The previous week within the cruise trade has been busy, so Cruise Hive is right here to ensure don’t miss a factor. We’ve received cruise information updates on a number of new ships, together with from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages, together with a worth hike from Norwegian.
Cruise Information Replace
It was one other busy week of cruise news, however no worry as we now have you lined. It was dominated by new cruise ship information with Royal Caribbean’s new mega-ship floating out onto the water on the shipyard for the primary time, the world’s largest cruise ship celebrating its naming, Carnival’s third excel-class vessel being delayed, Virgin Voyages taking supply of its third new ship, the naming ceremony for MSC’s new vessel and NCL mountain climbing the value of gratuities.
Icon of the Seas Floats Out
Icon of the Seas has officially touched water for the primary time, because the ship was floated out on the Meyer Werft shipyard in Turku, in southern Finland. This marks the completion of the ship’s exterior hull, and the vessel now strikes to the following part of development.
To proceed constructing the already extremely anticipated vessel, the ship can be moved to the outfitting dock, the place inside work will proceed to convey the ship, with its eight distinctive neighborhoods, to life.
“The float out of a brand new ship is a defining second, and within the case of Icon of the Seas, it marks the following step within the begin of a brand new period of holidays,” mentioned Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Worldwide. “That’s now a actuality greater than ever as Icon touches water for the primary time.”
At 1,198 toes lengthy and weighing in at roughly 250,800 gross tons, she would be the largest cruise ship ever constructed – however curiosity in her debut can be breaking data. When reservations for the ship opened in late October, the cruise line noticed the highest single-day reserving data ever in its 53-year historical past.
Icon of the Seas will set sail in January 2024, and is scheduled to be homeported from PortMiami.
Marvel of the Seas Naming Ceremony
Royal Caribbean Worldwide has finally named the line’s newest ship, Wonder of the Seas, in a “Caribbean Stylish” ceremony at Port Canaveral, with cruise line executives, VIPs, and media in attendance for the momentous event that has formally christened the brand new ship.
Festivities onboard the vessel included previews of the brand new, high-energy, tech-infused manufacturing reveals, spectacular excessive dives within the AquaTheater, aerialists, and dwell music for the assembled friends.
Conventional parts, in the meantime, included the bagpipe efficiency all the time seen at Royal Caribbean’s ceremonial christenings. For Marvel of the Seas, the Mount Dora Pipe Band did the honors for the godmother procession.
The ship’s godmother, Marie McCrea, was chosen by way of a TikTok problem, #SearchForWonderMom, that was launched on Mom’s Day to search out the ship’s “WonderMom.” Greater than 16,000 nominations have been submitted.
Additionally available for the naming ceremony have been quite a few finalists for the #SearchForWonderMom contest. The occasion continued with a singular choral rendition of the USA nationwide anthem, conventional non secular blessings for the ship, crew, and everybody who will sail on her, and remarks from totally different cruise line executives.
Most of the remarks thanked the shipbuilding group, cruise line management, and most of all, the ship’s crew. “Marvel of the Seas brings collectively the easiest that Royal Caribbean may give,” mentioned Bayley. “This really is the easiest household trip at the moment.”
To conclude the ceremony, McCrea launched the most important champagne bottle on the earth – equal to 12 common champagne bottles – to interrupt on the ship’s bow in a time-honored second each Royal Caribbean cruise ship has loved in its historical past.
Since Marvel of the Seas set sail on her maiden voyage in March 2022, greater than 180,000 friends have already sailed on the vessel – all with out an “official” christening. Now, the world’s largest cruise ship will provide Japanese and Western Caribbean sailings, the vast majority of that are 7-night sailings, and all of which is able to embody calls on CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s personal island in The Bahamas.
Carnival Jubilee Delayed
The third within the largest ship class for Carnival Cruise Line and sister ship to Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration, Carnival Jubilee will now not debut as planned in October 2023.
Delays on the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and compelled the cruise line to set again the ship’s maiden voyage, which was to have been a transatlantic crusing from Southampton to Galveston, in addition to cancel six extra sailings from the ship’s Texas homeport.
“That is disappointing information, however with the notification from the shipyard, we’re advising our friends as rapidly as we are able to,” mentioned Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
The impacted sailings are all voyages from October 30, 2023, via and together with the December 16, 2023 crusing – all of those sailings are actually canceled. The cruise line is reaching out to journey advisors and friends booked on the now-canceled sailings with extra particulars and choices.
“World provide chain logistics and different issues make it clear that extra time is required in order that the ship may give our friends the holiday expertise they count on,” the letter to Carnival Jubilee friends states.
