Best new cruise ships including Royal Caribbean's which will be the largest ever
Cruise holidays surged back last year as Covid receded, and this year promises to be even better with a host of fabulous, innovative and exciting new ships.
Virgin Voyages will be welcoming two new ships - bringing its total fleet number to four - where passengers can expect the same boisterous adults-only experiences already to be found on Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady.
Meanwhile Royal Caribbean will be welcoming Icon of the Seas in December, set to take record for the world's largest cruise ship - a title currently held by Wonder of the Seas.
Other cruise lines including Marella Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises are also set to launch brand new ships which we'll be adding to the bucket list.
Check out our pick of the best new cruise ships for 2023 below...
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Marella Cruises
Marella Voyager, due June
Gross tonnage: 77,713 Passengers: 1,886
The fifth in the TUI brand’s fleet, when she debuts in the Med from Majorca she will be family friendly and all-inclusive with 16 restaurants and 10 bars.
Highlights include an indoor cinema, a crazy golf course on the top deck, the Broadway Show Lounge, ‘secret’ bar The Exchange, Mexican restaurant Abuela’s, and The Veranda, an adults-only alfresco space with sea-facing Balinese daybeds for some grown-up R&R.
Marella Voyager will have a crazy gold course (Marella Cruises)She will homeport in Palma for the summer then reposition to Barbados for a Caribbean winter season.
- More info: tui.co.uk/cruise
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Ascent, due December
Gross tonnage: 140,600 Passengers: 3,260
The fourth out of a series of five ships from the impressive and innovative Edge Class, Ascent will feature the signature Magic Carpet movable deck that does triple duty as a bar, restaurant and embarkation platform, plus some super-cool Martini-shaped hot tubs.
Food and drink will be key with 29 distinct venues, and accommodation will again showcase the infinite balconies where the cabin opens up to the sea at the touch of a button.
Celebrity Ascent will have a moveable deckAscent will debut in the Caribbean sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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- More info: celebritycruises.com
MSC Cruises
MSC Euribia, due June
Gross tonnage: 183,500 Passengers: 6,327
Named after a Greek goddess who mastered the seas, the latest and greenest MSC ship will feature an eye-popping #SaveTheSea hull design and numerous original works of art.
Sustainable technologies will include cleaner LNG (liquid natural gas) power, an advanced waste-water treatment system, energy-saving smart heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and elimination or replacement of single-use plastics.
Ten dining venues include a new Indochine restaurant concept, while 16 indoor and five outdoor bars will keep passengers refreshed.
But perhaps the key space will be the Galleria Euribia, a vast indoor promenade with shop, restaurants and an LED ceiling – the social heart of the third Meraviglia-Plus class ship.
- More info: msccruises.co.uk
Virgin Voyages
Resilient Lady, due May; Brilliant Lady, due December
Gross tonnage: 110,000 Passengers: 2,770
The line’s third and fourth ‘ladyships’ bring the same boisterous adults-only product as sisters Scarlet and Valiant, offering a “dose of vitamin sea’’ across the ship alongside a sustainable message.
With free wi-fi and yoga classes, a complimentary basic drinks package that includes tea, coffee, still and sparkling water,
some juices, and six no-cover charge restaurants such as Korean Gunbae and Mexican Pink Agave, it’s the cruise line that’s been shaking up the market.
The boisterous Resilient Lady (Virgin Voyages)Resilient will homeport in Athens for the summer, then head to Australia and New Zealand for the winter. Brilliant will be based in Puerto Rico for her inaugural season.
- More info: virginvoyages.com
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Viva, due August
Gross tonnage: 142,500 Passengers: 3,219
Second in NCL’s Prima Class, Viva will boast the world’s first three-level race track at sea wrapped around the funnel, two free-fall dry slides, infinity hot tubs, a beach club and the chic Ocean Boulevard with a glass bridge.
Impressive dining options include Hudson’s with 270-degree views overlooking the stern, a food hall with 11 different eateries and Palomar, the line’s first Mediterranean seafood restaurant.
The ship will have a race track onboard- More info: ncl.com
Ambassador Cruise Line
Ambition, due May
Gross tonnage: 41,123 Passengers: 1,200
The first new British line for a decade gets a second ship and, like sister Ambience, is offering keenly priced no-fly cruises from homeport Tilbury, Essex, and regional ports including Newcastle, Dundee, Bristol, Belfast, Liverpool and Falmouth.
Ambition will debut from Newcastle with an inaugural trip to France and Spain then sail from regional ports before heading to Tilbury in November.
Offering a traditional British cruising experience, expect two main restaurants, two speciality dining options offering “exceptional gastronomic experiences’’, a food market buffet and four bars.
She will also feature the Palladium theatre, a library, an arts and craft room, wellness centre and a jogging track and gym to keep fit at sea.
The ship will have a theatre and library (Ambassador Cruise Line)- More info: ambassadorcruiseline.com
P&O Cruises
Arvia, launched late December
Gross tonnage: 184,700 Passengers: 5,200
P&O’s newest ship – delayed by supply issues – is now in the Caribbean for her inaugural winter season.
She makes the cut for 2023 as she will be named at a tropical beach in Barbados in a world-first event planned for March 16.
Arvia – powered by LNG – has a host of striking features, including the light-drenched SkyDome pool and entertainment venue, innovative restaurants featuring fish and plant-based menus, plus Caribbean cuisine and a gastropub.
Arvia is now in the Caribbean for her inaugural winter season (PR HANDOUT)Passengers can also browse ‘experiential’ shopping zones, chill at an adults-only outdoor sanctuary, plus there’s a barber station, high-ropes experience, escape game, P&O’s first swim-up bar and The Official Take That Musical.
Arvia will then head back to Southampton in April to sail the Med for a summer season.
- More info: pocruises.com
Royal Caribbean International
Icon of the Seas, due January 2024
Gross tonnage: 250,800 Passengers: 7,600
Also scraping in for 2023 with her late December launch but possibly the biggest debut of the next two years, Icon will be the latest ‘largest cruise ship in the world’.
With her expected gross tonnage, she will surpass Royal sister Wonder of the Seas.
Icon will be the first in the fleet running on LNG and will also feature sustainable innovations including shore-power connection.
Her features are numerous but we love the glass-covered AquaDome at the bow, offering wraparound sea views by day and converting to a theatre at night with (yes, really) a 50ft waterfall and four robotic arms.
Thrill Island neighbourhood with Category 6, a water park featuring six water slides, is sure to wow too.
- More info: royalcaribbean.com
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