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I've Been on 170 Cruise Ships. Here's What You Need to Know About the New World of Cruising

It looks like 2023 is the year vacationers take to the ocean again en masse. The vessels are larger and more decked out than ever

royal caribbeans icon of the seas cruise ship
Royal Caribbean's "Icon of the Seas"
Courtesy Royal Caribbean Cruises
By

Fran Golden,

 
AARP
Published February 27, 2023

Cruise ships are on a mission to recapture the seas. The COVID pandemic forced cruise lines to pull their ships into port, but now that health concerns have eased, passengers are returning. They are finding an industry reborn.

As a longtime travel journalist, I have been on 170 ships, and I have seen how cruise lines can engage in a hospitality arms race. Before the pandemic struck, many new megaships were already on order, but the delay in launching means that 2023 will feel even more momentous for the industry. Come with us as we look at the crazy-huge world of cruises.

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people having fun on the adults only deck of the mardi gras carnival cruise ship
An adults-only deck on Carnival’s "Mardi Gras."
Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line

Ship design

Making big ships feel less big

There’s an interesting paradox about megaships. The extreme sizes mean that cruise lines can add more and more things to do, but at some point, ships may become too large for passengers to easily enjoy. And so Royal Caribbean has divided its Icon of the Seas ship, to launch next year, into eight “neighborhoods,” the idea being that you choose the section that suits your interests and mostly stay in that area. One neighborhood caters to families with children, for example, while another is meant for young singles and couples.

Carnival Cruise Line has “adults-only spaces,” where passengers can enjoy some peace and quiet around hot tubs, pools and bars, away from the family crowd.

a show on royal caribbean with superhero characters
Royal Caribbean has a show with superhero characters.
Courtesy Royal Caribbean

Entertainment

Broadway shows and ways to play onstage

The old Las Vegas–style revues are long gone. Now singers and dancers recruited from Broadway and London’s West End appear in slightly truncated versions of Broadway shows such as Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which on the Norwegian Prima morphs into a big disco party with the audience.

Daytime entertainment likewise has been updated. While the old belly flop and hairy chest contests are out, a replacement has emerged: On Carnival’s Mardi Gras and its sister ships, you can watch — or play! — Family Feud Live.

people riding the bolt roller coaster on a carnival cruise
Carnival Cruise Line’s Bolt roller coaster
Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line

Recreation

Board a floating theme park

Roller coasters are thrilling enough, but one at sea gives you the sensation of flying above the vast ocean blue. Melisa Colby, 62, has ridden the coaster on Carnival’s 5,282-passenger Mardi Gras. “The first time, I screamed,” says the preschool teacher from Jacksonville, Florida. “The second, third and fourth times, I was smiling and putting my arms up in the air.”

On Royal Caribbean’s Icon, travelers will enjoy a water park with six slides. Nearby, on an attraction that’s a combination skywalk, ropes course and thrill ride, you’ll be able to strap on a harness and walk a plank. At the end of the plank, the bottom drops out, and you’ll swing 154 feet above the ocean.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new 3,100-passenger Norwegian Prima is topped with a go-kart track. Another attraction is a 10-deck drop in a waterless tube slide mostly suspended off the side of the ship.

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a table covered in different dishes on a celebrity beyond cruise ship
Food on "Celebrity Beyond."
Courtesy Celebrity Cruises

Dining

Eat your way around the world

Food has always been a cruising calling card, and it has gotten better and more varied to reflect the growing “foodie” culture. Global flavors and vegan and vegetarian options are getting more play, and cruise companies have finally realized that their passengers might like to taste food from the destinations they’re visiting, such as jerk chicken when they sail to Jamaica.

To satisfy a whole lot of tastes, the Norwegian Prima has a complimentary Food Hall where you can choose from counters featuring Southern comfort food, Spanish tapas or Indian chicken tikka, to name a few options. “They are leading in trends that we are seeing on land and doing it so well,” says Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of the leading website Cruise Critic.

Some cruise lines are adding new specialty restaurants that charge extra for upgraded choices, such as sushi and aged steaks. Big culinary names may be involved. Emeril Lagasse has New Orleans–style bistros on Carnival’s latest ships (a shrimp po’boy won’t break the bank at $6), while the 3,260-passenger Celebrity Beyond and sister ship Celebrity Ascent (debuting in December 2023) will boast restaurants by renowned chef Daniel Boulud (from $75 per person for three courses; $125 for five).

Over the years that traveler Jill Dill Vincent, 78, has cruised with Carnival, she has seen more sophisticated menus in the main dining rooms. “I love the lobster,” she says. Her husband, Ken, 74, favors the desserts, especially the “melting chocolate cake.”

a smoking drink on the carnival mardi gras
Passengers enjoy drinks on the Carnival "Mardi Gras."
Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line

Drinking

Brewing up refreshment

The craft beer boom can’t be contained by land. The latest Carnival ships have onboard breweries. Also in vogue: molecular cocktails that smoke and change colors. At a bar on Carnival’s Mardi Gras, you can order the Crystal Ball, a tequila drink that arrives in a foggy orb. Norwegian Prima has a “sustainable” bar featuring drinks made with ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, as well as earth-friendly biodynamic wines.

a father and daughter salmon fishing on a princess cruise stop in alaska
Salmon fishing on a Princess cruise stop in Alaska.
Courtesy Princess Cruise Lines

Ports of call

Beyond the beach

The Caribbean and Bermuda together represent 44 percent of the world cruise market, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, making them by far the world’s most popular cruise destinations. For North American travelers, cruises to Alaska and the Mediterranean are also expected to be popular this year as passengers regain their sea legs.

That’s fairly typical. But what is changing is what travelers do when on shore: “more sustainable and local experiences,” says Roberta Jacoby, a hospitality and travel industry consultant. Cruise lines are fulfilling demand with cultural, adventure, multigenerational, lifestyle and wellness add-on shore excursions via local operators. On Holland America Line and Princess Cruises ships in Alaska, you can go salmon fishing with a local fisherman and, after you reel in “the big one,” have your catch cooked by the ship’s chefs. On a Caribbean cruise, you might visit an ecopark and farm that promotes environmental education on St. Kitts or skip the beach in favor of a green monkey encounter at a wildlife reserve in Barbados.

Fran Golden is an award-­winning travel journalist and the author of numerous travel books, including 100 Things to Do in Alaska Before You Die.​

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