The BBC wasn’t being cheeky when the U.K. news bureau ran an online story with the headline, “Will we ever take cruise holidays again?” Back on April 9, 2020, the future of cruising truly was in doubt. Almost overnight, fears caused by a mysterious deadly virus brought a thriving industry worth $46 billion to its waterlogged knees, and with it a sinking feeling shared by millions of seabound vacationers whose plans were suddenly drydocked.
As a weary world sanitized, masked up, distanced itself and prayed for a panacea, perhaps the last place people imagined themselves being, besides the emergency room, was on water with perhaps thousands of strangers of questionable hygiene and health.
What a difference four years make. Not only have vaxxing requirements been jettisoned except for rare itineraries, but as the books close on 2023, an estimated 31.5 million passengers will have taken to the world’s oceans within the past 12 months. That’s a rebound beyond 2019 demand levels for the first time since the pandemic struck, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Even rosier, the industry’s top trade organization projects a 6% increase from pre-pandemic numbers in 2024, and the boost isn’t necessarily coming from the standard sources of retirees and families.
“Consumer intent to cruise is at an all-time high, with millennials and Gen Xers leading the way in their desire to cruise,” said Kelly Craighead, CLIA president and CEO.
CLIA’s latest annual report notes that at least 73% of those in their 40s and 50s are interested in taking their first cruise, and that more than 86% of those who have sailed plan to do so again.
“This trajectory reflects the increasing number of travelers embracing the extraordinary experiences and exceptional value of cruising,” Craighead said. “They recognize the benefit of visiting multiple locations while only unpacking once, the breadth of onboard activities, entertainment and dining options, and that cruising offers something for every taste and all ages.”
So, let’s explore some of the more exciting 2024 itineraries out of the West and beyond to get an idea. Oceania’s 180-night, 96-port, 33-country, four-continent journey out of L.A. may have been sold out for three years, but the new year is filled with other, less lengthy adventures.
Margaritas, mai tais and moose
With Mexico being a year-round destination, cruise ships out of California’s four busiest cruise ports migrate south of the border whatever the season. More than 300 roundtrips from Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco are scheduled in the coming year. Most of the projected 1 million passengers sailing from San Pedro’s World Cruise Center in 2024 will do so on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, Discovery Princess and Norwegian Bliss. Oceania and Regent Seven Seas also will make jaunts to Mexico from the Port of Los Angeles, which has announced plans to expand its cruise operations within the next few years.
Carnival has a flotilla of Fun Ships heading down to Mexico from Long Beach in 2024. Combining for nearly 200 trips to the land of fiesta will be Radiance, Panorama, Miracle and, debuting in April, Firenze, a former Costa ship that’s been renovated and reflagged to bring “Fun, Italian style,” as Carnival calls it, to the Pacific.
Most seven-day sails from Southern California make calls to at least two of the three most popular ports of the Mexican Riviera — Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán — while Ensenada is usually the lone foreign stop on trips of three or four days. The only itineraries that reach the big three out of San Francisco are 10- and 11-day voyages on the Crown Princess and Ruby Princess. Roughly half the longer journeys are sea days — a plus or minus depending on the cruiser.
The second-most popular cruise destination from California is Alaska, with a peak period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Golden State bows to the Pacific Northwest in the number of voyages to the Last Frontier, but there are 25 on the docket for 2024 — and 24 of them are 10- and 11-day roundtrips from San Francisco aboard the Carnival Miracle and Crown Princess.
Sailing out of Seattle or Vancouver cuts out several sea days, getting you much faster to Juneau’s resplendent, yet receding Mendenhall Glacier and Skagway’s scenic White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Fourteen workhorse ships will be sleepless in Seattle, combining for more than 250 seven-day roundtrips this season. In the mainstream, value-priced category, Carnival is deploying Luminosa and Spirit; Norwegian has Bliss, Encore, Jewel and Sun; and Royal Caribbean is going with sister ships Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas. Premium-class ships include the Celebrity Edge, making its Alaska debut after six years afloat; Holland America’s Eurodam and Westerdam; Princess’ Discovery and Majestic; and Oceania’s Regatta, the smallest ship of those mentioned with a capacity of 656.
Because of proximity and qualification as a law-requiring foreign port, Vancouver, British Columbia, tends to offer the widest variety of cruise lines, ships and durations to Alaska. The upcoming season won’t be any different. Besides all of the above-mentioned cruise lines, other than Carnival, north of the border is where you can also sail with luxury brands Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Viking and Ponant, along with Cunard, Disney and Lindblad/National Geographic of the premium category. Hurtigruten and American Queen Voyages also will sail out of western Canada starting in May.
While many consider seeing the 49th state a bucket list item, a cruise to the 50th isn’t exactly chopped liver with a side of poi. Five cruise lines, 10 ships and 35 roundtrips out of four California ports will have hulls doing the hula to Hawaii in 2024 — just not in summer when ships assigned to the West Coast are needed in Alaska. Carnival, Princess and Viking are booking the most aloha-spirited roundtrips from Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco. Those are usually two-week sails, give or take a day. In February and September, Holland America has voyages of 35 and 51 days that visit four Hawaiian islands and French Polynesia before returning to San Diego.
Fresh on the boat
Rounding out the freshman class of 2024: Cunard’s art deco-designed, 3,000-passenger Queen Anne debuts in May with a 14-day journey from England to the Canary Islands and Spain; her majesty sails from New York in January 2025 and a month later in San Francisco. Silversea’s 738-passenger Silver Ray begins her inaugural season in the Mediterranean in June, then migrates to Florida in the winter to embark on a 72-day Grand Voyage around South America. Royal Caribbean unveils its second new ship of the year in July with Utopia of the Seas, the sixth and final Oasis-class ship; three- and four-day getaways will sail from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas, including the line’s private paradise, the near-perfect Perfect Day at CocoCay. Disney Cruise Line’s floating fairy tale, the 4,000-guest Disney Treasure, gets unwrapped next Christmas an hour east of Walt Disney World in Port Canaveral; bookings are open as far out as May 2025 for weeklong roundtrips to the Caribbean, with or without yo-ho-ho’ing pirates.