Even after a year in which major cruise lines cut their fleets, retiring dozens of ships—some to scrapyards and some to smaller operators—dozens of new ships are coming on line in the next year or so. Some of them were to have debuted this year and will now appear in 2021.
In general, the lines have eliminated their oldest and least efficient ships, favoring those with newer propulsion systems and decor; another factor has been size. With much of the industry's focus in the past few years on megaships, some cruisers prefer smaller, more intimate ships. But there will be fewer of those: in the photo above, Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas, right, will be gone, while the much-larger Harmony of the Seas sails on.
Among the new ships headed toward service are Carnival's largest ship ever, Mardi Gras, with the first at-sea roller coaster. Carnival's P&O line is getting Iona, its largest ever and first fueled by LNG; Virgin Voyages ('please don't say cruise') will debut its first ship, Scarlet Lady, and MSC will get Virtuosa, a ship longer than the Empire State Building is high, and capable of carrying 6,300 passengers and 1,700 crew members.
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