Travel: These cruise ships will make their maiden voyages in 2025
If “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” had a book devoted to travel, three entries could be: 1) banana is a popular pizza topping in Sweden; 2) Alaska is both the westernmost and easternmost U.S. state; and 3) roughly eight of every 10 Americans have never cruised.
Except for proponents of tomatoes being the only fruit that belongs on pizza, perhaps the most mind-boggling of the above is how many among the U.S. population have never had their ship come in. A survey conducted by travel insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance pointed to the prohibitive price tag as the main reason for being a cruise holdout, followed by fears of illness, shipwrecks, claustrophobia and getting injured.
Despite all that, travelers here and abroad seem to be loosening their purse strings and inhibitions because another survey, this one from spring by the Cruise Lines International Association, found that a whopping 71% of the world’s wanderlusters are considering taking their first cruise.
Perhaps you’re among them thanks to making a new year’s resolution to try new things. Whether you’re in that boat or the one carrying veteran cruisers who see the value of exploring multiple destinations while unpacking just once, 2025 looks like a great year to set a course for adventure and, if applicable, your mind on a new romance.
From the value-based mainstream category to the lah-de-dah luxury level, the cruise industry is working harder than ever to float your boat, especially as Americans’ confidence in the economy improves and the pandemic fades farther in the rearview mirror with every nautical mile. So, let’s hoist the anchor and embark on a tour of ocean cruise lines that look the most shipshape for 2025.
Mainstream
On and off its “Fun Ships,” Carnival Cruise Line (carnival.com) is delivering big things for passengers in the coming year. Nestled on the south side of Grand Bahama island, Carnival’s Celebration Key is scheduled to welcome its first guests in July. The new, 65-acre private destination will have five distinctly different “portals” that, like the ships, feature fun for all ages — including the adults-only Pearl Cove Beach Club with a private shore, infinity pool and elevated dining.
In the Pacific will be three Carnival ships — the newly renovated, 4,008-passenger Panorama along with Firenze (5,210) and Radiance (2,984) — spending nearly the entire year making three- to eight-night roundtrips from Long Beach to Mexico. Also on the West Coast, Carnival Legend has summer plans that involve a series of 10-night roundtrips from San Francisco to Alaska.
Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl.com) could easily rest on its laurels another year having introduced Prima and Viva in 2022 and 2023. Those two beauties continue to blur the line between the mainstream and premium categories. But come April in Florida, the 3,571-guest Norwegian Aqua makes her debut as the next evolution of the cruise line’s Prima Class. Besides four two-story, three-bedroom Duplex Suites in The Haven, the toniest address on NCL ships, fleet firsts include a Thai specialty restaurant, a plant-based station in the come-hungry Indulge Food Hall and an expanded, adults-only Vibe Beach Club.
NCL’s 20th ship will include an industry-first hybrid rollercoaster-waterslide and a production show set to the music of Prince. Out of San Pedro, the 4,004-passenger Bliss will make roundtrips to the Mexican Riviera in the early spring and mid-autumn, and homeport in Seattle for the Alaska season the rest of the year.
The next largest cruise ship in the world literally makes her big debut this summer, and of course she belongs to Royal Caribbean International (royalcaribbean.com). When the 5,610-passenger Star of the Seas enters service in late August, RCI will boast the eight largest cruise ships in terms of gross tonnage.
Star of the Seas, roughly 2,000 GTs more than Icon of the Seas, which debuted to dropped jaws last January, will earn her sea legs with seven-night cruises from Port Canaveral to destinations in the eastern and western Caribbean. Out West, Royal Caribbean’s workhorse in California will again be the 3,286-guest Navigator of the Seas, spending all of 2025 making roundtrips of three to eight nights from L.A. to Mexico.
Premium
Holland America Line (hollandamerica.com), the gold standard for longer cruises aboard elegant and spacious midsize ships, is doubling down on that reputation with three “Legendary Voyages” in 2025 that sail roundtrip or from/to a North American homeport — a godsend for those who love visiting distant destinations, but hate long flights.
