Many new ships to look forward to in 2010 and 2011!

Categories

With the recent finalization of the contracts with Fincantieri for two new cruise ships for the Princess Cruises fleet, the Carnival Cruise Corporation and all its subsidiary brands will deliver 12 news ships between May 2010 and June 2014. Accommodating a maximum of 3,600 passengers each, the vessels will be the largest ever built by the Italian shipyards. Rumors abound for possible names of the forthcoming ships, with some sources alluding to the chance for some nostalgic throwback names like the Royal Princess or Regal Princess.

Eighty percent of all accommodations onboard each ship will contain private balconies on the as of yet officially unnamed vessels. Public spaces onboard the new Princess cruise ships will be expanded dramatically and some of the traditional Princess Cruises décor will be refined slightly with some luxurious additions. Keep in mind while some of the best of breed concepts found on ships like the Ruby Princess will be incorporated into the design, these are prototype designs and should hold some exciting developments for cruise fans.

Carnival also recently selected the name for its newest Carnival Cruise Lines ship, the Carnival Breeze, a 3,690 passenger Dream-class vessel to be debuted in the spring of 2012.  Carnival’s Breeze will hold some remarkable improvements to onboard life for cruise passengers. Some of the most exciting highlights should include; an enormous 23,750 square foot spa and salon, a Waterworks aqua park with a corkscrew slide and a wide range of cabin sizes for guests to choose from including ocean view suites, with two bathrooms and five sleeping berths, designed to appeal to a growing family vacation market.

The debut of Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas is gaining momentum, as details of new onboard amenities and activities were just released. Some of the highlights will feature the Broadway show “Chicago: The Musical,” as well as “Blue Planet,” a second production show featuring aerial artistry, acrobats, and the line’s singers and dancers, 3-D movie screens will be installed, guest can not only shop in the world’s first Coach flagship store at sea, but now view, print and email their Seapass portfolios via Seapass interactive kiosks placed on the Royal Promenade.

The coming arrival and debut of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth , sure to cement herself into cruise and maritime history as soon as she floats out. The Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to deploy in late 2010, as a sister ships to 2007’s Queen Victoria. Several major design changes are going to be evident, including a décor switch focusing more on art deco environments rather than the standard Cunard look and feel. Classic cruising and Cunard aficionados should not fear. The Cunard Line tradition will still be alive and well. Scheduled to depart Southampton on October 12, 2010, the Queen Elizabeth shall take the same route the QEII took on her maiden voyage, taking cruise passengers to Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.

Norwegian Cruise Line has captured the whole world’s attention with the impending completion of the massive NCL Epic. A mega-ship with a truly innovative design, the Epic will be able to hold 4,200 passengers and weigh in at a massive 153,000 tons.

You can also expect to see the Oceania Marina, MSC Magnifica, Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. 2011 will see the completion and floating out of the Carnival Magic, Disney Dream, MSC Musica and Maraviglia, 2 unnamed ships from AIDA, another unnamed vessel from Seabourn, a new Oceania-class Oceania ship, a Celebrity ship in excess of 140,000 tons and Costa Cruises’ Costa Favolosa.