
Where It Will Sail: Pearl Mist was suppose to start its inaugural year in the Canadian Maritimes, remaining there till the end the autumn leaf-viewing season, then head to the Caribbean. All cruises have been canceled through 2009.
The Inside Scoop: Not to be outdone by its siblings, Ruby Princess will feature many of the same amenities and design features as Crown and Emerald Princess. The piazza-style atrium is still present, as are the expansive spa offerings. Passengers can choose to eat at Crown Grill, which features seafood and steak, and will still enjoy personal choice dining. And evenings wouldn't be complete if Princess didn't offer its “Movies Under the Stars,” a title in the Princess lexicon for the now industry-wide, mega-screen movie screenings around the swimming pool.
Where It Will Sail: Ruby will sail roundtrip Western Caribbean itineraries from Ft. Lauderdale.
The Inside Scoop: Chock-full of new features and amenities, Solstice is the prototype for a new class of ships for Celebrity. With its 118,000 tonnage and ability to hold 2,850 guests, it boasts so many innovations that one has to be somewhat concerned by the “overreaching” factor (remember the bold promises of the ill-fated joint effort between Celebrity and Cirque du Soleil aboard Millennium-class vessels?). Solstice promises a partnering with the Corning Museum of Glass to mount the "Hot Glass Show" aboard Solstice, in which three glassblowing artists will conduct live demonstrations, lectures and workshops on the ship's upper deck. (Given the fact that glass melts -- depending on various factors -- at temperatures between 2,000 and 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, I'd love to have the contract to sell high-blood-pressure meds to Solstice's safety officer!) Other enhancements concentrate on spa experiences, including the creation of a number of "AquaClass" cabins targeted at passengers looking for a spa-oriented cruise and Blu, a boutique restaurant in the ship's solarium.
Where It Will Sail: This ship won't cater to anyone wanting anything out of the ordinary: the itineraries will alternate very similar Eastern Caribbean sailings that include San Juan and St. Maarten, with one calling at St. Kitts as well. Another itinerary substitutes Tortola and Labadee.
The Inside Scoop: MSC's frenzy of new-builds continues this year with the line's first post-Panamax vessel, which will be too large to fit through the locks in the Panama Canal. MSC Fantasia will tip the scales at 133,500 tons and carry 3,300 guests (MSC asserts that it will be the largest sailing year-round in the Med). Notable attributes include the large number of outside cabins and the impressive percentage of those that will feature balconies. According to the cruise line, the other hallmark of this ship and its sibling, Splendida (2009), is their ecologically friendly features. These include advanced water treatment capabilities and controls of stateroom power usage to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. The latter features strike us as a bit draconian as the ship's central environmental computer will be monitoring light usage and thermostat settings when the stateroom is empty. As they say in Italy, Grande fratello vi guarda. (Big brother is ...)
Where It Will Sail: While MSC still hadn't announced itineraries as of late March, we've been told the ship will spend the winter in the Mediterranean.
--by Steve Faber. San Francisco-based Faber is a longtime contributor to Cruise Critic. Updated by Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor in Chief
At first glance, familiar "faces" from already-established ship classes (Independence of the Seas, Ruby Princess and MSC Poesia) suggest similarity between 2008's roster of ship launches and 2007's.
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