The 250,000 ton Icon of the Seas is due to launch in January 2024.

Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas reached its next major construction milestone at the Meyer Turku shipyard Finland, when it was floated out of the dry dock and into its outfitting dock for its anticipated debut in January 2024. This is the first Icon Class ship of RCI where it has been under construction for more than eight months.

As part of the float out, the ship’s dry dock was filled with water overnight. Once the dock was filled, Icon was then moved to an outfitting dock, which will be its home for the next year until construction is complete. The mega ship displaces 250,000 tons and carries over 5600 passengers. The ship is unique both in size and appearance and will be of great interest for agents booking families with young children. There are many attractions for kids on several levels from  especial in the mid aft section of the upper decks with 6 waterslides and seven pools.

What’s in store on Icon is the first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation. From the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure, the revolutionary ship delivers every kind of family and adventurer their version of the ultimate family vacation.

The new ship features an all-encompassing lineup of firsts and next-level favorites across eight neighborhoods, making it the perfect getaway for adults and parents, kids and grandparents alike. Between the adrenaline-pumping thrills at the new Thrill Island and unrivaled ways to chill at neighborhoods like the new Chill Island and the luxurious four-level Suite Neighborhood.

Icon will sail year-round, 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations from Miami. Every cruise will visit Royal Caribbean’s top-rated private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, The Bahamas, and a mix of destinations like Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Basseterre, St. Kitts. More details about Icon are available at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Icon.

Holland America’s Koningsdam arriving in Vancouver.

In an early sign of a successful Wave season, Holland America Line bookings in the third week of January were the highest on record for any January week for the premium cruise line. The week ending January 20 also exceeded bookings during the same week in 2019 by more than 20%.

The rise was especially notable for summer cruises and Cruisetours to Alaska, where Holland America Line offers more cruises to Glacier Bay than any other line and is the only cruise line with owned land operations in both Denali and Yukon. For the week ending Jan. 20, Alaska bookings were 25% higher than in the strongest week in January 2019.

On Jan. 17 alone, Holland America Line reached its highest single-day bookings for any January day on record. Guests are also booking cruises further into the future. More than 25% of the bookings for the high-volume day on Jan. 17 were for voyages embarking in 2024.

“Seeing this level of booking is a great sign for Holland America Line and for the industry,” said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. “Travelers are clearly excited to get back to cruising and they appreciate the service and experiences unique to Holland America Line including our Alaska Up Close onboard programming. It’s especially encouraging that so many guests are already looking ahead to 2024 and planning their next vacation.”

Holland America Line’s “Time of Your Life” Wave offer runs through Feb. 28, 2023, with limited-time kickers such as $1 deposits added throughout. “Time of Your Life” is available on select summer 2023 to spring 2024 cruises and includes a free stateroom upgrade, fare discounts, free fares for kids and reduced deposits — plus tours, beverages, specialty dining and Wi-Fi with the “Have It All” premium package.

Norwegian Jade, 94,000 tons, carries over 2400 passengers.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) celebrates a new milestone having successfully concluded its inaugural season sailing from Cape Town, South Africa.

In December, Norwegian Jade became the first vessel in the line’s 18-ship fleet to homeport from the South African port, offering international and local guests 12-day Extraordinary Journeys along the coast of South Africa and Namibia with an overnight stay in Cape Town, South Africa and visits to Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and Richard’s Bay, South Africa; and Luderitz and Walvis Bay, Namibia.

The international cruise line is building on its successful inaugural season in South Africa and has recently announced the deployment of Norwegian Dawn to the region in winter 2024. Homeporting from Cape Town, South Africa and Port Louis, Mauritius, the 2,340-passenger ship will offer a series of Extraordinary Journey voyages between January and March 2024.

Harry Sommer, Brand President and CEO at NCL, said, “As part of our Guest First philosophy we are focused on enhancing our destination offerings. Our new Africa voyages combine locations such as Cape Town and Mauritius with hidden gems like Pomene and Maputo in Mozambique or Fort Dauphin in Madagascar. With an average of almost 12 hours in each port the new voyages are amongst our fastest selling cruises for 2024 and are attracting guests from almost 60 countries worldwide.”

Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, comments: “Cruise tourism generates R300 million in economic impact for the Western Cape and supports thousands of jobs in the province. Positioning Cape Town as a homeport for international cruising and a gateway to Africa is a key growth opportunity for our region, and we welcome NCL’s commitment to sailing from Cape Town.”

Norwegian Dawn will embark on her 17-day repositioning cruise in January 2024 to the region, sailing for the first time in the Company’s 56-year history from Doha, Qatar to Mauritius. The itinerary provides for a unique combination of calls to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar.

On Jan. 20, 2024, she will then cruise a 12-day itinerary from Port Louis, Mauritius, calling to Pointe des Galets, Réunion; Fort Dauphin (Toalagnaro), Madagascar; Pomene and Maputo, Mozambique; Richard’s Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), Mossel Bay and Cape Town, South Africa.

In February and March, Norwegian Dawn will complete 12-day roundtrip voyages through South Africa and Namibia with calls to Mossel Bay and Durban in South Africa, and Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia, before embarking on her most extensive itinerary March 20, sailing from Cape Town, South Africa to Barcelona, Spain. The 21-day voyage along Africa’s west coast will visit ports in Namibia, Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Morocco.

HAL’s Westerdam is taking passengers above and beyond with cruises to the Bering Sea.

Holland America has released some details of its 2024 season. The premium cruise line is debuting a new 28-day Arctic Circle itinerary that includes 12 Alaska ports, longer 14-day voyages and 117 weeklong journeys, enhancing its position as the leader in Alaska cruising.

With more sailings to Glacier Bay National Park than any other cruise line, the only cruise line to include the unspoiled riches of the Yukon plus Denali on overland Cruisetours and more than 75 years of Alaska exploration — longer than any other cruise line — Holland America Line weaves decades of expertise into every nuance of the experience.

“Holland America Line is proud of our rich history of bringing the best service at sea to Alaska, and we’re excited to reveal details of our 2024 season including a new monthlong Arctic Circle itinerary that is the most immersive we’ve ever offered in this region,” said Beth Bodensteiner, chief commercial officer of Holland America Line. “With six ships serving Alaska and the only cruise line with owned land operations in Denali and the Yukon, no one does Alaska better than Holland America Line.”

From April through September 2024, guests can embark on Holland America Line’s cruises to Alaska aboard Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Westerdam and Zaandam. The line’s 2024 cruises are now open for booking, and 2024 Cruisetours, which combine an Alaska cruise with an overland expedition to Denali and the Yukon, are scheduled to be available in February.

The new 28-day “Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice” cruise aboard Westerdam departs June 9, 2024 in time for the Summer Solstice. The voyage sails roundtrip from Seattle to the Bering Sea and is a first-of-its-kind itinerary for Holland America Line. Alaskan ports include Anchorage, Dutch Harbor, Haines (Skagway), Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Nome, Seward, Sitka, Valdez and Wrangell, along with Prince Rupert, in Canada. Scenic cruising includes Glacier Bay, Inside Passage, Tracy Arm, College Fjord, Little Diomede Island, Prince William Sound and Hubbard Glacier.

This sounds like a great cruise and interested passengers should book early as this one will sell out quickly (ed.).

Seabourn Odyssey is 32,000 tons with 450 passengers.

With its fleet of intimate ultra-luxury ships, Seabourn  Cruise Line ships can get close to the wild attractions of Alaska. This includes beautiful  snug inlets and remote islands brimming with birdlife.

As cruise veterans exclaim, Alaska is a world where whales, bears, and eagles exercise their domain. Here, towering glaciers shimmer under a timeless sky and cool salt air is fragrant with the nearby evergreen forests. Each day of a Seabourn Alaska voyage is enriched with unforgettable moments and unique adventures. These are the off-beaten-path sights few people get to experience on one of their well planned curated itineraries in a rugged world largely untouched by time.

Seabourn ships have excellent itineraries that get close to the wilderness of Alaska.

