What’s hot on the high seas for 2023? Four big trends are defining the wave season next year — well, two big and one that’s determinedly dinky.
“You hear it all the time: Small ships are in the ascendancy — all of a sudden, everyone is talking about wanting to do boutique-sized vessels,” said cruise expert Carolyn Spencer Brown.
To wit: Belmond’s adding another boat to its barge collection in Champagne, France — well, a renamed reboot of a previous vessel, now known as Coquelicot.
The charter-only boat with just three staterooms is officially partnered with Maison Ruinart for F&B and private tastings.
Abercrombie & Kent rescued two of the boutique ships operated by now-defunct Crystal, Serenity and Symphony.
They’re currently in renovation with an aim to set sail again next year with the major plus that billionaire Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio is at the helm of this new firm — he’s a cruise vet, whose family founded Silversea cruises.
Crystal’s river ships aren’t all in dry dock either: Mozart, with room for up to 150 guests, will resume Danube sailings next year, this time operated by — and named after — Seaside Collection, a luxury hotel group.
Even bigger lines are downsizing their new ships, per Cruise Radio’s Doug Parker. Norwegian’s second Prima ship comes online in 2023 and it’s much smaller than the Breakaway-class vessels that came before it. The line has six more ships of the same design on order, too.
“They’re invested in the idea of less is more when it comes to size,” he said.
Enviromentalism is the topic du jour for travel — cruising included. Operators are responding to this impulse, but for unexpected reasons, at least according to Carolyn Spencer Brown.
As they mull new, more adventurous itineraries, firms want to futureproof any new vessel against eco-regulations that far-flung, less-trafficked countries might enact — counterparts, for example, to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) which monitors cruise impact on the seventh continent. Lines like Hurtigruten are even converting existing vessels to hybrid power — it claims its program will reduce CO2 emissions by 25% — while MSC has chosen to operate its June-launching Euribia on LNG, or liquid natural gas, a cleaner-burning fossil fuel with minimal sulfur oxides.
It’s also coating the hull in high-efficiency paint to help reduce barnacles and the likes, minimizing drag and, thus, fuel use.
The biggest splash though is likely to come from Silver Nova by Silversea, a 364-stateroom ship that’s like an oceangoing Tesla.
From its debut in July, it will use a combo of marine gas oil, LNG and even hydrogen fuel cells, which produce zero emissions and are optimal to deploy when it’s stationary.
“It allows us to be completely independent during stays in port,” said CEO Roberto Martinoli. “We will be the guinea pigs for the whole industry for this very large fuel system.”
And as the cruise industry’s defrosted since its months-long pandemic-enforced dry docking, luxury is a renewed focus. Jeffrey D. Tolkin, who runs World Travel Holdings, one of the biggest players in cruise sales, told The Post that luxury bookings for 2023 are 50% higher versus 2019.
No wonder, then, that even mass market fave Carnival is rolling out more Excel-class ships, which have upscaled dining and bigger rooms versus the pile-‘em-high boats in which it’s always specialized.
The 732-guest Regent Seven Seas Grandeur, launching in November 2023, claims to clinch the title of highest space and crew ratio per passenger; it’s anchored by the line’s signature OTT VIP perch, the five-figure-per-night Regent Suite.
Oceania’s Vista, sailing in May, will be the first of its new Allura class, 1,200-passenger ships with a dozen high-end F&B spots, including a craft cocktail bar and, cannily, a new option for solo travelers.
And MSC has created an entirely new offshoot for its first foray in five-star cruising: Explora Journeys. The first of the soon-to-be six-ship fleet, the 900-passenger Explora I will set sail in summer. Instead of break-necking round ports, box-checking as many as possible, it will linger longer in places — overnight, perhaps — so passengers aren’t prisoners of the line. The itineraries, too, will try to hit lesser-known spots rather than cruiseworld’s greatest hits.
That’s another trend for 2023, at least per Spencer Brown. Many lines are finally adding Asia journeys back onto their docket after COVID-related closures, but they’re also focusing on new, less-trafficked destinations, she says. Two to watch: In French Polynesia, that island nation ideally positioned to be visited by boat, Windstar is boosting capacity there, while Variety is offering Tahitian options for the first time ever next year.
Then there’s Saudi Arabia, a destination that’s deluged with new five-star hotels and controversy in equal doses.
Anyone squeamish about staying overnight there — whether for political reasons or simply because the travel industry there is still prototyping service-wise — could opt instead to experience some of its historical sites from a cruise.“You’ll find me on a cruise to Saudi Arabia at some point next year, because it’s somewhere you really couldn’t go to before,” she said, “Cruises are a great way to open up a destination.”
