Almost five months in, 2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for cruising aficionados. On oceans and rivers, a fleet of newly built luxury liners are sailing into (metaphorically) uncharted waters, redefining what a cruise ship can be. Here are 12 of the best in show, both recently launched and soon to debut.
Crystal expanded its purview from oceans to rivers last year when it debuted a renovated ship. This summer it will launch its first new-build river ships, Crystal Bach in August and Crystal Mahler in September. The 360-foot ships are intimate but spacious, carrying just 78 guests in 39 cabins, several of which have working fireplaces. There’s butler service for every suite, and each one has a king-size bed that faces a wall of windows and balcony. Closets are all walk-in, and the robes and slippers are by the Italian fashion brand ETRO. Both ships will have a Palm Court with a glass ceiling and a glass-roofed pool area. Included in every sailing is an onshore meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and meals on board can be taken at one of several restaurants, with guests able to pick when and where they eat, a river-cruising rarity. The ships will sail the Rhine, Danube and Main rivers in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary.
One of five ships that CroisiEurope will premiere this year, the African Dream is the rare cruiser to ply the waters of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers between Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and it marks only the second time the company has ventured beyond the Continent. (The first was to Southeast Asia’s Mekong.) Itineraries on the 16-passenger ship — all of whose suites have large windows and balconies facing the water and passing scenery — combine several days on the rivers with time on land, too, offering ample opportunity to spot wildlife. Beyond the suites on board, guests can enjoy a restaurant with sweeping views, a lounge-bar and a rooftop patio with pool and lounges. Later, they’ll stay at CroisiEurope’s first land-based accommodation, a lodge with eight thatch-roof bungalows and an infinity pool that looks out over northeastern Namibia’s Impalila Island.
Only the third outfit to test the luxe-cruising waters of the Peruvian Amazon — the others being Aqua Expeditions and Delfin Amazon Cruises — the locally based company Rivers & Forests Expeditions will bring guests on three- and four-night trips to explore the flooded rainforest beginning in April. The R&F Amazonas takes its inspiration from the traditional vessels that first explored the area, reimagining them in highly polished wood and glass. Of the 16 suites, the top accommodation is the Presidential, whose floor-to-ceiling windows curve around the prow, offering 180-degree views, but even the Standard ones have 90-degree vistas from their window walls. (The windowless Junior Suite is probably best avoided.) Daily guided excursions see guests venturing off on skiffs to view abundant wildlife, from caimans and pink dolphins to hundreds of varieties of birds — and piranhas, too. Don’t worry; you won’t be going swimming.
In March, the S.S. Joie de Vivre was christened as the latest vessel from Uniworld, whose sought-after cruises ply the rivers of Europe, Asia and North Africa. The Joie de Vivre, as its name suggests, will focus on France, sailing the Seine between Paris and Normandy — with stops at Monet’s Giverny gardens and the culinary capital of Rouen — as it celebrates the best of the region’s culture. Filled with fine art and antiques acquired through illustrious auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s, the 128-passenger ship incorporates handcrafted furniture, gilded and wrought-iron accents and lush fabrics. (The design team from Uniworld’s sister company, Red Carnation Hotels, whose holdings include Ireland’s Ashford Castle, handled the décor.) Butlers trained to the standards of Buckingham Palace address guests’ needs — perhaps even providing dancing lessons on the hydraulic floor in the pool area that lifts up at night and turns into Le Club l’Esprit.
