Welcome to the weekly Cruise News Digest. Here you can catch up on the past week’s cruise news and all things La Lido Loca.
Let’s dive in!
This week brought us the news that American Cruise Lines will be offering two new exclusive United States National Parks cruises in 2024. Guests who sail these cruises will be treated to some of the most remote landscapes in the world as they export the Denali National Park and Preserve along with the Kenai Fjord National Park. After the land portion of the trip, guests will sail aboard the American Constellation as they enjoy Alaska’s scenery.
Celebrity Cruises announced their newest ship, Celebrity Ascent, completed her first open ocean sailing and successfully tested her propulsion, braking, turns, maneuvering, and emergency systems. Celebrity Ascent will join her sister ships, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Beyond, when she sails her inaugural voyage from Port Everglades, Florida on December 3, 2023.
Norwegian Cruise Line is embracing the solo cruiser and rebranding nearly 1,000 staterooms as dedicated solo cabins. Three new solo stateroom categories are opening on a rolling basis for all bookings across the entire fleet. The three solo stateroom categories, Solo Inside, Solo Oceanview, and Solo Balcony, were created in response to data showing the solo traveler population is continuing to grow. The available bookings are for future sailings beginning January 2, 2024.
In port news, the Port of San Diego celebrated the start of cruise season with its longtime partner, Holland America Line. This season the port is expecting 100 cruises and 338,000 passengers to visit San Diego. The port’s schedule includes, for the first time, Disney Magic, Viking Star, and MSC Explora.
The Port of Mobile welcomed Carnival Cruise Line back home after a year-long hiatus. The cruise line returned to the port with the embarkation of the Spirit class Carnival Spirit from her new homeport on October 6, 2023. The ship’s chef treated guests to the Mobile spirit serving a large version of the city’s iconic MoonPie dessert which was decorated with the Carnival funnel design.
Just three months from the debut of Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International has announced the name of its next Icon class ship debuting the summer of 2025—Star of the Seas. While not much is known about the new ship and its features, we do know she will be similar to her sister ship, Icon of the Seas, in size and amenities, and she will be the cruise line’s most sustainable ship when she debuts.
There you have it. This week’s Cruise News Digest. You can get even more cruise news and views at La Lido Loca, along with extra content and the podcast at La Lido Loca Two. Did Tony lose weight on his latest cruise? Find out over at Have To Lose. You can also join in on the conversation via social media on the La Lido Cruising Community and the Have to Lose Support Crew group pages.