USA TODAY International Edition
Cruise lines expand their routes, sailings
Cruise lines are continually tweaking their schedules. Sometimes it’s just the addition of a single port to a long- established itinerary. Other times it’s the rollout of an all- new route.
Here, some of the more notable new itinerary announcements from the past few weeks.
CARNIVAL TO SAIL TO BERMUDA FROM JACKSONVILLE Cruise giant Carnival cruises to Bermuda from Jacksonville — a first for the line.
The seven- night trip on the 2,052- passenger Carnival Elation kicked off April 7 and includes an overnight call at Bermuda’s Heritage Wharf. It also features a stay at Half Moon Cay, a private island in the Bahamas.
Carnival also offers Bermuda cruises from five other U. S. ports: New York; Baltimore; Charleston, S. C.; Port Canaveral, Fla.; and Fort Lauderdale.
Including the new Jacksonville departure, Carnival will offer 19 sailings to Bermuda in 2018, with the trips ranging from four to eight days.
Carnival also added a six- day voyage to the Bahamas to Elation’s schedule. It began April 15 and features stops in Freeport, Nassau and Half Moon Cay.
Elation is the only cruise ship based year- round in Jacksonville. It normally sails four- and fiveday trips to The Bahamas and Caribbean.
DISNEY, TOO, IS ADDING BERMUDA CRUISES … Disney Cruise Line is eyeing Bermuda, too, with plans for its first sailings to the destination in late 2018.
The five- and six- night trips out of New York will take place on the 1,754- passenger Disney Magic and feature two to three days at the destination.
As in past years, Magic will spend the summer of 2018 in Europe.
… AND ITS FIRST TRIPS TO QUEBEC CITY Disney also plans its first cruises to Quebec City. The company will offer two seven- night voyages between New York and the Canadian port in September 2018.
Taking place on the Disney Magic, the trips also will include stops at the Canadian ports of Saguenay and Baie- Comeau — both firsts for Disney.
In addition, Magic in late 2018 will operate three seven- night sailings from New York to Port Canaveral, Fla., for a visit to nearby Walt Disney World.
Passengers will receive oneday Park Hopper tickets for entry into all of the resort’s theme parks and round- trip transportation between the ship and the parks. The trips also will include a stop at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN TO RESUME CRUISES FROM NEW ORLEANS New Orleans is back on the map for Royal Caribbean.
The Miami- based line says the 2,050- passenger Vision of the Seas will operate seven- night sailings out of the city over the winter of 2018- 19.
Featuring calls in the Bahamas and Mexico, the voyages will be Royal Caribbean’s first out of New Orleans in three years.
Vision will be repositioning to New Orleans from Europe, where it will spend the summer of 2018. It’s spending the coming winter in Galveston, Texas.
As part of its move to New Orleans, Vision will operate two 16- night sailings through the Panama Canal — its first in three years. The first of the trips, departing on Dec. 15, 2018, will go from Miami to Los Angeles. It’ll be followed by a voyage from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
SILVERSEA PLANS ANOTHER EPIC WORLD CRUISE Luxury line Silversea is planning another ambitious world cruise for 2019.
The 132- day voyage on the 382passenger Silver Whisper will kick off Jan. 6, 2019, in San Francisco and include stops at 52 ports in 31 countries. It’ll end May 19, 2019, in Greenwich, England.
After leaving San Francisco, Silver Whisper will head to French Polynesia and New Zealand before sailing around the northern side of Australia.
From there, the ship will visit Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan before cruising down the coast of China and Vietnam to Singapore.
From Singapore, Silver Whisper will make another stop in Malaysia and then head west to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles and, eventually, Africa for an extended series of calls.
The list of African countries the ship will visit includes Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Gambia and Senegal.
Fares start at $ 57,700 per person, based on double occupancy. The price includes a pre- cruise overnight stay at a hotel in San Francisco, business class air to reach the ship, transfers and a $ 4,000 on- board spending credit.
NEW HOLLAND AMERICA SHIP TO SAIL FROM FLORIDA The next ship to debut at Holland America will spend its first winter cruising to the Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale.
Scheduled to begin sailing in December 2018, the 2,666- passenger Nieuw Statendam will operate a variety of three-, four-, seven- and 10- day voyages out of the port through April 2019.
The trips will take place after an initial, 14- day trans- Atlantic voyage from Italy, where the 99,500- ton vessel is under construction.
A sister to Holland America’s one- year- old Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam will be similar in structure to the earlier ship but feature some new public spaces and its own style created by wellknown hospitality designer Adam Tihany and architecture Bjørn Storbraaten, the line has said.
Fares for trans- Atlantic sailing start at $ 1,199 per person, based on double occupancy and not including taxes and port fees.
Fares for the seven- night sailings start at $ 799 per person.