Where Are They Now? 2020 New Ships

Last year I wrote, in great anticipation, of a shoal of new cruise ships being launched in 2020. However no one could have anticipated the shift in fortunes of the cruise industry caused by the Covid19 Pandemic. So I thought I’d do a not-so-brief follow-up piece asking Where Are They Now?

A few of the new ships debuted just before the virus took hold and lockdowns impacted travel. The majority, however, missed out on the grand inaugurations and naming ceremonies we all look forward to. Worse, most never got to sail with passengers on board, and crew were left all at sea.

So here is a quick roundup of when these beautiful vessels actually launched and a look at where they are now - well at this precise time of writing anyway.

Virgin VOYAGES Scarlet Lady

Scarlet Lady. Image Courtesy of Virgin Voyages.

I hold my hands up and say this was the one I was most excited about (or should I say obsessed with). It had captured my imagination with each innovation that Virgin Voyages announced, and so I was thrilled to be invited to an overnight press visit in Dover in February 2020.

The weather was grey, wet and blustery over the White Cliffs of Dover as we queued to check-in. It took much longer than usual as everyone was being asked enhanced health questions, and whether they had travelled to China in the last 14 days. It seemed a weird thing to ask at the time as most of us had yet to become aware of the significance.

After our overnight stay (see my reviews here, here and here), Scarlet Lady headed to Liverpool to repeat the experience for her Northern fans.

Following her visit to the home of The Beatles, Scarlet was supposed to head to New York for a showcase extravaganza. However, global events had caught up with her and Virgin Voyages made the decision to cancel this stop and instead to head straight to her home port of Miami in Florida, USA. She was scheduled to be christened in Miami on 19 March 2020, but this was postponed due to Covid19. Alterations were also made to her preview sailings in light of unfolding events and eventually, as a result of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) no-sail ruling, Virgin were forced to halt cruising temporarily. Obviously, the delay has lasted far longer than anticipated, but bookings are currently being taken for April 2021 subject to CDC agreement.

Scarlet Lady Photo Tour (Stock photos)

Whilst Scarlet Lady’s scheduled itineraries depart Miami in the spring, currently at the time of writing (February 2021) she is currently tracked sailing the Mediterranean close to Civitavecchia,

Find out more and book Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady

SEVEN SEAS SPLENDOR

Regent Seven Seas Cruises® much lauded small ship, Seven Seas Splendor, initially faired better than most. Following a well-received press and media launch at the beginning of February, the ship sailed from Barcelona to Miami where she was fortunate to have her Christening. On 22 February 2020 there was a Gala Celebration featuring Ship’s Godmother, Supermodel and Actress Christie Brinkley, and GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist, Seal.

By the beginning of March however global events caught up with Regent Seven Seas and they announced a voluntary suspension of cruises, initially for 30 days, from 13 March 2020. As we now know the CDC extended the no sail rule and currently the cruise line has suspended itineraries on Seven Seas Splendor until the end of March 2021, although there are currently no signs of CDC relenting in the short term.

Seven Seas Splendor’s current position is around Civitavecchia in Italy

Find out more and book Seven Seas Splendor

CELEBRITY APEX

Celebrity Cruises second Edge Class ship, Celebrity Apex, following in the wake of her sister ship Celebrity Edge, was eagerly anticipated.

In January 2020 it was announced that Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, would christen the vessel at the inaugural ceremony in Southampton on 30 March 2020. The handover ceremony was due to take place the previous week on 20 March 2020.

However, everything changed with the pandemic and with travel restrictions in place, it was announced that all naming festivities would be postponed until the ship arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in late 2020.

Celebrity eventually took delivery of Celebrity Apex on 27 March 2020, in what is widely believed to be the first virtual handover. The ceremony was via video conference between between officials from Celebrity and shipbuilders Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

Original plans for Celebrity Apex to set sail from Saint-Nazaire to Southampton on 21 March 2020, following her delivery ceremony, obviously had to be rethought. Her pre-inaugural voyage scheduled for 1 April 2020, and her maiden voyage set for 5 April 2020, both had to be postponed. Celebrity Apex was scheduled to homeport in Southampton through the spring, before re-positioning to the Med for the summer. A second tentative debut date, which had been set for 20 May from Barcelona, was also cancelled.

Celebrity Apex was scheduled to re-position to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale in the Autumn of 2020, To prepare for her first Transatlantic voyage, Celebrity Apex made a brief stop in Southampton on 25th September before finally heading to Fort Lauderdale, via Ponta Delgada, in the Azores where she made a brief unscheduled technical stop. On 24 October she arrived in the Bahamas where she was welcomed by her sister ship, Celebrity Edge. Currently sailings are suspended until May 2021 in line with US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regulations.

Currently you will find Celebrity Apex sunning herself off the Bahamas.

Find out more and book Celebrity Apex here

P&O IONA

British favourite, P&O Cruises, was originally due to welcome her newest ship to the fleet with great pizazz in April 2020. We were all looking forward to her Maiden Voyage in May 2020 exploring the Norwegian fjords. Even more eagerly anticipated was her Christening on 4 July 2020, followed by a much-hyped week-long inaugural celebration called "Ionafest" on the following seven-day voyage.

However, Covid spread its dastardly web once more, causing work on the ship to slow to a halt in the Meyer Werft shipyard. After discussions and necessary precautions taken, work recommenced but at a much slower pace due to the smaller workforce. After successful sea trials, Iona was due to be delivered firstly in the Spring but this was delayed initially to June 2020 Further postponement meant that she was finally delivered to P&O on 9 October 2020 with little fanfare. Sadly, due to the ongoing situation, operations are paused until at least April 2021.

P&O Iona can currently be located in the waters around Norway.

Find out more and book P&O Iona here

ENCHANTED PRINCESS

Even her first claim to fame - being the 100th ship to be built at Fincantieri's shipyards - couldn’t protect Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess from the delays caused by the pandemic.

Whilst everyone had been optimistic until April 2020, when the temporary closure of Fincantieri's shipyards, resulted inevitably in Princess announcing delays to completion

Eventually, sea trials began on 13 June 2020 and were successfully completed by the end of the month. Further delays ensued before Enchanted Princes was finally delivered on 30 September 2020. I was fortunate enough to be invited to watch the official handover ceremony presented via live streaming video from the Fincantieri Shipyard. It was a bright spot in what had otherwise been a sad year for those of us in the cruising community, but bitter sweet as it lacked the party atmosphere associated with such events, due to travel restrictions. (Read more about Enchanted Princess here)

Enchanted Princess was supposed to make her debut in Rome on 19 June 2020 on her first Mediterranean sailing. This was to be followed by her christening which was to be held in Southampton on 30 June 2020. This, along with her 10-day maiden voyage scheduled for 1 July 2020 had to be postponed. Enchanted Princess was scheduled to commence operations in November 2020 from Port Everglades, but this too has had to be postponed. Enchanted Princess will hopefully debut later in 2021 with the pomp and ceremony she deserves.

Currently Enchanted Princess is in Cyprus.

Find out more and book Enchanted Princess here

SAGA SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

Spirit of Adventure - Image courtesy of Saga Cruises

Spirit of Adventure is the second cruise ship to join Saga’s new fleet, following in her sister ship’s wake - the fabulous Spirit of Discovery which came into service in 2019.

Things seemed to be on track initially at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where Spirit of Adventure was floated into a wet dock in late-March 2020 to begin her outfitting. Whilst she was originally expected to be delivered in July 2020 and christened in Portsmouth on 19 August 2020, delays followed as Meyer Werft shipyard was adversely affected by Covid in terms of work and travel restrictions. Therefore, in May 2020, Saga announced Spirit of Adventure’s delivery and subsequent debut in August 2020 would be postponed.

She was eventually floated out on 24 July 2020, and commenced her sea trials in September 2020. She was eventually delivered on 29 September 2020, when Saga announced that her already delayed maiden voyage and inaugural season would be further postponed until May 2021.

Meanwhile you will currently find her berthed at London Cruise Terminal in Tilbury.

Find out more and book Saga Spirit of Adventure here

SILVERSEA SILVER MOON

Silversea Silver Moon was being built in Italy and was due for delivery in August 2020. However, the closure of the shipyard due to the coronavirus crisis resulted in a delay of several months. The Fincantieri shipyard was closed on March 16 and partially re-opened in April.

Silver Moon eventually successfully completed her sea trials over the summer of 2020 coinciding with the company’s 25th anniversary, before being handed over to Silversea at the end of October 2020.

In common with other companies within the industry, Silversea has faced the same disruptions and frustrating delays. In May 2020 Silversea announced a postponement to the proposed launch of Silver Moon from August into October 2020, Sadly that wasn’t to be and a new date of 4 May 2021 was announced for Silver Moon’s maiden voyage around the Greek Islands from Athens.

Meanwhile, Silver Moon has been located around Marseille, France,

Find out more and book Silversea’s Silver Moon here

MSC VIRTUOSA

MSC Cruises have faired a little better than of their contemporaries, being able to resume limited cruising from January 2021 under strict protocols. Only passengers who are residents of Schengen countries are currently accepted until further notice. This has been possible as being in Europe they have not been restricted by the CDC no-sail rulings when sailing in European waters.

MSC Virtuosa is the 18th ship in the fleet, and the second ship in the Meraviglia-Plus class. Like her sister ship MSC Grandiosa, she wwas built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France. Like all of their contemporaries the shipyard couldn’t escape Covid restrictions which hampered the ship construction process. MSC Virtuosa was originally scheduled to be delivered in October 2020, with her maiden voyage departing from Genoa on 8 November 2020. MSC Cruises eventually took delivery on 1 February 2021 and her maiden voyage is planned for 16 April 2021. She boasts a raft of innovations including the futuristic MSC Starship Club featuring Rob, the first-ever humanoid, robotic bartender at sea.

MSC Virtuosa is currently still in Saint Nazaire.

Find out more and book MSC Virtuosa here

ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S ODYSSEY OF THE SEAS

Odessey of the Sea. Image courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Odyssey of the Seas is the second Quantum-Ultra class ship to join the Royal Caribbean fleet, her sister-ship being Spectrum of the Seas. She was due to enter service in November 2020.

Another graduate of the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, Odyssey of the Seas also fell foul of the workforce Coronavirus constraints experienced by other new ships last year.

Whilst Odyssey of the Seas was initially scheduled for inauguration in November 2020, Royal Caribbean announced in July that construction was delayed and so they were rescheduling her itineraries, including her inaugural maiden voyage.

Due to the afore-mentioned Covid-related issues experienced by the shipyard, Odyssey of the Seas wasn’t actually floated out from dry dock until 28 November 2020. As a result of these delays, her whole schedule required a rethink, and currently her construction is ongoing at Meyer Werft. As a result, her entire itinerary program was cancelled through to 30 April 2021. Odyssey’s maiden voyage in the Mediterranean has been rescheduled for 9 May from Rome.

Initially it was planned for Odyssey of the Seas home port would be Port Everglades in Florida USA. However her naugural program is now based on cruises in Europe‘a Eastern Mediterranean, embarking from her revised home port of Civitavecchia, Rome, with 7-12-day itineraries to ports in Greece (including Greek islands), Turkey, Italy and Israel.

Odyssey of the Seas has just left Meyer Werft shipyard Papenburg, Germany

Find out more and book Odyssey of the Seas here

MARDI GRAS (CARNIVAL CRuises)

Mardi Gras (please note the absence of the prefix ‘Carnival’ which is a deliberate omission) is an Excellence class vessel and is currently the largest ship in Carnival's fleet.

As you may recall, Mardi Gras has had to overcome a range of obstacles and delays during her construction including, but not restricted to, issues caused by the pandemic, and even a fire.

Mardi Gras was built at the Meyer Turku shipbuilders in Finland, and is powered by Liquefied Natural Gas, which will make her the first LNG-powered ship to be based in North America, Originally Mardi Gras had a provisional delivery date of August 2020. However, on 20 December 2019, Carnival announced that she would instead be delivered in October 2020,. The ship's maiden voyage was also postponed from 21 August 2020 until 14 November 2020 from Port Canaveral, due to various construction delays.

Mardis Gras was floated out back in January 2020 pre-pandemic, but due partly to the complexities of new technologies being used in her construction and onboard, it was anticipated that her debut would be made in August 2020. Initially Mardi Gras was scheduled to begin her operations in Norway prior to sailing Transatlantic to New York for a short Autumn season. She was expected to make her debut at her permanent home port of Port Canaveral on 16 October 2020, where In order to accommodate her, a new terminal has had to be constructed. Unfortunately further delays ensued and Mardi Gras was finally delivered to Carnival in December 2020 and will now have her first sailing from Port Canaveral on 29 May 2021.

They say the best things are worth waiting for, and I’m sure this will prove to be the case with Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras is currently in the Western Mediterranean Sea off Barcelona.

Find out more and book Mardi Gras here

CRYSTAL ENDEAVOR

The brand Crystal Cruises is synonymous with ultra-luxury cruise ships and aspirational travel, and it appears that Crystal Endeavor will be no exception. Although it is an expedition ship, (or more precisely “an ice-strengthened expedition mega-yacht - the world's first purpose-built cruise yacht with P6 (polar-class) hull”), designed for cutting through Arctic ice, Endeavor hasn’t forgotten her roots. She also boasts 100 all-balcony full-serviced luxury suites and all the high-end mod-cons you’ve come to expect. With Six-Star Service, Michelin-Inspired Dining and All-Inclusive Amenities, Crystal Endeavor is for the more discerning Explorer.

Built by German shipbuilders, MV Werften, Crystal Endeavor floated out on 21 December 2019. Originally set to launch in August 2020, the ship’s construction was delayed as the global COVID-19 crisis forced a shutdown of MV Werften for several months. Such was the financial burden on the ship building industry, that Crystal’s parent company, Genting Hong Kong (GHK), who also own MV Werften, recently completed a €193 million loan agreement with the German government to aid completion of Crystal Endeavor and to further support the operations of the shipyard until the end of March 2021.

Crystal Endeavor was originally scheduled to sail from Japan in August 2020 for her inaugural maiden season, to coincide with the 2020 Olympics, but as a result of the delays her itineraries have had to be amended. It now appears that her inaugural cruise will be a 13 night Norwegian Fjords & Scottish Isles Exploration Cruise departing Tromsø on 15 September 2021 and arriving in Greenwich, London 28 September 2021 (note to self - put in diary to grab a sneak peek).

Crystal Endeavor current location is in Baltic Sea

Find out more and book Crystal Endeavor here

SILVERSEA SILVER ORIGIN

Silver Origin during Sea Trials. Image: Silversea Cruises

Silver Origin was built in the Netherlands, and was due to commence sailings even earlier than her sister ship Silversea’s Silver Moon , back in July 2020.

The first destination-specific ship built for Silversea, Silver Origin is the epitome of luxury expedition travel in the Galápagos Islands. She is also the most environmentally conscious ship ever built by Silversea,

Silver Origin was built by Dutch shipyard De Hoop, and was delivered to Silversea on 3 June 2020 at an intimate ceremony, which marked the first in-person cruise ship delivery since the pandemic prompted a global lockdown.

The ship’s inaugural Cruise was originally planned for 22 August 2020 but was cancelled and rescheduled for 7 November 2020. However, in October, with the pandemic still raging, Silver Origin’s entire 2020 season was cancelled and her maiden voyage rescheduled for 9 January 2021.

Sadly, in January 2021, Silversea decided to cancel twelve more Silver Origin Galapagos voyages due to Covid. The ship's maiden Voyage has now been rescheduled for 1 May 2021 and will be a 7-day Cruise from Baltra Island to San Cristobal Island.

Silver Origin remains docked in Manta in Ecuador.

Find out more and request a quote for Silver Origin here.