FEATURE STORY
Cruise Ships are Revving up
It looks like 2023 is the year that vacations take to the ocean again en masse. The vessels are larger and more decked out than ever
By Fran Golden
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas
Cruise ships are on a mission to recapture the seas. The COVID pandemic forced cruise lines to pull their ships into port, but now that health concerns have eased, passengers are returning. They are finding an industry reborn.
As a longtime travel journalist, I have been on 170 ships, and I have seen how cruise lines can engage in a hospitality arms race. Before the pandemic struck, many new megaships were already on order, but the delay in launching means that 2023 will feel even more momentous for the industry. Come with us as we look at the crazy-huge world of cruises.
An adults-only deck on Carnival’s Mardi Gras
SHIP DESIGN
Making Big Ships Feel Less Big
THERE’S AN interesting paradox about megaships. The extreme sizes mean that cruise lines can add more and more things to do, but at some point, ships may become too large for passengers to easily enjoy. And so Royal Caribbean has divided its Icon of the Seas ship, to launch next year, into eight “neighborhoods,” the idea being that you choose the section that suits your interests and mostly stay in that area. One neighborhood caters to families with children, for example, while another is meant for young singles and couples.
Carnival Cruise Line has “adults-only spaces,” where passengers can enjoy some peace and quiet around hot tubs, pools and bars, away from the family crowd.
Royal Caribbean has a show with superhero characters.
ENTERTAINMENT
Broadway Shows and Ways to Play Onstage
THE OLD Las Vegas–style revues are long gone. Now singers and dancers recruited from Broadway and London’s West End appear in slightly truncated versions of Broadway shows such as Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which on the Norwegian Prima morphs into a big disco party with the audience.
Daytime entertainment likewise has been updated. While the old belly flop and hairy chest contests are out, a replacement has emerged: On Carnival’s Mardi Gras and its sister ships, you can watch—or play!—Family Feud Live.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Bolt roller coaster
RECREATION
Board a Floating Theme Park
ROLLER coasters are thrilling enough, but one at sea gives you the sensation of flying above the vast ocean blue. Melisa Colby, 62, has ridden the coaster on Carnival’s 5,282-passenger Mardi Gras. “The first time, I screamed,” says the preschool teacher from Jacksonville, Florida. “The second, third and fourth times, I was smiling and putting my arms up in the air.”
On Royal Caribbean’s Icon, travelers will enjoy a water park with six slides. Nearby, on an attraction that’s a combination skywalk, ropes course and thrill ride, you’ll be able to strap on a harness and walk a plank. At the end of the plank, the bottom drops out, and you’ll swing 154 feet above the ocean.
The Norwegian Prima Speedway
Norwegian Cruise Line’s new 3,100-passenger Norwegian Prima is topped with a go-kart track. Another attraction is a 10-deck drop in a waterless tube slide mostly suspended off the side of the ship.
Food on Celebrity Beyond
DINING
Eat Your Way Around the World
FOOD HAS always been a cruising calling card, and it has gotten better and more varied to reflect the growing “foodie” culture. Global flavors and vegan and vegetarian options are getting more play, and cruise companies have finally realized that their passengers might like to taste food from the destinations they’re visiting, such as jerk chicken when they sail to Jamaica.
To satisfy a whole lot of tastes, the Norwegian Prima has a complimentary Food Hall where you can choose from counters featuring Southern comfort food, Spanish tapas or Indian chicken tikka, to name a few options. “They are leading in trends that we are seeing on land and doing it so well,” says Colleen McDaniel, editor in chief of the leading website Cruise Critic.
From left: Emeril Lagasse; Celebrity Beyond’s Magic Carpet restaurant
Some cruise lines are adding new specialty restaurants that charge extra for upgraded choices, such as sushi and aged steaks. Big culinary names may be involved. Emeril Lagasse has New Orleans–style bistros on Carnival’s latest ships (a shrimp po’boy won’t break the bank at $6), while the 3,260-passenger Celebrity Beyond and sister ship Celebrity Ascent (debuting in December 2023) will boast restaurants by renowned chef Daniel Boulud (from $75 per person for three courses; $125 for five).
Over the years that traveler Jill Dill Vincent, 78, has cruised with Carnival, she has seen more sophisticated menus in the main dining rooms. “I love the lobster,” she says. Her husband, Ken, 74, favors the desserts, especially the “melting chocolate cake.”