The 28-day “Glaciers & Volcanos: Alaska to Hawaii” (departing Aug. 31, Seattle roundtrip on Westerdam) combines the 49th and 50th states into one cruise; the 51-day “Tales of the South Pacific” (Sept. 29, San Diego roundtrip on Zaandam) includes stops in Fiji, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Hawaii; and the 30-day “Amazon Explorer” (Nov. 31, New York to Fort Lauderdale on Volendam) offers 10 days of meandering along the world’s second-longest river in addition to making calls on six Caribbean islands, six ports in Brazil and other exotic places. The coming year will also see the debut of 15 shows, and even though each will feature a distinct theme as nearly every cruise production does, these draw from the seldom-heard catalogs of such artists as Carole King, the Carpenters, Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
Celebrity Cruises (celebritycruises.com) has a new ship debuting in November that will be the fifth in its Edge-class series, joining Apex, Beyond, Ascent and the namesake vessel. The 3,260-guest Celebrity Xcel will be based in Fort Lauderdale, offering alternate seven-night Caribbean itineraries. While Celebrity is being tightlipped on Xcel’s nuances, we know that she will have such Edge-class features as the Magic Carpet, the distinctive cantilevered platform at the side of the ship.
Celebrity’s Edge ships, alone, will head to the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and Australia in 2025, a year that also will see the cruise line’s return to South America and Antarctica. Itineraries out of L.A. consist of a six-night trip up to Vancouver in May and a 16-night Panama Canal adventure in September, both on the 2,218-capacity Celebrity Summit.
The West Coast is getting the royal treatment this summer when Cunard (cunard.com) sends a newly retrofitted Queen Elizabeth to Seattle for the Alaska cruise season. The 2,081-passenger ship is getting a makeover in February that will spiffy up signature spaces and reimagine dining experiences.
Touching on other premium-level cruise lines, Oceania Cruises (oceaniacruises.com) in July will unveil the 1,200-passenger Allura, its second Vista-class ship, which will sail in the Mediterranean before repositioning across the pond for fall foliage cruises to New England and Eastern Canada out of New York; Princess Cruises (princess.com) in September will celebrate the inaugural voyage of the 4,300-guest Star Princess, sailing to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades for starters; and in November, Disney Cruise Line’s (disneycruise.com) Disney Destiny kicks off her inaugural season of four- and five-night Western Caribbean cruises.
Luxury
Before we drop anchor on our 2025 cruise preview, let’s hit the high spots of where the highest high life on the high seas is. In short, luxury cruise lines.
Viking Cruises (vikingcruises.com), perhaps the best of the small-ship, lux-level companies for service, efficiency, food and other key categories, just launched its 10th oceangoing ship with the 998-passenger Viking Vela. Her busy inaugural season is set in the Western Mediterranean, North Sea, Iberian Peninsula and British Isles. Ship No. 11 is right behind; Viking Vesta makes her grand debut in July with a 15-night itinerary that visits Malta and Morocco on a roundtrip sailing from Barcelona, possibly rendezvousing with the Viking Star, which is staying in the Mediterranean for all of 2025.
As for the more notable sails out of L.A., while it’s too late to join the 930 lucky souls who will embark on a 162-night world cruise aboard the Viking Sky — they leave Jan. 5 — there’s a 120-night trip of a lifetime leaving exactly one year later on the same ship and from the same terminal. A younger sister ship, Viking Neptune, is leaving out of San Pedro’s World Cruise Center for three sails in March and April. Hawaii and the Panama Canal are the highlights of these 15- and 16-night cruises. Adding to Viking’s West Coast presence in 2025, a dozen 10-night Alaskan cruises will have Venus leaving out of Anchorage and Vancouver from May to August.
Small-ship line Windstar Cruises (windstarcruises.com) is unveiling a brand new luxury vessel next December. The 224-guest Star Seeker will sail from Spain to Florida for the christening ceremony and a few revenue cruises in the Caribbean before settling down in Vancouver for the summer Alaskan cruise season.
Seabourn (seabourn.com) has a host of themed cruises in store for 2025, and one of the most compelling sails out of Long Beach in March. A 25-day Pacific crossing to Hawaii and Japan will blend space and astronomy talk with West End theatrical performances. Scheduled to be onboard the 604-guest Seabourn Encore for this “Stars & Stars” voyage are a former director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and an ensemble with serious stage cred.