With Seabourn’s popular Odyssey (32,000 tons, 450 passengers) cruising Alaska in 2023, the line is offering deals on cruises ranging from 7-day to 15-day roundtrips from Vancouver. Many include a tour of the fabled Glacier Bay and a visit to Misty Fjords (this is a beautiful inlet near Ketchikan).

Enchanted Princess (145,000 ton, 3660 passengers) wins nod from Good Housekeeping.

Enchanted Princess has been awarded a Good Housekeeping 2023 Family Travel Award, recognizing the ship as “Great for Groups.” The Princess ship is one of only three cruise ship experiences selected as winners.

The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Labs spent seven months evaluating hundreds of travel gear and experience submissions before selecting the winners. They considered attributes that are most important when it comes to family travel, such as convenience, value, service, quality, safety, innovation, inclusion and more. For travel services and destinations, their analysts visited cities, resorts and local attractions to provide first-hand feedback on their experiences. Good Housekeeping also surveyed their proprietary panel and reviewed responses from over 3,000 consumers that have taken recent trips to weigh in on their favorite vacation experiences, airlines, hotel chains, loyalty programs, booking services and more.

The full list of awards can be found at goodhousekeeping.com/familytravel2023.

The 145,000-ton, 3,660-guest Enchanted Princess debuted in 2021, and is the fifth of six Royal-Class to join the Princess Cruises fleet. Enchanted Princess represents an evolution of the design platform used for her sister ships – Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Majestic Princess, Sky Princess and the most recently introduced Discovery Princess – offering an elevation of spectacular style and elegance that is distinguished by Princess. The cruise ship introduced new dining experiences, the most pools and whirlpool hot tubs ever, world-class entertainment venues and the breathtaking Sky Suites, offering expansive views from the largest balconies at sea.

Beautiful new suites have been added to Windstar Star Legend.

Windstar Cruises’ Star Legend recently visited its new headquarters/hometown of Miami, showing off two new themed suites as well as a brand-new mural.

The two specialty suites are inspired by Windstar’s Forbes Five-Star sister companies The Broadmoor and Sea Island and will be rolled out to Windstar’s two other Star Plus Class yachts next: Star Breeze in spring of 2023 and Star Pride in 2024.

The new mural from Miami-based artist Alex Nuñez is the third and final to be added on board Windstar’s three Star Plus Class yachts as part of a collaboration with Fountainhead Arts to bring new works to sea.

Windstar’s Star Plus Class yachts have two Classic Suites located on Deck 5 forward. These Classic Suites on Star Legend have been transformed, now called The Broadmoor Suite and The Sea Island Suite. While the suites are inspired by these unique, luxury properties, they are not an exact replication. The Broadmoor, located in Colorado Springs, is known for its endless adventures and European elegance paired with Western charm and mountain vistas. Sea Island is equally iconic: situated on the coast of Georgia and exuding Southern charm while providing the perfect backdrop for an exceptional array of outdoor activities.

Windstar’s Broadmoor Suite on Star Legend.

“Unlike hotel brands that have begun offering yacht-style cruises, this is a unique example of a cruise line bringing a separate land-based experience to sea,” explains Windstar President Christopher Prelog. “It connects and cross-sells a diverse and seemingly unrelated set of travel experiences that have shared ownership.”

In the Sea Island Suite, guests find elegant touches that evoke the property’s Addison Mizner design including curved arches, light walls, and sophisticated wood furnishings. “The overall look is quite coastal and airy – colors like sea-glass green are used throughout,” says Prelog. “In The Broadmoor Suite, you’ll find a traditional space with classic furniture, floral motifs, white trim with gold finishes, and wide crown molding.”

Several clever design workarounds had to be made to honor the resorts’ designs while also meeting International Maritime Organization rules and accounting for general safety at sea (like replacing resort throw rugs with inset carpet). For the wallcoverings, Windstar designed custom wallpapers for both suites on International Maritime Organization-certified paper. For The Broadmoor Suite a striking wallpaper adorns the suite’s bedroom and walk-in closet. It is an exact replica of the wallpaper used at The Broadmoor Main Building designed by Julie Penrose (wife of resort founder Spencer).

Windstar Breeze was lengthened in 2019 to accommodate over 300 passengers.