Drinks on the Carnival Mardi Gras,left, and the Norwegian Prima
DRINKING
Brewing Up Refreshment
THE CRAFT beer boom can’t be contained by land. The latest Carnival ships have onboard breweries. Also in vogue: molecular cocktails that smoke and change colors. At a bar on Carnival’s Mardi Gras, you can order the Crystal Ball, a tequila drink that arrives in a foggy orb. Norwegian Prima has a “sustainable” bar featuring drinks made with ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, as well as earth-friendly biodynamic wines.
Sea kayaking in Alaska, on a Holland America excursion
PORTS OF CALL
Beyond the Beach
THE CARIBBEAN and Bermuda together represent 44 percent of the world cruise market, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, making them by far the world’s most popular cruise destinations. For North American travelers, cruises to Alaska and the Mediterranean are also expected to be popular this year as passengers regain their sea legs.
From left: Wildlife in the Caribbean; salmon fishing on a Princess cruise stop in Alaska.
That’s fairly typical. But what is changing is what travelers do when on shore: “more sustainable and local experiences,” says Roberta Jacoby, a hospitality and travel industry consultant. Cruise lines are fulfilling demand with cultural, adventure, multigenerational, lifestyle and wellness addon shore excursions via local operators. On Holland America Line and Princess Cruises ships in Alaska, you can go salmon fishing with a local fisherman and, after you reel in “the big one,” have your catch cooked by the ship’s chefs. On a Caribbean cruise, you might visit an ecopark and farm that promotes environmental education on St. Kitts or skip the beach in favor of a green monkey encounter at a wildlife reserve in Barbados.
Fran Golden is an award-winning travel journalist and the author of numerous travel books, including 100 Things to Do in Alaska Before You Die.
COMPARE THE COSTS*
Visit the Caribbean by sea, or stay at a resort? Sample trips for a couple from Chicago:
MIDRANGE
Seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas from Miami
February 25 to March 4
PRICE: $2,070 for Oceanview Cabin, including food and many activities
NOTES: Alcohol, onboard Wi-Fi, tipping and shore excursions are extra, plus $200 for hotel on night before departure.
AIRFARE: $225 round trip per person
TOTAL: About $2,720 plus onboard extras
MIDRANGE
Seven-night cruise aboard Oceania Cruises’ Vista from Miami
March 9 to 16
PRICE: $6,698 for a Veranda Stateroom, including food and onboard activities
NOTES: Wi-Fi included; alcohol and excursions are extra, plus $200 for hotel on night before departure.
AIRFARE: $380 per person
TOTAL: About $7,660 plus onboard extras
LUXURY
Seven nights at Secrets Aura Cozumel
February 25 to March 4
PRICE: $4,981 for a Junior Suite at this Mexican oceanfront resort, spa and dive center. That includes unlimited dining, drinking and tips.
NOTES: Off-resort trips and activities are not included.
AIRFARE: $206 per person
TOTAL: About $5,395 plus off-resort extras
LUXURY
Seven nights at Sandals Grande St. Lucian
March 9 to 16
PRICE: $7,299 for a Caribbean Honeymoon Walkout room at this oceanfront resort on a Caribbean island. That includes unlimited dining and drinking.
NOTES: Off-resort trips and activities are not included.
AIRFARE: $536 per person
TOTAL: About $8,370 plus off-resort extras
*Sources: royalcaribbean.com, amrcollection.com, oceaniacruises.com, sandals.com, kayak.com. Prices are as of December 5, 2022.
STAY HEALTHY WHILE AT SEA
IN THE WAKE of the pandemic, cruise ships have upgraded their health and safety systems, from hand sanitizers throughout the ship to medical-grade air filters in the ventilation systems to robots that shoot ultraviolet rays to kill bacteria.
But you’ll no longer need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to board many ships, though unvaccinated travelers are still encouraged to provide a negative COVID test result. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which shut down cruising in North America from March 2020 to June 2021, ended its intense monitoring of the industry in July 2022, saying that cruise passengers “can make their own risk assessment when choosing to cruise, much like they do in other settings.”
Here’s what to expect:
→ Cruise ship medical centers have been upgraded with equipment to test for COVID-19, and medical teams have added personnel to better treat anyone who falls ill, even severely ill.
