Cruises to float everyone’s boat
In April, Royal Caribbean International will be launching its 5,497-passenger ship Symphony of the Seas.
It features a trio of water slides, a bionic bar with robot bartenders and – for families with cash to splash – a two-storey ultimate family suite with its own 3D cinema and air hockey table.
The first cruise will be in the Med this summer, before the ship heads to Florida in November to offer cruises to the Caribbean. Royal Caribbean (0844 493 4005/ royalcaribbean.co.uk)
Carnival Cruise Line’s new 3,954-passenger Carnival Horizon will have an IMAX theatre, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant and a Dr Seuss-themed water park for the little ones, with its Cat in the Hat slide and Fun Things slide, named after Thing 1 and Thing 2.
The first cruise will leave Barcelona in April, before the ship sails across to New York for cruises to Bermuda and the Caribbean during the winter. Carnival (0843 374 2272/carnival.co. uk)
The 4,000passenger Norwegian Bliss – custom built by Norwegian Cruise Line to offer what it calls “the ultimate Alaska cruise experience” – will include an electric car racetrack and two multi-deck water slides.
It is set to sail from Seattle to Alaska in the summer, stopping at ports including Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and visiting glaciers en route. Norwegian Cruise Line (0333 241 2319/ncl.com/uk) Enjoy a Magic Carpet ride on the 2,200-passenger Celebrity Edge. The cantilevered floating platform which is attached to the starboard side of the ship can move up and down 14 decks, offering uninterrupted sea views to guests in its 90-seater restaurant.
It will sail out of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale in December before coming to Southampton in May next year. Celebrity Cruises (0844 493 2092/ celebritycruises.co.uk)
Wannabe Captain Pugwashes will be in their element in March when Star Clippers launches the world’s largest squarerigged sailing ship, its 300-passenger Flying Clipper. With three pools and a watersports marina, the new ship will be a real treat for water babies, who can swim in Mediterranean waters in the summer and the Caribbean in the winter. Star Clippers (0845 200 6145/ starclippers.co.uk)
Azamara Club Cruises will take on P&O’s 710-passenger ship Adonia in March and transform it into the Azamara Pursuit.
It enters service in August and will be a sister to the line’s other vessels, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. Like them, it will offer immersive cruises which stay late or overnight in ports, giving passengers more time to explore.
Its first sailing is out of Barcelona to the UK. Cruises to Iceland and the Mediterranean follow, before Pursuit moves to South America for the winter. Azamara Club Cruises (0844 493 4016/azamaraclubcruises.co.uk)