Windstar Cruises has presented more theme varied cruises for the summer and fall with their “Sail, Sip, and Savor” itineraries.  The cruises to savor new world wines in Australia, Europe and New Zealand are proving especially popular as the cruise line promotes access to unique ports and smaller towns were larger ships often can’t go.

The line says guests will have the freedom to explore wine country like a local by meeting growers and vintners and walk through the vineyard grounds to learn more about the various grapes and wine produced. Windstar, with ships ranging in size from 148 to 342 guests are known as a luxury brand with cruise destinations around the world.

The line produces an excellent guide for cruises to the end of 2023 with information on their ships and cruise destinations available to download as a PDF on their site at: Windstar.

The “Voyage Collection” is filled with pages that will transport you to tropical paradises and uncrowded ports combining the best cruises with land tours across the globe as well as details on the completely transformed Star Plus Class ships.

Holland American Line has reentered Zaandam into service.

Holland America Line’s Zaandam returned to service Thursday, May 12, 2022, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, leaving just one more ship until the cruise line’s full fleet is operational again. Zaandam embarked guests for a nine-day Atlantic Coast cruise to Montreal, Canada, that will position it in Canada/New England through October. Not only is this a return to service for Zaandam, but it also marks a return to cruising in the Canada/New England region after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To commemorate the occasion, Holland America Line held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the terminal to open embarkation, attended by the ship’s captain and senior officers, with flag-waving fanfare from team members lined up to greet guests as they boarded the ship.

“With Zaandam’s reentry into service, we are thrilled to not only have nearly our full fleet back, but also to return Canada and New England after two years away from this beautiful cruising destination,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “Zaandam has some special cruises coming up, and we’re glad to have her back in service with an amazing team ready to give our guests an exceptional cruise experience.”

Following the repositioning cruise along the east coast of North America, Zaandam will spend the summer and early fall offering Canada and New England cruises between Boston, Massachusetts, and Montreal.

On July 9, Zaandam sets sail on the popular 35-day Voyage of the Vikings itinerary roundtrip from Boston that retraces the routes of past explorers with ports in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands. Following fall foliage cruises between Boston and Montreal, Zaandam embarks guests Oct. 10 for the 71-day Grand Africa Voyage that sails roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale and includes 25 ports of call, four overnights and countless safari opportunities to throughout the African continent.

After the Grand Africa Voyage, Zaandam will spend the holidays in the Caribbean and then offer a series of Panama Canal transits between San Diego, California, and Fort Lauderdale, with two Mexico options roundtrip from San Diego in March. The ship will return to Canada/New England next spring.

Since Holland America Line restarted cruising in July 2021, Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Rotterdam and Zuiderdam have returned to service with cruises in Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, California Coast and South Pacific. Volendam currently is under charter by the government of the Netherlands, positioned alongside in Rotterdam accommodating Ukrainian families.

The 46,000 ton Seabourn Ovation is one of the newest ships cruising Europe.

Seabourn has added several excellent 7-day northern European itineraries this summer with their 600-passenger Seabourn Ovation. Departing from Copenhagen, Denmark, “Gems of Scandinavia” takes in Gothenburg, Sweden, before steaming up the western Norway coast to visit Ulvik, Sandness (Stavanger) and Farsund. The ship returns to Denmark with a stop at Aalborg before returning to Copenhagen.

Another itinerary from Copenhagen takes in the Norwegian ports of Arendal and Oslo before stopping at Helsingborg, Sweden and Wismar, Germany, then back to Denmark. A short ferry ride from Helsingborg is Helsingor, home of the Danish castle famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. There are several fascinating castles and forts in the Helsingborg area to visit.

Seabourn also offers another new 7-day cruise that terminates in Dover, UK. The “Gems of the Low Countries” departs from Copenhagen, visits Wismar, Germany and the next day enters the Kiel Canal for a day-long transit.  It stops at Amsterdam and then Zeebrugge for those wanting to visit Bruges or Brussels. The next day the ship visits the French port of Cherbourg and the following day arrives at Dover.

Seabourn is offering shipboard credits up to $2,000 for suites booked by May 31st, 2022.