by Jason Leppert
Last updated: 11:00 AM ET, Tue December 27, 2016
CORRECTION: Sir Bani Yas already opened in December 2016, not 2017 as originally stated.
Winners
Cuban Cruising
New cruise line Fathom was the first to get historic approval to sail to Cuba roundtrip from Miami, Florida in May of this year, and although its sailing there will end by next May, many other cruise lines just received approval to visit from the U.S. as well: Azamara Club Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Pearl Seas Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.
New Ships
As the cruise industry rapidly expands, many more new cruise ships launch annually. This year alone saw the arrival of Holland America Line's Koningsdam, Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Vista, Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Explorer, Viking Ocean Cruises' Viking Sea, Seabourn's Seabourn Encore and Royal Caribbean International's Ovation of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas.
Of course, every time a new ship comes out, it provides far more choices for the consumer, and while there continues to be a trend towards larger ships, there is thankfully an inverse for smaller intimate ones as well.
Major Refurbishments
As we said last year, new ships are only as good as cruise lines' ability to maintain their existing fleets simultaneously, and both Cunard Line and Disney Cruise Line impressed this year with major refurbishments, remodels really, of the Queen Mary 2 and Disney Wonder respectively.
Cunard poured around $132 million to update its flagship ocean liner, and the results are stunning. Reconfigured venues shine with enhanced guest experiences from the new Carinthia Lounge to the Kings Court buffet. Similarly, Disney Cruise Line revamped its Disney Wonder to more closely resemble the improvements made to the Disney Magic in 2013. With "Frozen" now permanently aboard, upgraded spaces for families, children and adults alike and so much more, the Wonder too blew us away this year.
Private Destinations
Private islands have long been a way for cruise lines to differentiate themselves with their own brand of dedicated shoreside experiences, and Norwegian Cruise Line took the concept to a whole new level when it recently opened its Harvest Caye in Belize. While the island provides a more controlled experience for overall guest satisfaction, it does not insulate passengers from the region. In fact, the island is locally-operated and uniquely features access to the mainland for optional touring.
MSC Cruises also announced Sir Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi which opened this December, and its previously announced Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Caribbean was scheduled to open in December 2017 but has been pushed back to October 2018. Either way, MSC Cruises is also furthering the destination experience in the near future.
Losers
The Environment
Sadly, the biggest loser this year was the environment when it was revealed that Princess Cruises had pleaded guilty to seven felony charges for polluting the ocean and consequently fined $40 million. While it is known that these actions are not in line with Carnival Corporation's philosophy, the deliberate act by crew within the company to circumvent proper policies is nothing short of appalling.
Fathom
It's true that Fathom will continue in some form to offer Carnival Corporation guests "impact travel" experiences to volunteer and culturally interact shoreside. However, the planned redeployment of the fledgling cruise line's sole ship from the fleet is no doubt a setback from the company's original goals to offer an all-encompassing cruise experience both onboard and on land. Nonetheless, this now frees up the brand to expand beyond Cuba and the Dominican Republic to perhaps better the world in more ways and in more places.
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