Due to the delay, Carnival Jubilee‘s maiden voyage will now be crusing from Galveston on December 23, 2023. Additional particulars of that crusing usually are not but accessible.
From Galveston, the ship can be providing 7-night, Saturday departure, roundtrip sailings that go to Roatan, Honduras in addition to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.
Virgin Voyages Take Supply of Resilient Woman
New cruise strains usually develop slowly, maybe first utilizing older ships purchased from extra established strains as they construct their model and ultimately have their first newbuild ship constructed. Virgin Voyages, nevertheless, is displaying that it may well break that expectation, with the third newbuild ship for the brand new cruise line now delivered to Virgin ownership.
Constructed by the famend shipbuilder Fincantieri at their Sestri Ponente shipyard in Genoa, in northwestern Italy, Resilient Woman has accomplished development and now joins Virgin Voyages for provides and ending particulars earlier than her deliberate debut in Could 2023.
Like her sister ships Scarlet Woman and Valiant Woman, the “ladyship” weighs in at 110,000 gross tons and might welcome as many as 2,700 friends per crusing, with 93% of her cabins providing an impressive ocean view and 86% of her cabins that includes spacious balconies.
Resilient Woman will set sail on her “mermaiden” voyage on Could 14, 2023, a 7-night roundtrip crusing from Athens, Greece, exploring all through the Greek Isles with calls in Santorini, Rhodes, and Mykonos, in addition to a cease in Bodrum, Turkey.
The ship, which accomplished her sea trials in April, was initially deliberate to set sail in August 2022, however was delayed because of a number of challenges, together with provide chain points and staffing considerations.
Norwegian Cruise Line Hikes Gratuities
Gratuities, or ideas, are normal follow within the cruise trade and are given to the crew members onboard. Norwegian Cruise Line has decided to raise gratuities to raised align with trade requirements and to supply their crew members with a extra aggressive compensation bundle.
The Haven and Suite friends, who e-book the best stage of lodging on the ship, will now be charged $25 per day per individual. It is a $5 enhance from the earlier gratuity cost of $20 per day.
Membership Balcony suite friends and all different friends will now be charged $20 per day per individual. A $2 enhance from the earlier gratuity cost of $18 per day for Membership Balcony suite friends and a $4 enhance for friends staying in all different cabin classes.
Norwegian Cruise Line emphasizes that gratuities are non-compulsory and will be adjusted or eliminated at any time by the visitor. Nonetheless, the corporate strongly encourages friends to depart gratuities for his or her hardworking crew members who present distinctive service all through the cruise.
The brand new pricing is just for bookings made on or after January 1, 2023. For any bookings made earlier than that date however crusing after January 1, friends will pay the outdated pricing so long as they’ve pre-paid their gratuities.
The value enhance is already the second time in eight months that Norwegian Cruise Line has elevated gratuities. Nonetheless, at the moment, the rise was considerably much less, at $0.50 to $1.50, relying on the cabin class.
MSC Seascape Naming Ceremony
MSC Cruises’ latest cruise ship, the 170,000 gross-ton MSC Seascape, arrived in New York Metropolis’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal, forward of her naming ceremony on December 7. The cruise ship accomplished a 17-day transatlantic cruise from the shipyard and can quickly begin her inaugural season crusing to the Caribbean.
MSC Seascape is the cruise line’s new US Flagship and can be primarily based in Miami year-round. The ship was named at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on December 7 by none apart from Sophia Loren. The Hollywood star is not any stranger to being a godmother to the MSC cruise ships, having carried out the ceremony for a lot of the MSC fleet.
The selection of New York Metropolis as the situation for the naming ceremony of MSC Seascape comes from the growth that MSC is planning in the USA. Not solely will MSC Seascape act as the brand new flagship crusing from Miami, however MSC Mereviglia can be primarily based in New York Metropolis year-round.
Following her naming ceremony, MSC Seascape set sail towards Miami, her new dwelling. She is scheduled to reach in PortMiami, the largest cruise port on the earth, on December 11 and kick off her inaugural Caribbean cruise season with a seven-day japanese Caribbean cruise.
Extra Cruise Headlines
These have been only a handful of the cruise headlines from the previous week and we’ve received all of the protection on Cruise Hive, together with new spaces revealed on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, Disney Cruise Line tightens a brief refund coverage, Jewel of the Seas begins cruises out of Port Canaveral, a busy two days at the Nassau cruise port within the Bahamas, Royal Caribbean testing a service change on one ship, Norwegian Cruise Line booking records and rather more.
