Who doesn’t love new, shiny things?
Who wouldn’t love cruising on a new, innovative cruise ship?
Who said cruising on a new ship had to be expensive?
Most cruisers would welcome the opportunity to hop onboard a new ship launch. And if you have never sailed before, a new ship is an excellent way to start your love affair with cruising.
It seems as though cruise lines are in a friendly competition to see who can create the best vessel out there. Every recent ship debut offers something that is the ‘first ever at sea’. For example Norwegian Epic revealed the first ice bar at sea; Disney Dream, the first water coaster at sea; the Carnival Dream had the first Sky-Course (ropes course) at sea.
Competition is fierce and we get to enjoy the benefits of their innovation, design, and promotional offers.
We welcomed many new spectacular cruise ships in 2011, but 2012 brings even more introductions to fleets across the industry:
- Viking River Cruises alone is launching four vessels. The Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Odin, and Viking Njord. They are due to launch within just days of one another, beginning on March 22, 2012. This is a part of Viking’s $250 million expansion program. All of these intimate and luxurious river vessels will hold 190 passengers.
- Viking River Cruises will also introduce two ships in the Summer of 2012. The Viking Embla and the Viking Aegir are also part of their extensive expansion program. 2012 looks to be a great year to sail with Viking!
- Disney Cruise Line will debut the Disney Fantasy on March 31, 2012. This beauty is 128,000 tons and will hold 2,500 passengers. She is designed to be the sister-ship of the Disney Dream, however, she is destined to sail on 7-night Caribbean itineraries.
- Luxury line, Oceania Cruises, is launching the Riviera in April 2012. At 65,000 tons, she is considered ‘mid-size’ and will hold 1,260 passengers. This is probably the most lavish cruise ship introduced this year.
- Costa Cruises is enhancing their fleet with the new Costa Fascinosa. Her maiden voyage is scheduled to be completed on May 2, 2012, and will be the 5th ship in the Concordia-class. She is a larger ship, weighing in at 114,500 gross tons and holding 3,000 passengers.
- MSC Cruises is introducing the MSC Divina at the end of May 2012. She is designed to be 139,400 gross tons and hold 3,478 passengers. TIP: Remember this is the cruise line that offers a “Children Sail Free” program on most sailings, and deposits are only $100.00 per person on all voyages. The MSC Divina might be a great opportunity to check out MSC Cruises.
- Carnival Cruise Line will add the Carnival Breeze to their fleet in June 2012. This ship is part of the wildly fun Carnival Dream-class. She will be 130,000 gross tons and can hold 3,690 passengers. Definitely not a light-weight.
- American Cruise Line offers small ship cruises along the inland waterways and rivers of the United States. They will be adding a brand new sternwheeler to cruise the Mississippi River. The new Queen of the Mississippi will hold 140 passengers and start sailing in August 2012.
- Celebrity Cruises is putting the finishing touches on a ship that will add to their ever-growing and updating fleet. The Celebrity Reflection, the 5th member in Celebrity’s ground-breaking Solstice-class, will join her sister ships on October 12, 2012. The Reflection weighs in at 126,000 gross tons and holds 3,030 passengers.
All ships are now open for reservations, give us a call for your chance to experience that new-ship-smell!
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