New Cruise Ships for 2020 — Cruise Lowdown

This article was written in January 2020 before we were aware of the existence of the novel coronavirus. At the time we had all this to look forward to!

2020 is going to be an exciting time in the cruise industry, with many new ships being launched during the year.

Here is a rough timeline of all the beautiful ships we can expect this year. There may be delays and surprises on the way, but this is what we are currently looking forward to!

This is only a brief overview, but I hope to provide more information about each one as it becomes available.

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Virgin voyages’ Scarlet Lady - DUE February 2020

As you may be aware, I am very excited about this one- Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady! OK, I know officially Scarlet Lady’s Maiden Voyage is in April 2020, but she debuts in the U.K. in February before sailing across the Atlantic. So that’s the date I’m going with as I hope to get a glimpse of her in all her finery.

Scarlet Lady is a one-off (until her sister launches at least), and she is set to blow the competition out of the water (figuratively speaking - obviously she doesn’t have cannons hidden in her bra). Virgin Voyages wanted to shake up the industry, and with Scarlet Lady they have definitely done that.

You can read what we know so far about this innovative ship in my related posts here.

Scarlet Lady’s sister ship, Valiant Lady is currently being built and will follow in her sister’s wake in May next year.

Builder: Fincantieri

Gross Tonnage: 110,000 get

Seven Seas Splendor - Due Feb 2020

Seven Seas Splendor is RSSC’s second Explorer Class ship. She is the sister ship of TV nautical celebrity, Seven Seas Explorer of Channel 5’s “World’s most Expensive Cruise Ship” fame. How will she compare to her sister? Well the aim is for “luxury perfected” so expect even more from Seven Seas Splendor.

Builder: Fincantieri

Gross Tonnage: 56000 gt

Celebrity Apex- Due April 2020

Celebrity Apex is the second of four Edge-class cruise liners - with sister ships Celebrity Edge (2018) plus 2 more ships yet to be named, scheduled for deliveries in Autumn 2021 and Autumn 2022.

Here is a little bit of cruise ship trivia for you: Celebrity Apex was originally named “Celebrity Beyond”.

Builder: Chantiers de l’Atlantique

Gross Tonnage: 129500 gt

P&O Iona - Due April 2020

Iona is an Excellence-Class ship and is the largest newbuild for P&O, the Southampton-based subsidiary of Carnival Corporation. Other Excellence-Class cruise ships (and therefore Iona’s sister ships) are Carnival Mardi Gras (2020), Costa Smeralda (2019), with several others on order.

Iona’s inaugural season will be spent sailing in the Norwegian Fjords.

Builder: Meyer Werft

Gross Tonnage: 184700 gt

Enchanted Princess - Due June 2020

Enchanted Princess is the fifth of the Royal-Class ships in the Princess fleet. Her inaugural season will be spent sailing the Mediterranean from one of three home-ports.

Enchanted Princess is part of a big family - her sister ships are Discovery Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Sky Princess and P&O Britannia.

Like others in the Princess fleet, Emerald Princess will be a Medallion Class ship, featuring state of the art technology. Read my related post here to find out all about OceanMedallion.

Builder: Fincantieri

Gross Tonnage: 143700 gt

Saga Spirit of Adventure - Due August 2020

Saga Holidays is a U.K. brand (part of Saga UK) operated exclusively from the U.K. targeting mainly UK travelers in the 50+ age group. Saga’s Spirit of Adventure is the sister ship to Spirit of Discovery which was launched last year. You may be surprised to learn that, despite appearances, they are both ice-strengthened polar expedition ships.

Spirit of Adventure’s inaugural voyage will be to The Baltic’s from Dover. She will cruise out of Southampton on some itineraries and will also embark on polar cruises to European and Canadian Arctic regions, as well as on Antarctica cruises with departures from South American ports.

Builder: Meyer Werft

Gross Tonnage: 58250 gt

Silversea Silver Moon - Due August 2020

Silverseas Cruises’ new ship Silver Moon is a Mega Yacht. Her sister ships are Silver Dawn, Silver Muse.

