Giant ships, new destinations: The biggest cruise stories of 2016
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From the unveiling of the world’s biggest cruise ship to the launch of the first voyages from the USA to Cuba in decades, it was a year of milestones in the cruise world.
If an unprecedented surge of readers at USA TODAY Cruise is any guide, the biggest cruise story of the year, hands down, was the May debut of Royal Caribbean’s 226,963-ton Harmony of the Seas, which edged out sisters Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas to become the new giant of Cruisedom. Eclipsing its siblings by nearly 1,700 tons, Harmony boasted several notable new features, including what just might be the most thrilling attraction ever conceived for a cruise ship, the nine-deck-high Ultimate Abyss.
Royal Caribbean rivals Holland America and Carnival also are touting their biggest ships ever after April’s unveiling of the 99,500-ton Koningsdam and May’s arrival of the 133,500-ton Carnival Vista. The vessels are the first for the lines since 2010 and 2012, respectively. But the new ship frenzy didn’t end there. The year also saw the debut of what was billed as the most luxurious vessel ever, the 750-passenger Seven Seas Explorer. Unveiled during a gala christening in Monaco presided over by the country’s Princess Charlene, the $450 million vessel features a single suite measuring 4,443-square-foot — more than 50% larger than the average house in the USA.
Other notable newcomers in 2016 included a second ocean-going vessel for Viking, the river cruise giant. Two more are on the way for 2017.
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$132 million overhaul of Cunard’s iconic Queen Mary 2 and an equally epic revamp of the Disney Wonder, one of Disney Cruise Line’s two original vessels.
Disney also made news with its first river cruises, unveiled over the summer in partnership with river line AmaWaterways. Set to expand in 2017, the voyages are ushering in a new era for family-focused river cruise sailings. Also jumping into river cruising was luxury line Crystal Cruises, which launched its first river ship. And river line Uniworld started up the first voyages on the Ganges in India by a major American cruise company.
Crystal in 2016 also was at the forefront of one of cruising’s most notable trends: The growth of Northwest Passage voyages as a decline in Arctic sea ice attributed to global warming makes navigation easier. Another trend was the cruise industry’s growing pivot to China, with Royal Caribbean devoting yet another of its newest, biggest ships to the market. But perhaps the biggest cruise trend of 2016 was the opening of Cuba to sailings from the USA. Start-up line Fathom kicked off the first voyages in May after receiving long-sought approval from the Cuban government. Six more lines including Norwegian and Royal Caribbean will start trips in the coming months.
Fathom, meanwhile, was the big swing-and-a-miss of the cruise world in 2016. Launched by industry giant Carnival Corp. in April with a bold mission to offer social impact-focused cruises, it failed almost as soon as it got going.
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illegally polluting the world’s oceans for years. The company will plead guilty to seven felony counts and pay a record fine.
Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, raised some eyebrows among passengers and industry watchers alike early in the year when it allowed one of its biggest ships, the 168,666-ton Anthem of the Seas, to sail into a monster storm off the East Coast. The storm packed hurricane-force winds and giant waves that severely rocked the vessel, injuring several passengers and causing ship-wide damage.
Also raising eyebrows in 2016 were some hefty hikes to automatic gratuity charges on ships, with Princess raising its rates twice during the year to $13.50 per passenger per day. A nearly 8% hike in gratuity charges at Carnival in September — its first since October 2014 — was more than 20 times higher than the rate of inflation in the USA during the same period. A Celebrity Cruises hike in July pushed up gratuity rates by 4%.
Topping port news for 2016, a new gateway to Belize, Harvest Caye, opened for business late in the year. Owned and developed by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, it features a picture-perfect, seven-acre beach lined with lounge chairs; an enormous, amorphous pool with a swim-up bar; and, notably, its own pier capable of receiving the world’s biggest cruise ships — a first for Belize.
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allow bigger cruise ships to transit the waterway. Princess, Disney, Carnival and Norwegian already have announced plans to use the locks for Panama Canal sailings over the next two years.
The cruise world in 2016 also continued positioning for the future with another wave of orders for new ship to arrive as far out as 2024. The announcements included the development of a new class of vessel for Royal Caribbean to begin rolling out in 2020. Carnival also announced a new class of ship that will begin debuting in 2020. Viking revealed it would have six ocean ships by 2020, up from two today. Small-ship line Ponant announced an order for four new vessels, and Crystal said it would add three expedition ships designed for polar travel by 2021. Luxury line Regent also ordered a new ship as did Princess, and Disney said it would build two new ships with a new design to debut in 2021 and 2023. Europe-based MSC Cruises also revealed plans for a new class of ships that will begin arriving in 2022.
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