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As the new year begins, Cruise Industry News looks at the trends for the global industry in 2025 and beyond.Focus on Bottom LineCarnival Corporation is coming off a record financial performance in 2024 and has big expectations for 2025.The same can be said for the other two major cruise companies that are public, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.Full ships, a strong value proposition and focusing on the North American consumer is said to be driving the financial performance.New Brands Joining the Industry New brands continue to join the growing industry. Aroya Cruises started up for[...]

Royal Caribbean International is set to take delivery of four newbuilds through 2028.Here are the details of the company’s newbuild schedule, according to the latest Cruise Industry News Global Cruise Ship Index.Star of the SeasDebut Date: August 2025Capacity: 5,610 guestsTonnage: 250,800Shipyard: Meyer Turku (Finland)Status: Under constructionFollowing the Icon of the Seas, the Star of the Seas will become the second ship in Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class when it debuts in August 2025.Set to offer cruises departing from Port Canaveral during its maiden season, the LNG-powered ship is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Finland.Icon IIIDebut Date: 2026Capacity: 5,610[...]

2024 was a strong year for the drydock and secondhand ship market, which led to a number of ships debuting for new operators.These are some of the key conversion jobs that took place during the year:Celestyal DiscoveryFormer: AIDAauraCapacity: 1,270 guestsYear built: 2003Previous operator: AIDA CruisesNew operator: Celestyal CruisesDebut: March 2024After being sold by Carnival Corporation in late 2023, the former AIDAaura underwent a conversion project before debuting for Celestyal Cruises.Previously operated by AIDA Cruises, the 2003-built vessel saw a complete transformation for its new market.Carnival FirenzeFormer: Costa FirenzeCapacity: 4,232 guestsYear built: 2020Previous operator: Costa CruisesNew operator: Carnival Cruise[...]

Explora Journeys recently revealed the maiden season of the new Explora III.Set to debut in August 2026, the luxury ship will offer cruises to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and North America.Cruise Industry News takes a closer look at the deployment, which features a series of seven- to 11-night itineraries.Maiden VoyageDate: August 3, 2026Length: 7 nightsHomeports: Barcelona (Spain) to Lisbon (Portugal)Itinerary: Ibiza, Puerto Banús and Cádiz (Spain); Tangier (Morocco); and Portimão (Portugal)After being delivered by the Fincantieri shipyard, the Explora III is set to offer a seven-night cruise in the Western Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula.Sailing from Barcelona to[...]

Resorts World Cruises has announced it is expanding its fleet with the 1,800 guest Star Scorpio, which will join the company this March. The ship is currently operating as the Pacific Explorer for P&O Australia and will leave the Carnival Corporation brand early in 2025.Resorts World said that prior to starting operations, the 1997-built vessel will see a $50 million refurbishment. She will become the third ship for Resorts World sailing alongside the Genting Dream and Resorts World One. The ship has operated as the Pacific Explorer since 2017 and originally launched service as the Dawn Princess in[...]

The Viking Sky is in Fort Lauderdale today to kick off its 2024-25 world cruise. Sailing to 58 destinations in 29 countries, the 137-night itinerary sails to the South Pacific, Asia, the Indian Ocean and Africa.After departing from Port Everglades, the 930-guest ship visits destinations in the Caribbean before crossing the Panama Canal.The itinerary then includes ports of call in Central America and the Mexican Riviera, such as Puerto Caldera and Cabo San Lucas, before arriving in Los Angeles and Hawaii.Now sailing in the South Pacific, the Viking Sky visits French Polynesia and the Cook Islands on its[...]