To borrow a baseball metaphor, we are only in the third inning of 2013 and already cruise lines are firing fastballs at us for 2014.
The major North American cruise lines have only three new ships scheduled for delivery next year, but that's just enough to load the bases.
Norwegian will be first up with the 4,000-passenger Getaway, a sister ship to the Breakaway that will arrive in New York in May. In spring 2014, the Regal Princess makes its debut, with most of the features you will see on its sister ship Royal Princess, which is being launched this spring. In fall 2014, Royal Caribbean will introduce Quantum of the Seas - its first ship since Allure of the Seas, which launched in 2010.
Norwegian Getaway will operate Caribbean cruises year-round from Miami. Regal Princess will spend her inaugural season in the Mediterranean offering 12-night cruises between Venice and Barcelona. Quantum's schedule should be available in the next few weeks.
Many luxury brands will add more seven-day cruises in Europe for travellers who want a little bit of sea and a little bit of land or those who are time crunched.
In the premium category, Celebrity Cruises will operate a series of seven-day European open-jaw trips, according to CEO Michael Bayley. "Open jaw" means you can get on the ship at one port and disembark at another and have the opportunity to combine a series of trips without repeating a port.
Azamara's twin deluxe ships, Quest and Journey, will have 72 new voyages next year ranging from four to 17 nights in Europe (as well as the Far East, South America and the North American east coast).
The other deluxe line, Oceania, will return Insignia to its fleet. It has been chartered for two years and will sail 70 European cruises, 93 per cent of which are new.
New from Holland America are two Asian cruises. In February 2014, the Vo-lendam will sail a 14-day, round-trip itinerary from Singapore that includes ports in Malaysia, Thailand and India with an overnight in Rangoon and a one-day stop in Myanmar. A 14-day cruise covering Indonesia will include stops in Jakarta and Komodo Island and overnight in Bali.
Pacific Princess will spend a good part of the winter and spring of 2014 in the South Pacific, passing on its world cruise.
SOUTH AMERICAN SOJOURN
The Crown Princess will make its South American debut with a 49-day cruise that can be broken into 16-and 33-day segments, a new schedule that eliminates planned Caribbean dates from February to April. The cruise starts in Fort Lauderdale and ends in Los Angeles. Passengers on the debut tour can enjoy an overnight stop in Rio de Janeiro, visit Ilhabela - an island off the coast of Brazil that lives up to its name, which means "beautiful island" - sail around Cape Horn, through the Chilean Fjords and up the Pacific coast. There is also an optional land tour to Machu Picchu, site of the impressive Incan ruins.
This is just the start. In the next few months, I will have a lot more on 2014.
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