Silver Moon’s summer itineraries with be in the Mediterranean, sailing from Venice, Rome, Barcelona or Athens. Her winters are to be spent sailing the Caribbean from her home port of Fort Lauderdale.

Amongst her accolades already, she has been certified as being “Green Star 3 Design". This is assigned to vessels specifically designed and equipped with technologies that prevent pollution. She is also certificated to have lower noise levels.

Builder: Fincantieri

Gross Tonnage: 40700 gt

MSC Virtuosa - Due Sept 2020

MSC Cruises MSC Virtuosa is the second Meraviglia Plus Class ship in the fleet. Her sister ship is MSC Grandiosa, which launched in November last year.

Her inaugural season will be in Western Europe, sailing from one of 5 home ports - Barcelona, Genoa, Civitavecchia (Rome), Palermo and Marseille.

As with other MSC ships, MSC Virtuosa will have lots to offer families, with aqua parks, amusements and rides. She will, of course, also include The Promenade with its beloved ever-changing LED dome ceiling or “Digital Sky”. Hopefully the ubiquitous Swarovski staircase will also make an appearance, but we will have to wait and see.

Builder: Chantiers de l’Atlantique

Gross Tonnage: 181000 gt

Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas -Due Nov 2020

Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Sea is their second Quantum-Ultra Class ship. Odyssey’s sister ship is Spectrum Of The Seas.

Itineraries have yet to be announced but Odyssey of the Seas will most likely sail the Caribbean from her home port of Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale, Florida).

Excitingly for us here in the U.K., Odyssey of the Seas will stop by in Southampton before her Transatlantic crossing. Hopefully, there will be a chance to get a quick sneak preview.

Builder: Meyer Werft

Gross Tonnage: 168666 gt

Carnival Mardi Gras -Due Nov 2020

Finally, after several hiccups including cancelling he original maiden voyages, Carnival Mardi Gras will Launch at the end of the year.

She is an Excellence-Helios Class ship and her sister ships include P&O Iona and Costa (interestingly another ship which sufferered setbacks).

Described as a fun ship, Carnival Mardi Gras is Carnival Corporation’s newest, largest and most technologically advanced ship ever constructed.

You can expect roller coasters, race tracks and water parks, plus various themed zones.

Builder: Meyer Werft

Gross Tonnage: 180800 gt

Crystal Endeavor - Date Tbc

Firstly, that isn’t a spelling error in the title (for my U.K. followers). Crystal is an American brand and that is one of the US/U.K. spelling anomalies so it Is Endeavor rather than Endeavour.

This beautifully packaged gem from Crystal Cruises, is classed as an ice-strengthened polar-class expedition mega-yacht. In fact Crystal Endeavor is actually the world's first purpose-built cruise yacht with P6 polar-class designation. That said, you can of course still expect 5-star hotel amenities, superior service, and world-class cuisine for which the brand is renowned.

Itineraries will include, amongst others, the Arctic and Antarctica, the Americas, Europe, Pacific and Atlantic islands, Crystal Endeavor’s inaugural season August 2020 - January 2021 has been on sale since 2018.

Builder: Lloyd Werft

Gross Tonnage: 19800 gt

Silversea Silver Origin - Date TBC

Silversea’s Cruises’ Silver Origin is a luxury Galapagos Islands expedition yacht. Carrying only 100 lucky passengers, Silver Origin has great green credentials and is one of the most environmentally friendly ships due to its state-of-the-art maritime technologies and solutions specifically designed for cruising in the Galapagos Islands.

Silverseas’ mission is to make a positive impact on the region's economic and natural environment. With this in mind, Silverseas contributes to local a Ecological Restoration Project.

Silver Origin will have two homeports from which she will explore the Galápagos: Baltra Island and San Cristobal Island.

Builder: Shipyard De Hoop BV

Gross Tonnage: 5800 gt

Source: I’d like to thank cruisemapper.com for providing such comprehensive information - my new favourite website in fact. Check them out and subscribe.