As the decade draws to a close, a new crop of ships are being christened by the big players in cruising that promise to raise the standards in ship design, luxury and entertainment.
Among the debutantes are a Sky Princess, whose attractions include some of the most technologically advanced game and music venues anywhere, Carnival Panorama, a ship packed with new features that will cruise the west coast and Hanseatic Inspiration, a polar expedition ship that will spend next summer exploring the Great Lakes.
Because these ships are hitting the waves so close to the new year, they really are early members of the class of 2020. Here’s a look at the inventive newcomers:
Carnival Panorama: Time to go west
It’s the first new ship Carnival has homeported on the West Coast in 20 years. Panorama may be a fleet mate to Carnival Vista, which debuted in 2016, and Carnival Horizon, born in 2018, but it has a distinct personality.
Attractions that are inaugurating on Panorama include a Sky Zone trampoline park at sea and a first-in-fleet culinary studio where guests can participate in hands-on cooking classes, tastings and other food-related activities hosted by the ship’s chefs.
All of Carnival’s most-popular attractions are on board as well, including a massive WaterWorks aqua park, a bike-in-the-air Sky Ride with dramatic views, as well as ropes course suspended over the upper decks. Dining venues include the biggest versions yet of Bonsai Teppanyaki and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse with craft beers brewed on board. Panorama’s week-long itineraries sail from Los Angeles and head south along the Mexican Riviera.
Norwegian Encore: More to applaud
Encore is the fourth ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway-Plus Class and at 4,000 passengers is similar in size to fleet mates Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Bliss, but Norwegian Encore is packing in more entertainment. Innovative features include Speedway, an on-deck cart track that at 1,000 feet is the longest race track at sea and Galaxy Pavilion, a virtual reality game zone. There’s also the at-sea debut of Tony-award winning show Kinky Boots.
Christened by her godmother, Grammy-award winner Kelly Clarkson, the lineup of signature dining venues and onboard experiences include the debut of Onda by Scarpetta. Using pasta made in-house and with its own signature seafood dishes, Onda is the modern Italian restaurant’s first venture at sea.
There are five other dining options unique to Breakaway-Plus ships as well. A ship within a ship zone The Haven includes a separate dining room and suites that range up to two-bedrooms.
Itineraries include cruises from Miami to the eastern Caribbean in the winter and sailings from New York to Bermuda in the summer.
Sky Princess: more space and stars
Princess Cruises‘ fourth Royal-class ship, the 3,560-passenger Sky Princess includes the popular features of the class including the three-deck-high Piazza atrium, Movies Under the Stars and balconies in 80 per cent of the cabins, New to the line features include deep-tank top deck pools and a Retreat Pool. There will be an expanded Sanctuary area offering a new contemporary design and twice as many private cabanas than on sister ships.
Sky Princess also debuts luxury Sky Suites featuring the largest balconies at sea. In addition, two new entertainment experiences are offered. Phantom Bridge, is said to be the ultimate immersive escape room, combining digital and physical elements. And Take 5 is a unique jazz theater at sea. A winter season of eastern and western Caribbean cruises sails from Ft. Lauderdale and the summer season will be in the Baltic, with sailings from Copenhagen or St. Petersburg.
MSC Grandiosa: The grandest yet
As the name suggests, MSC Grandiosa is the biggest ship yet in the MSC Cruises family, with maximum capacity of 6,300-passengers.Unique features include a fine art museum and two exclusive on-board shows from Cirque du Soleil at Sea: COSMOS – Journey to the unbelievable and EXENTRICKS – Expect the Unexpected. It’s the second MSC ship to feature the innovative Zoe digital cruise personal assistant. (The first ship was MSC Bellissima, which launched earlier this year).
Grandiosa will call the Mediterranean home, sailing from ports including Hamburg, Southampton, Barcelona, Genoa and Marseille. Many of the seven-day itineraries can be combined to make a two-week round trip.
Hanseatic Inspiration: Poles and Great Lakes
This ice-rated expedition ship has a number of claims to fame for German line Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Unlike a sister ship Hanseatic Nature that launched earlier in 2019, Hanseatic Inspiration is aimed at the English-speaking cruise market. While announcements are also in German, all crew speak English, menus are printed in English, lectures and port talks are conducted in English and the expedition leaders and guides are also fluent in English.
A unique feature of Inspiration’s itinerary for 2020 is that it will spend June and July in the Great Lakes, doing cruises from Montreal or Toronto to Chicago and Lake Superior. A unique summer finale is a 20-day one way from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
Both of the new ships are designed to be energy saving and eco-conscious. They can accommodate up to 230 guests, but carry only 199 on their winter cruises in Antarctica. Most of the 120 cabins feature balconies or French balconies; there are also 452 square foot Junior Suites; and 764 square foot Grand Suites.
There are many more inventive ships on the way in 2020. Stay tuned.
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