Wave season 2021 is shaping up to be a bizarre one, as cruises are looking less likely to sail during the first few months of the year. Nonetheless, there are still plenty of deals to be had, and several lines continue to reveal itineraries for booking further ahead, in 2022 and even 2023 as consumer confidence in travel rebuilds.
Here is a treasure trove of the latest highlights per brand, presented in two parts. (Note: See Part 2 of our wave season round-up here.)
Celebrity Cruises
For winter 2021-2022, Celebrity Cruises plans to deploy ships in the Caribbean, Europe and South America.
Celebrity Edge will alternate between weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings; Celebrity Silhouette will cover the Southern Caribbean including overnights in Aruba and Curacao; and Celebrity Summit will feature shorter four- and five-night routes from Miami. Meanwhile, Celebrity Infinity is slated to homeport in Lisbon, Portugal, in October and November before heading to South America (including Antarctica) in December 2021, where the ship will remain until March 2022.
Later in 2022, from May to July, Celebrity Summit will offer seven- to 10-night cruises to Bermuda before departing on a pair of 12-night transatlantic crossings visiting Iceland and Greenland in August. New for Celebrity, Summit will sail 10 to 12-night voyages from Boston to New England and Canada at the end of August through early October.
Come summer 2022, Celebrity’s newest ships — Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Edge — plus four others will all be in Europe calling on nearly 100 destinations, including overnights in Bordeaux, France; Istanbul; Jerusalem; Lisbon, Portugal; Reykjavik, Iceland; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Venice, Italy. Apex will traverse Scandinavia and Russia while Edge will journey to the Mediterranean on seven-night trips from Rome and Barcelona.
Celebrity Infinity will also be in the Mediterranean for weeklong cruises between Venice, Lisbon and Barcelona, as will Celebrity Constellation, sailing nine- and 10-night voyages between Venice, Rome and Barcelona. Farther to the east, Celebrity Reflection will cover Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro and the Greek Islands on 10- and 11-night sailings. And Celebrity Silhouette will be based in Southampton, U.K., to feature the Norwegian Fjords, Spain, Portugal and the Italian Mediterranean.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises just confirmed its 2021-2022 winter season, which will include four of its ships embarking in the U.S. and feature the line’s Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve private island in the Bahamas. The new MSC Seashore will homeport in Miami starting in November to alternate between weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean circuits.
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MSC Armonia will also depart from Miami on three-, four- and seven-night cruises. Ships departing from Port Canaveral, Fla., will include MSC Meraviglia, sailing a variety of voyages ranging in length from three to eight nights, and MSC Divina, before the vessel repositions to Miami in December.
Also placed in the Caribbean, MSC Seaview will be homeporting from Fort-de-France, Martinique. The remainder of the fleet will set up shop in the Mediterranean, the Gulf region, South America and South Africa.
As for summer 2022, the line will have MSC Seashore (Miami) and MSC Divina (Port Canaveral) based stateside for Caribbean cruises. Other destinations will include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Asia.
MSC will also visit 81 ports of call in 38 countries on its grand voyages and repositioning cruises in 2021 and 2022. The line’s 2022 and 2023 world cruises are available to book as well.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is already looking as far out as 2023, having released its summer itineraries for that year, and everything from Alaska to the Mediterranean is on the schedule.
The Alaskan season will feature four regional vessels — Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Sun — on five- to nine-day voyages from Seattle; Seward, Alaska; and Vancouver, Canada. On the opposite coast, Norwegian Escape will be based in New York City as it heads to Canada and New England on weeklong roundtrips.
The Caribbean will continue as a mainstay destination for the line with Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Sky departing from Miami on five to nine-day Eastern and Western itineraries including the line’s Harvest Caye private island. In the Bahamas, Norwegian Sky will also call on Freeport, Nassau, and the brand’s other private island, Great Stirrup Cay, on three and four-day routes. Norwegian Bliss will be heading to Bermuda.
Elsewhere, Norwegian Getaway will visit Northern Europe on nine-day Baltic sailings, while Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jade will take up residency in the Mediterranean on five- to 11-night cruises.
Oceania Cruises
Looking ahead to summer 2022, Oceania Cruises is preparing itineraries locally and abroad. From North America, guests will be able to embark in Seattle, Vancouver or Los Angeles to cruise up to Alaska for seven, nine, 10, 11, 12 or 13 days. Alternatively, New York will serve as the point of departure for weeklong Bermuda sailings, as well as an extensive 46-day voyage onboard Insignia to New England, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, France, Spain, Portugal and even the Azores, Portugal.
Other long sailings include a 22-day Mediterranean cruise on Nautica from Jerusalem to Barcelona, plus a 38-day voyage on Sirena to North Africa; Madeira, Portugal; and the Canary Islands, Spain.
Marina and Sirena will also head to Scandinavia and Russia on one- to two-week-long voyages while the rest of the fleet visits the Western Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, the Holy Land, the U.K., Ireland and more.
The Details
Celebrity Cruises
www.celebritycruises.com
MSC Cruises
www.msccruisesusa.com
Norwegian Cruise Line
www.ncl.com
Oceania Cruises
www.oceaniacruises.com
