This is an eye-popper. Launching a new class of ships, Icon of the Seas will be the world’s largest cruise ship capable of carrying 7,600 passengers. The ship’s focal art piece will be the 82-foot AquaDome on the bow, which will house the ship’s AquaTheater for aquatic stage productions capped by a 50-foot waterfall. Also new to Icon are Royal Caribbean’s first food hall-style dining concept, the first swim-up bar, the largest pool and waterpark at sea. Icon will homeport in Miami with its first sailing in January 2024.
Ilma
Cruise line: Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Ritz-Carlton’s second yacht in the fleet will be nearly twice the size of the Evrima, which launched the brand in 2022. The yacht will have 228 suites—each with private terraces—a Ritz-Carlton Spa and a Ritz Kids program venue. Guests will also enjoy a marina-style watersports platform and a nearly one-to-one ratio of onboard staff members to guests. Planned to split its time between the Mediterranean and Caribbean, the yacht’s 2024 launch date has not yet been announced.
Celebrity Ascent
Cruise line: Celebrity
The fourth in Celebrity’s designer Edge-class, Celebrity Ascent launches in late 2023 with a host of refinements on what is now a well-wrought model. Le Voyage, the signature Daniel Boulud restaurant introduced on Celebrity Beyond, is completely redesigned with dramatic architecture in an intimate space. Also all-new in design are the ship’s casino and art gallery, plus the addition of a 24-seat outdoor terrace to Blu, the clean-cuisine restaurant exclusive to Aqua Class guests, and a new plant-based tasting menu at Eden Restaurant.
The Itineraries
The Kimberley
Cruise line: Seabourn
From May through August, 2024, Seabourn Pursuit will sail between Darwin and Broome, Australia, in a lonely region of the continent’s northwest coast known as Kimberley, famous for technicolor contrasts between blue ocean and multicolor terrain in all forms—from sandstone peaks to coral reefs and towering waterfalls. Guests might visit a pearl farm, or be immersed in abundant wildlife at all turns.
Islands of the Atlantic Ridge
Cruise line: Lindblad Expeditions
In October 2024, National Geographic Endurance will embark on an epic 24-day sailing from Salvador, Brazil, exploring clusters of equatorial islands en route to the Azores. Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores are all on the itinerary, with terrain ranging from volcanoes to verdant jungles. A highlight of the trip will be the mid-ocean St. Peter and Paul Archipelago, an outcropping of rocks home to seabirds and endemic reef fish that can be found nowhere else on earth.