The American Queen Steamboat Company, which specializes in river cruises through the U.S.’s Midwest, South and Pacific Northwest, will unveil the 166-passenger American Duchess in August. The first all-suite paddle-wheel cruiser in the U.S., the ship has five types of cabins, including unique two-story loft-style accommodations that feature wood-paneled walls and quilted leather headboards. The vessel takes her cues from classic paddle-wheelers of the Victorian era, sporting lacy filigree details on the outside and antiques within, plus musical stage shows that would do Oscar Hammerstein proud and a restaurant that celebrates the bounty of the American heartland. Branching out well beyond expected itineraries on the lower Mississippi River, the American Duchess will also sail the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, as well as the upper Mississippi and Illinois, making stops in Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville, Chattanooga and even Pittsburgh in addition to lower Mississippi stalwarts like Memphis, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
The novel appeal of the months-old Encore is found in the smart partnerships Seabourn has formed: Multi-Michelin-starred Thomas Keller, of Napa Valley’s French Laundry and New York City’s Per Se, will continue overseeing a restaurant on board; integrative-medicine guru Dr. Andrew Weil is newly involved with wellness programming; and hotel and restaurant architect Adam T. Tihany handled design. Endeavoring to make the 300-suite Encore feel like a private yacht, Tihany deployed curving swaths of polished mahogany, chrome accents and a nautical palette of blues, whites and browns. Sister to three similar Seabourn ships, the Encore has several firsts: an extra deck, a gourmet sushi venue and the secluded Sanctuary, an alfresco retreat with cabanas for those who pay extra. Currently, the Encore is navigating itineraries in Asia, the Middle East and Australia before moving to the Mediterranean this summer. (Look for Seabourn’s newest ship, the Ovation, launching next year and already taking bookings.)
The first new arrival from Silversea in eight years, the 596-passenger Silver Muse, debuting this month, will be the biggest vessel in the line’s fleet, boasting more dining options and more large-scale suites than any other ultra-luxury ship at sea, as well as an unprecedented amount of alfresco space for a cruiser of its size. Expected standouts among the eight eateries on board are La Dame, whose menus are created by chefs from Relais & Chateaux, and Silver Note, which offers tapas cuisine accompanied by live jazz. Silversea is known for the scale of its suites, something in evidence on the Muse, with many in the Owner’s, Grand and Royal and Silver suite categories measuring in at 1,000 square feet or more. Spring and summer have the Muse in the Mediterranean, followed by fall and winter in Florida, the Caribbean and South America. And it's just been reported that the ship will spend the first quarter of 2019 in Australia.
Billed as “The Most Luxurious Ship Ever Built,” the eight-month-old Explorer has the qualities to back up this stupendous claim. Regent spent an unprecedented $600,000-plus per berth to build the $450 million, 750-passenger ship, whose commodious suite-style cabins all have private outdoor space, plush furnishings and tasteful Art Deco- or classically influenced décor. The ship sails with $6 million worth of art onboard, including works by Picasso, an acre of marble and enough silver and gold leaf and crystal to fill a palace. The sheer sense of space is extraordinary, as is Regent’s definition of all-inclusive, which comprises all shore excursions, meals at the specialty Asian, French and steakhouse restaurants, and even business-class airfare during this inaugural year. Don’t miss the Canyon Ranch spa and the hands-on cooking school run by the Culinary Institute of America. The ship sails the Mediterranean and Northern Europe through November, then heads to the Caribbean.
June sees the launch of the first-ever new-build ship from Lindblad-National Geographic, the longtime go-to for high-end expedition cruising in some of the world’s most fragile and hard-to-reach locales, especially the Arctic and Antarctic. Founded by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the first person to bring tourists to the South Pole, and now run by his son, Sven, the company has commissioned this new 100-passenger ship to cruise Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in summer, and Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and Guatemala in the winter. The Quest is a third larger than Lindblad’s other ships, owing to the addition of a fourth deck, and the ship will see Lindblad debuting its first cabins with balconies — about half will have step-out outdoor space. Families and groups of friends will especially enjoy the six sets of interconnecting cabins, and everyone will love the views from the dining room with floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows.
A river-cruising favorite, Viking introduced its first ocean-going vessel in 2015, adding the Viking Sky in February and the Viking Sun in November as the third and fourth. As with its previous ships, the line commissioned Houston architect Lauren Rottet, whose high-profile projects include the St. Regis Aspen and the bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel, to create the Scandi-mod look of the 465 cabins, restaurants, spa and infinity pool hanging off stern. The Sky features more outdoor areas than Viking’s previous ships, a larger fitness area and more food options, not least a new French bistro. Now plying the Mediterranean, it moves to the Baltics and Scandinavia this summer, heading to the Caribbean for winter. There, it will be met by the Sun before the latter takes off on a 141-day, 66-port world cruise.
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