Interested in cruising and what new ships offer? This is a nice article on trends for both ocean and river cruising.
Here's some quick highlights:
- A new demographic: "Skip-gen" - Grandparent cruising with grandkids (skipping the parents) is becoming more popular arrangement
- Expanding demographic: Cruise ship operators are looking to entice the millennial generation with shorter length ocean cruises. Even river cruises are reaching out with U by Uniworld for example.
- Continued strong growth: There will be 27 new ships coming out in 2018 (10 river cruise ships and 17 ocean ships)
New ships and features
- Royal Caribbean will launch the world's largest cruise ship and will feature: laser tag,a 10 story racing slide, a production of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" and a luxury family suite for eight with a private movie theater.
- Norwegian Cruise line's features 180 degree observation lounge, laser tag, electric go-karts, a Beatles club and a spa with both a snow room and salt room
- Holland America's new ship will feature a 270 degree wrap around LED screen, a blending station for wines and will continue their successful partnership with Oprah magazine.
- Celebrity brings out it's Edge, a novel concept ship with a movable deck and new open concept rooms
- MSC Cruise launches Seaside a beautiful new ship featuring an aqua-park, zip lines and spa. MSC is investing heavily in the North American market. Their Yacht Club area is particularly nice.
But wait there's more.....
The article touched on a few highlights but there's so much more that's new in cruising.
- New ports and destinations (more Cuba, more Japan, more Iceland, more South America, wish list desintations).
- There's new ships not even mentioned in the article
- There's food and drink venues on many of the ships. Best yet there's some great deals that include dining and/or beverage packages.
Resources
How to decide when, where, with whom and how much? Contact a great travel agent and talk it through. In the mean time, consider the following posts right here at Go Astro Travel: