Which new cruise ships came into service in 2021?

As Big Ben chimes to welcome in 2022, let’s just cast our minds back to those new ships that finally got their moment in the sun in 2021. Many were delayed, rescheduled or worse, whilst a few managed to just about stay on track; others have been postponed until the coming year and will therefore feature in a future post. Let’s remind ourselves of the new cruise ships that came into service in 2021.

MSC VIRTUOSA

MSC Virtuosa set sail on her maiden voyage on 20 May 2021 making her the first cruise ship to sail U.K. waters in 14 months. Virtuosa sailed from Southampton around the British Isles, with a single port of call at the picturesque isle of Portland.

Guests desperate to return to sea enjoyed a series of UK coastal sailings throughout the summer on this beautiful new cruise ship.

MSC Virtuosa originally sailed with reduced capacity and welcomed both vaccinated and non vaccinated passengers. This policy has since been amended with increased passenger numbers and a requirement for all guests and crew to be fully vaccinated. In late November 2021, MSC Virtuosa was finally christened by godmother Sophia Loren in a ceremony in Dubai.

Check out my MSC Virtuosa Facts & Figures post

Contact MSC Cruises for more information.

GOLDEN HORIZON

New Cruise Line Tradewind Voyages debuted the World’s largest square-rigged sailing vessel, Golden Horizon on 19 June 2021.

This beautiful vessel reminiscent of the rigged ships of long ago, invoked thoughts of luxurious sea voyages of days gone by. Although classified as a 5-Masted Schooner, to me she is most definitely a cruise ship. Golden Horizon has a guest capacity of 330 plus 140 crew. The 8770 GT vessel is powered by 68320 sq ft (6347 m2) of sails - 42 of them in fact. Alternative power is provided by innovative fuel-efficient diesel engines.

Originally designed and built for Star Clippers, an unresolved dispute with the shipbuilders Brodosplit, saw her chartered by new cruise line Tradewind Voyages.  However it wasn’t plain sailing for  the World’s largest square-rigged sailing vessell; she was actually “arrested” on arrival in the Port of Dover prior to her maiden voyage, due to a financial dispute between the original owner Star Clippers and the shipyard where she was built.

Her inaugural voyage eventually sailed a round trip from Dover with ports of call in Cowes (Isle of Wight, U.K.) and Plymouth, Devon UK.

Contact Tradewind Voyages for more info.

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

Saga Cruises Spirit of Adventure, sister ship of Spirit of Discovery, was originally scheduled to preview on 11 August 2020, but eventually sailed her inaugural voyage on 26th July 2021 with a 15-night sailing around the British Isles.

Based in the U.K, and specifically targeting over-50s guests, the beautiful All Inclusive Spirit of Adventure offers round trip and fly-cruises to the Baltic’s, Med & Caribbean. However she is actually an ice-strengthened expedition ship so can additionally offer polar cruises to European and Canadian Arctic regions, as well as on Antarctica cruises with departures from South American ports.

Spirit of Adventure carries under 1000 guests in 554 cabins over 10 Decks. Spirit of Adventure guests benefit from Saga's "all-inclusive" cruising experience, in which the cost of the cruise covers drinks, gratuities, specialty dining, room service, internet access, and local chauffeur services to the port.

Contact Saga Cruises for more information

CELEBRITY APEX

More than a year after the ship was delivered to Celebrity Cruises in March 2020, Celebrity Apex finally departed Athens on 21 June 2021 on her maiden voyage.

The second ship in Celebrity's Edge class, Celebrity Apex spent her first season in the Aegean offering 7-day sailings from Athens before repositioning to the Bahamas/Caribbean in Dec 2021.

Celebrity Apex was constructed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France. The ship has space for 3405 guests and 1320 crew members. The vessel weighs 130.818 tonnes and is 306 meters long.

For more info contact Celebrity Cruises

Odyssey of the Seas

Royal Caribbean’s 167,704 GT second Quantum-Ultra Class ship Odyssey of the Seas finally sailed her Maiden voyage on 31 July 2021 (originally planned for November 2020).

Odyssey of the Seas sailed her inaugural voyage from Port Everglades, Florida, on an eight-day cruise around the southern Caribbean, stopping off in Dutch Antilles and CocoCay in the Bahamas.

Odyssey has 16 decks and can accommodate 5,498 guests. She will be sailing Caribbean voyages from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until April 2022 and then from May till October 2022, Odyssey will be in the Mediterranean, sailing to Greece and Turkey from Rome.

For more information contact Royal Caribbean

MS Rotterdam

In 2021 Holland America Lines (HAL) welcomed new Pinnacle Class ship MS Rotterdam to the fleet. Named in honour of 6 previous namesakes, Rotterdam made her maiden voyage on 20 October 2021 from Amsterdam.

Following her transatlantic crossing, MS Rotterdam will spend from now through April on her inaugural Caribbean Season, with all sailings roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.

At 99800 gt MS Rotterdam has capacity for 2,668-guests. She is the third Pinnacle class vessel in the fleet following in the wake of sister ships MS Koningsdam and MS Nieuw Statendam.

For more information contact Holland America Line

MARDI GRAS

The long-awaited newest arrival to Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet, Mardi Gras, finally took to sea on her maiden voyage on 31 July 2021.

Mardi Gras was the first cruise ship to set sail with guests from Port Canaveral since the industry-wide pause in operations 16 months previously.

Mardi Gras is also the first cruise ship in the Americas to be powered by eco-friendly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and the first to feature a roller coaster, the infamous Bolt.

The 180,000 GT Mardi Gras is the largest ship in the Carnival fleet. It is 1,130 feet long, and has 19 decks. The ship boasts six distinct themed zones with a variety of food, beverage and entertainment options, including dining venues from Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri, Rudi Sodamin.

Contacr Carnival Cruise Line for more information.

P&O IONA

P&O Cruises much-anticipated new flagship Iona finally set sail from Southampton on 7 August 2021.

It is fair to say that here in the U.K. this was the one we had been desperately waiting for, and bloggers obsessed with (myself included).

This 185,000 GT of maritime beauty, the largest to ever operate for P&O Cruises, had been due to sail away on her inaugural cruise to the Norwegian Fjords on 14 May 2020. Iona had been scheduled to be christened on 4 July 2020 in Southampton followed by a much hyped week-long celebration on the ship, publicised as Ionafest (see my related blog post to see what we missed). Instead her naming ceremony was held virtually in May 2021 - still very exciting but not as much as being there in person.

I could wax lyrical about All Things Iona - and in fact I have - read more HERE!

For further information contact P&O Cruises

SCARLET LADY

Now this is an unusual one even in these strange times. Just before the pandemic started, back in February 2020, I was fortunate enough to attend the first of two U.K. press previews onboard Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady.

To say I had been obsessed with this lady in red since her inception is an understatement (scroll down my feed if you are in any doubt). Her innovation was off the scale and I was just so excited to finally get to meet her in person, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Following her U.K. debut, the plan was for Scarlet Lady to sail transatlantic for a further preview in New York prior to sailing to her home port of Miami where she was due to be christened. Sadly 🦠 had different ideas and so New York was cancelled as was Scarlet Lady’s inaugural season.

What was undoubtedly a huge disappointment over the pond, turned out to be a bonus for us here in the U.K. where cruising was permitted to resume earlier than in the USA. Virgin Voyages announced that Scarlet Lady’s maiden voyage would be from Portsmouth, U.K. on 6 August 2021, the first of several ‘Summer Soirées’ seacations. Her ‘Mermaiden’ cruise from Home Port of Miami eventually commenced in October 2021.

Scarlet Lady has 17 decks, a length of 277.2 metres (909 ft), a draft of 8.05 metres (26.4 ft), and a beam of 41 metres (135 ft). To find out more check out my Virgin Voyages posts HERE

MSC SEASHORE

After construction was delayed by COVID, MSC Cruises newest ship MSC Seashore, eventually set sail on her maiden voyage from the port of Barcelona on 6 August 2021,

MSC Seashore is a Seaside EVO-class cruise ship. With a 5,877 passenger and 1,648 crew capacity and 339 meters/1,112 feet, in length, MSC Seashore is the largest cruise ship to be built in Italy.

See my related post on MSC SEASHORE FACTS & FIGURES

ENCHANTED PRINCESS

Enchanted Princess is the fifth Royal-Class ship in the Princess Cruises fleet. Her sister ships are Discovery Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Sky Princess and P&O Britannia.

Enchanted Princess was set to debut on 15 June 2020, with her maiden voyage initially scheduled for June 18, 2020. However, as a result of the pandemic, Princess Cruises rescheduled several times until eventually cancelling the fleet's entire program through early-July 2021.

Enchanted Princess’s Inaugural Cruise was rescheduled for 10 November 2021 from Port Everglades, with calls at Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Curaçao, and Aruba.

The 145,281 GT Enchanted Princess has capacity for 3,660 guests, over 19 Decks.

Ships Postponing to 2022

Seabourn Venture was due to debut in December 2021 but in August it was announced that her maiden voyage would take place April 10, 2022 from Greenwich, London.

Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady was scheduled to operate her inaugural season in September 2021 from her homeport in Barcelona. However Virgin Voyages decided that they would delay, so Valiant Lady is now set to make her maiden voyage from the UK in March 2022.

Find out what other maritime treats are I store for us in 2022 right HERE