Icon of the Seas is the first ship in Royal Caribbean’s new Icon class
It comes a week after the 7,600-passenger vessel was unveiled in Miami, the ship’s soon-to-be homeport, where it will sail a range of eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.
“The enthusiasm and excitement for Icon are undeniable in more ways than one,” said Michael Bayley, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean International.
“The incredible response we have received from our loyal guests, vacationers new to cruising, crew members and travel partners continues to come in, and this is just the beginning.”
The new ship features a range of firsts for the brand across eight “neighbourhoods”, giving it the line’s “biggest-ever” focus on families.
The icon will sail year-round on seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami. Each cruise will visit the line’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and a mix of destinations such as Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, Saint Maarten; and Basseterre, Saint Kitts.
MS Nieuw Amsterdam arriving in the port of Vancouver, Photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)
With its entire fleet in service again, Holland America Line is planning an expansive global deployment in 2023.
In addition to strong programs from its traditional homeports in the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe, the company is also returning to its long-haul, intercontinental itineraries during the year.
Other highlights of the year include a summer program in Canada and New England, as well as returns to South America, Asia, the Far East and more.
Here’s a look at the company’s planned homeports and their ships for 2023:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Ships:
– Eurodam (January to April/October to December); – Nieuw Amsterdam (January to April/October to December); – Nieuw Statendam (January to April/November and December); – Rotterdam (January to March/October to December); – Volendam (January to April); – Zaandam (January to April/October to December); – Zuiderdam (January to May/October to December).
Seattle, Washington
Ships:
– Eurodam (April to September); – Westerdam (May to October).
San Diego, California
Ships:
– Koningsdam (January to March); – Volendam (October and November); – Zaandam (January to April).
Whittier, Alaska
Ships:
– Nieuw Amsterdam (May to September); – Noordam (May to September).
Boston, Massachusetts
Ships:
– Zaandam (May to September); – Zuiderdam (August and September).
Canada
Ships:
– Koningsdam: Vancouver (April to October); – Nieuw Amsterdam: Vancouver (April to September); – Noordam: Vancouver (May to September); – Volendam: Vancouver (May to September); – Zaandam: Montreal (April to September); – Zuiderdam: Quebec City (September).
Europe
Ships:
– Nieuw Statendam: Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Copenhagen, Piraeus and more (April to October); – Noordam: Barcelona, Lisbon, Trieste, Piraeus and more (April to October); – Rotterdam: Amsterdam and Rotterdam (April to September); – Zuiderdam: Rotterdam (May to July).
Australia and New Zealand
Ships:
– Noordam: Sydney and Auckland (January to April/October to December).
Asia and Pacific
Ships:
– Westerdam: Singapore, Yokohama and Hong Kong (January to April/October to December).
South America
Ships:
– Oosterdam: San Antonio and Buenos Aires (January to March/November and December).
Resorts World Cruises announced that it will be the first cruise line to add a Kuala Lumpur homeport (via Port Klang) for the Genting Dream starting July, in addition to the Singapore homeport, which the company started operations from in June.
With the dual homeport options, travellers can now choose to embark from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Two-night cruises from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore will depart on Thursdays and Saturdays and three-night cruises from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and Singapore will depart on Mondays.
Departure days from Singapore will remain the same on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and from July 22 onwards, Friday cruises will re-introduce the two-night High Seas Weekend Getaway cruises.
The dual homeport was designed to further cater for the demand of round-trip cruises, targeting the 10 million+ population residing in central Peninsular Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca), who live within a short drive of Port Klang, the embarkation port.
Besides that, Resorts World Cruises will also offer one-way cruises that will become an alternative to air and land travel for the millions of travellers between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, including to Penang.
“Resorts World Cruises is excited to take the lead for the cruise sector to boost the in-and-outbound tourists for Singapore; and to bring cruising to the ‘doorsteps’ of Malaysians residing in central Peninsular Malaysia as they can depart from Kuala Lumpur, which is convenient and affordable,” said Michael Goh, President of Resorts World Cruises. “As Genting Dream is certified as the World’s
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