→ When a passenger tests positive, contact tracing commences. On some ships, security cameras will use facial recognition to aid in this task; on the big ships with thousands of passengers you may be traced via an app on your smartphone or a smart wristband provided at check-in.
→ Passengers who get sick will be confined to their cabins or cabins set aside for quarantine purposes. Meals will be delivered to those rooms.
→ Wearing a mask is a personal choice.
SHIP SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER
TRANSATLANTIC OCEAN LINERS
1911
RMS Titanic
882.9 feet
2,435 passengers
1934
RMS Queen Mary
1,019.5 feet
2,038 passengers
1969
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
964.5 feet
2,081 passengers
PLEASURE SHIPS
1971
Pacific Princess
(the “Love Boat”)
550 feet
750 passengers
1972
TSS Mardi Gras
650 feet
1,240 passengers
1988
Royal Caribbean Sovereign of the Seas
(first “megaship”)
880.3 feet
2,690 passengers
1996
Carnival Destiny
893 feet
3,350 passengers
2009
Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas
1,187 feet
6,771 passenger
2020
Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas
1,188 feet
7,084 passengers
ETA 2024
Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
1,198 feet
7,600 passengers
Aboard Wind Surf, a Windstar Cruises ship, in Majorca, Spain
ANOTHER ROUTE
Small Ships Can Come Up Big
THE AVERAGE ocean cruise ship carries about 2,125 passengers. But sharing a boat with so many people isn’t for everyone, which is why many smaller-ship excursions have become available.
“People who think that cruise ships have not changed since The Love Boat or that all ships are built for 5,000 of your closest friends are simply wrong,” says Rob Clabbers, president of Q Cruise + Travel in Chicago.
Small ships that carry fewer than 1,000 passengers don’t have amusement park attractions, but they have other benefits, especially for older travelers, including a more adult crowd. Viking bans anyone under age 18 on its 930-passenger ocean ships and on its riverboats.
A trio performs in the Wintergarden on a Viking cruise, which also offers tea service.
With their shallow drafts, small ships can navigate into more out-of-the-way places. It’s the difference between, say, docking next to other megaships in bustling St. Thomas and then getting passengers to shore via shuttle boats, and anchoring next to the superyachts of the rich and famous in trendy St. Barts. Since small ships don’t need to keep track of thousands of passengers, they also tend to stay longer in port, giving passengers more time to enjoy local dining and nightlife.
The Evrima, a 149-suite ship that is part of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection fleet.
On most of these cruises, you will pay a premium. Want a weeklong trip on a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection ship that carries 298 passengers? That goes for $7,000 to $25,000 for most seven-night cruises. A cruise to Antarctica on equivalent lines costs about that much too. But some small-ship companies will reduce prices to less than $3,000 per person for seven-night sailings in the competitive Caribbean and during quieter seasons, such as fall and winter, in Europe.
SOME LEADINGSMALL-SHIPCRUISE LINES
→ Windstar Cruises
This line has a fleet of three 148- to 342-passenger sailing ships and three all-suite 312-passenger motor yachts. The informal environment on voyages features a lavish buffet served under the stars.
→ Viking Ocean ships
These ships follow the same all-inclusive model as the company’s riverboats in Europe. Viking in 2022 topped award lists by bothTravel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler.
→ Azamara cruises
The line’s four upscale ships top out at around 700 passengers and include cultural events with local performers.
→ Other premium lines
Also consider Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. Or look for older ships on mass-market lines, some of which carry fewer than 3,000 passengers. —F.G.
From top: Courtesy Royal Caribbean Cruises; Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line; Courtesy Royal Caribbean Cruises; Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line; Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line; Courtesy Celebrity Cruises; (from left) John Lamparski/Getty Images, Courtesy Celebrity Cruises; (from left) Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line, Courtesy Gene Sloan/The Points Guy; (from left) Courtesy Princess Cruise Lines, Adrian Davies/NPL/Minden Pictures; Courtesy Michael Nalley/ Windstar Cruises; Courtesy Charissa Fay/Viking Cruises (2); Courtesy Jack Hardy/The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection; Courtesy Windstar Cruises; Courtesy Charissa Fay/Viking Cruises; Courtesy Jenna Lyn/Azamara; Courtesy Holland America