In January, we took a look at new cruise ship builds that were coming into service in 2024. Let’s take a look back at those ship builds and their progress.
First to debut was Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas. She did sail her maiden voyage on January 27, 2024 from PortMiami. She has since had a fire onboard while docked at Costa Maya in Mexico in June and a technical issue in September which caused her to miss a port call in St. Thomas and forced one cruise to be canceled completely. She was right back to sailing the following week and overall the world’s largest cruise ship reviews are good.
Princess Cruises Sun Princess made her debut in the Mediterranean in February on a slight delay. Her debut in the United States in October was also delayed due to Hurricane Milton. She sailed away from the storm to keep her passengers and crew safe. Once she arrived in the US, our own Tony B was able to sail the 3 Day Preview Cruise. Tony and the lovely Jenny B have also recently sailed the Sun Princess if you want to check out those videos as well.
Cunard Line’s Queen Anne debuted in May as the first newbuild for the cruise line in over ten years. She has an unusual godparent–the entire city of Liverpool, which is considered her spiritual home. Her debut also brought about a record-breaking month for the cruise line. Cunard Line booked more guests in May than any other equivalent period in its 183-year history.
Silversea Cruises’ Silver Ray debuted on June 15 and sailed a 12-night voyage from Lisbon, Portugal to Civitavecchia, Italy. Silver Ray is an ultra-luxury spacious cruise ship. She is also one of the world’s greenest cruise ships, using liquified natural gas and batteries. She has also eliminated most single-use plastics.
TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 7 welcomed her first guests on June 12 in Kiel, Germany. She was christened in the Bay of Kiel on June 22. Mein Schiff 7 is the first vessel in the fleet to run on low-emission marine diesel. She also is equipped with a shore power connection and catalytic converters.
Royal Caribbean International also debuted Utopia of the Seas in 2024 when she welcomed her first guests on July 19 in Port Canaveral, Florida. She is the world’s second largest cruise ship and sails short 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday cruises to Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau in the Bahamas. She is also the first Oasis-class ship to be powered by liquified natural gas.
MSC Group’s luxury cruise line, Explora Journeys, debuted Explora II in the Mediterranean. Her delivery was delayed by about a month meaning Explora Journeys took delivery on September 12. Her official naming ceremony was held on September 15 in Civitavecchia before she set off on her inaugural sailing.
Viking Cruises debuted its 10th ship, Viking Vela. Her maiden cruise departed from Civitavecchia, Italy on December 12 on a 7-night cruise to Barcelona, Spain. The vessel is an adults-only ship spending the winter season in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Finally, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Treasure arrived in the United States for her magical christening on November 19 in New York. However, on her way, she had to perform a dramatic rescue when the Coast Guard asked the crew to rescue a family of four from a sinking sailboat off the coast of Bermuda. She did finally arrive in Port Canaveral, Florida where she set sail on her 7-night Very Merrytime Eastern Caribbean Cruise on December 21.
Did you sail any of these inaugural cruises on these new ships for 2024? Have seen new ship builds for 2025?