Ready or not, folks, here they come: The next barrage of new ships that will float out between the latter part of this month and December 1998 will bring 15 vessels in as many months.
Maybe you thought we already had enough ships. Apparently the cruise industry doesn’t think so — though this latest batch actually will be a mixed bag; that is, not every ship debuting will be of the mega variety. (Do I hear a sigh of relief?) For the first time in years, some small luxury and midsize ships are being built; one expedition vessel and two sailships also are getting “do-overs” to re-emerge as spanking-new passenger vessels.
For cruisers who love planning to sail inaugurals, here’s the lineup by cruise line. For more information about any of these, contact a travel agent.
– Carnival Cruise Lines will introduce two sister ships in 1998 — the Elation March 20 and the Paradise sometime that November. Aside from Paradise being the first totally smoke-free cruise ship, both 70,000-ton, 2,040-passenger vessels will boast an expanded Children’s World area. Also new will be a futuristic Virtual World, an electronic game area for children and adults, and Fun Vision, a remote-controlled TV system available in cabins.
Elation will cruise year-round from Los Angeles, making Mexican Riviera voyages. Paradise will sail from Miami, alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.
– Celebrity Cruises will launch the Mercury, third in a series of identical 77,000-ton ships, on Nov. 2. Except for decor, the ship will mirror the line’s 1,750-passenger Century and Galaxy.
From fall to spring, Mercury will depart every Sunday from Ft. Lauderdale on seven-day western Caribbean cruises; from May through September, it will make one-week Alaska cruises.
– Clipper Cruise Line will add a third ship to its fleet of small expedition vessels in April 1998. The 4,575-ton, 122-passenger Clipper Adventurer — formerly the Alla Tarasova, a Russian passenger vessel — will have expert lecturers and naturalists on all voyages.
The Adventurer’s 10-night inaugural voyage will explore the Iberian Peninsula, Madeira and Morocco. Subsequent sailings will range from seven to 21 nights, cruising western Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Greenland and the Atlantic coast from Halifax to Ft. Lauderdale, the Amazon River, Brazil and even Antarctica.
– Disney Cruise Line will introduce Disney Magic on March 12 and Disney Wonder in December 1998. With double occupancy, each 85,000-ton vessel can carry 1,760-passengers. Third- and fourth-passenger occupancy can bring the number to 2,400. The ship will offer four theme restaurants, including one for adults only. The ships will have a large adults-only nightlife venue and, to nobody’s surprise, some of the best children’s facilities afloat. Cabins will be unusually spacious (240 square feet) and families surely will welcome the staterooms’ bathroom shower/tub combo — one bathroom with shower, sink and vanity, and another with a vanity, sink and toilet.
Both ships will offer identical seven-night cruise/hotel packages that combine a three- or four-night stay at Walt Disney World with a three- or four-day Bahamas cruise.
– Holland America Line will launch its newest flagship, the Rotterdam VI, in Europe next month from Barcelona. The 62,000-ton, 1,320-passenger ship is built for long voyages, including an annual world cruise, and will feature this line’s first alternative dining venue, an Italian restaurant with room for 90 diners.
Rotterdam VI will sail two Mediterranean voyages before beginning a season of Caribbean/Panama Canal cruises. Its first 97-day world cruise will depart Jan. 19 from Los Angeles and will be followed by a season in Europe.
– Princess Cruises’ 109,000-ton Grand Princess, carrying 2,600-passengers, will be the biggest ship afloat when it enters service May 14. For the bean counters, that’s a mere 8,000 gross-registered tons more than Carnival’s Destiny, the vessel currently holding the title of biggest. Grand’s “firsts” will include a wedding chapel, three main dining rooms and three alternative dining restaurants (one with a Southwestern theme). It also will have the industry’s first “swim-against-the-current” pool, one of five pools aboard the vessel.
Through September, Grand Princess will visit Scandinavia/Russia, western Europe and Norway’s North Cape. Between next October and April 1999, it will cruise the Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale.
Also scheduled to enter service on Oct. 31, 1998, is the 77,000-ton Sea Princess, carrying 1,950 passengers.
