New cruise ships for 2023. Some already launched, some coming soon. Here’s what stood out.
Icon of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s biggest ever. Debuts late 2023 or early 2024. Ridiculous size. Seven pools. Waterpark. The works.
Will it be too crowded? Probably in some areas. But Royal knows how to move people around. We’ll see.
Norwegian Viva
Second Prima-class ship. Similar to Prima from 2022 but refined. The go-kart track remains. Still a novelty.
Indulge Food Hall was popular on Prima. Expect crowds there on Viva too.
MSC Euribia
LNG-powered. Cleaner fuel. Environmental angle. Hull art is striking. Blue and white marine theme.
Northern Europe routes mainly. Good for Scandinavia itineraries.
Carnival Jubilee
Excel-class. Based on Mardi Gras design. First roller coaster at sea was on that ship. Jubilee gets one too.
Texas homeporting. Galveston. Carnival knows its audience.
Explora I
MSC’s luxury brand. New territory for them. Smaller ship, higher prices, trying to compete with Seabourn and Silversea.
Interesting experiment. MSC has the money to make it work if they’re serious.
Should You Book New Ships
Inaugural seasons have bugs. Service issues, construction not finished. But also buzz and excitement. Your call.
