It’s been another busy week for new cruise ship updates.
This week The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launched the hull for the first vessel in the new luxury yacht cruise brand. At the event, which took place at the shipyard in Vigo, Spain, Travel Agent had a chance to tour mock-ups of two of the new ship’s suite categories, the Grand Suite and the Terrace Suite. You can see our firsthand report here.
In river cruise news, this week Avalon Waterways announced that “Eat Pray Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert will serve as the godmother to the new Avalon Envision. The new ship, a 166-passenger Suite Ship, will set sail on the Danube River next year following a christening ceremony with Gilbert in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2019.
Also this week CroisiEurope announced plans for a new ship on the Rhone River. The new ship will sail a new seven-day itinerary, as well as two existing six- and eight-day itineraries. The move will bring CroisiEurope’s Rhone River fleet to four vessels. Further details are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
In the United States, assembly continued this week on the new American Harmony from American Cruise Lines. The ship’s lower bow section moved from the fabrication building to the assembly launchways. The American Harmony will be the second ship in American Cruise Lines’ five-ship Modern Riverboat series. It is scheduled to debut in summer 2019.
Finally, this week MSC Cruises opened bookings for the inaugural voyage of the new MSC Grandiosa, which is set to launch in November 2019 as the cruise line’s newest flagship. Bookings are available to MSC Voyagers Club members through October 21, after which they will open to the general public.
Related Stories
Stats: Viking, Regent Named Best for Cruise Line Wi-Fi
Bahamas Paradise Charters Ship to Aid Boston Gas Explosion Recovery
MSC Cruises to Eliminate Single-Use Plastics by March 2019
Crystal to Offer More Than 300 Excursions on 2019 World Cruise