– On Jan. 31, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises will introduce the industry’s first small luxury ship in years, the 320-passenger, 18,800-ton Paul Gauguin. The ship will boast a large spa operated by Carita of Paris, a retractable aft watersports platform and guest lecturers on every cruise. Fifty percent of its cabins will have verandas, and staterooms (the smallest of which is a commodious 200 square feet) will have marble bathrooms. The lines claim the ship will have more space per passenger than any cruise vessel afloat. It also will have a casual dress code with no ties required.
The Paul Gauguin will cruise weeklong itineraries year-round from Papeete, Tahiti, to Rangiroa, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Moorea.
– In April, Royal Caribbean International will introduce the 1,950-passenger Vision of the Seas, a 78,491-ton sister ship to Rhapsody of the Seas that boasts an amphitheater-type show lounge and a two-story dining room. Vision will sail Mediterranean cruises from May through September, then will reposition to Boston for New England/Canada cruises. From November 1998 through April 1999, Vision will cruise 10- and 11-night Panama Canal voyages between San Juan and Acapulco.
– Renaissance Cruises will launch the first two of four identical mid-size 690-passenger ships — the R1 on Aug. 31 and R2 in November 1998. Both 30,000-ton ships will sail Greek Island/Israel itineraries year-round. Each vessel will offer single, open seating for meals at a choice of four restaurants, each of which has a different theme and cuisine. Almost 90 percent of cabins will have private verandas. The line also has a “no ties required” dress policy. The ships will make year-round 12-day cruise/tours between Athens and Istanbul, calling at Ashdod and Haifa in Israel, Rhodes and Crete in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey and Cyprus.
– Windstar Cruises will welcome Wind Surf to its fleet of elegant motor-driven sailing ships in May. The 312-passenger vessel — originally the Club Med 1, built in 1990 and recently purchased by Windstar — is undergoing a major refurbishment. At its completion, enhancements will include a large spa and a pair of open, single-seating restaurants. Windstar also will add 31 deluxe suites, measuring 376 square feet with a separate living/dining room area. The ship will make its home in Nice, France, cruising the French and Italian Rivieras from May through September 1998. From November 1998 through March 1999, it will cruise from Barbados to the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles.
– Windjammer Barefoot Cruises will introduce the Legacy, a 294-foot four-masted barkentine, Oct. 24 in Grenada. The sailing ship was built in 1959 as a French meteorological vessel and has been converted for cruising; it will carry 120 passengers. Most notably, it will be Windjammer’s first vessel to sail from a U.S. port. During its regular season, Legacy will cruise from November through April from St. Thomas and San Juan on six-night cruises to the British Virgin Islands. Following a series of cruises along the mid-Atlantic coast, it will cruise from Camden, Maine, from May through September 1998.
For those eager for information about ships planned even further out than these, Royal Caribbean will introduce the two largest vessels ever built, in 1999 and 2000. Look for a pair of 130,000-ton, 3,100-passenger vessels to begin cruising in the Caribbean. So far, all we know about them is this: Each vessel will have an ice-skating rink.
NEW CRUISE SHIPS
%% 1997
Ship Cruise line Passengers Launch date
Legacy Windjammer Barefoot Cruises 1,120 Oct. 24
Mercury Celebrity Cruises 1,750 Nov. 2
Rotterdam VI Holland America Line 1,320 Nov. 11
1998
Paul Gauguin Radisson Seven Seas 320 Jan. 31
Disney Magic Disney Cruise Line 2,400 March 12
Elation Carnival Cruise Lines 2,040 March 20
Clipper Adventurer Clipper Cruise Lines 122 April
Vision of the Seas Royal Caribbean International 1,950 April
Wind Surf Windstar Cruises 312 May 2
Grand Princess Princess Cruise Lines 2,600 May 14
R1 Renaissance Cruise Lines 684 Aug. 31
Sea Princess Princess Cruise Lines 1,950 Oct. 31
R2 Renaissance Cruise Lines 684 November
Paradise Carnival Cruise Lines 2,040 November
Disney Wonder Disney Cruise Line 2,400 December %%
