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Cruise Line News
---- THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS ----
(12/31/2025) Norwegian Cruise Line Opens First Of Many Improvements To Their Private Island
(12/29/2025) Carnival Wins Award For Best Cruise Ship Attraction
(11/18/2025) Norwegian Luna To Launch in Spring 2026 with another Wiegand SlideCoaster
(10/12/2025) Royal Caribbean Shows Off Features of the new Legend of the Seas
(7/30/2025) Norwegian Cruise Line Unveils New Waterpark Plans For Private Island
 CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE - (12/29/2025) Screamscape has been covering more and more Cruise Ship news over the past few years because, quite honestly, many of them really are starting to take on the role of being a floating theme park, each trying to out-do the competition by innovating and adding new and unique thrilling attractions of their own.
So with that in mind, it was fun to see that CruiseHive had their readers vote about what they felt was the best Cruise Ship Feature of 2025, and the winner with 22.9% of the votes was the BOLT roller coaster currently found on all three of Carnival’s Excel-class ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration and Jubilee). This is the 5th year in a row that the Bolt coaster has won this award, going back to the launch of the first version of the attraction on the Carnival Mardi Gras in 2021.
It’s worth mentioning that a similar sea-coaster from the same manufacturer will also be presented as a highlight experience on the new Disney Adventure cruise ship when it launches from Singapore in March 2026 with an Iron Man theme called the Ironcycle Test Run.
For the record, the follow-up attractions on other ships include:
2) the Magic Carpet on Celebrity Cruises at #2 (a platform mounted to the side of the ship able to rise from the top and lower down to the water) with 18.6% of the vote.
3) Cliffhanger on MSC Cruises with 18.2%
4) the new Aqua Slidecoaster on Norwegian Crusie Line with 16.7%
5) Crown’s Edge on Royal Caribbean with 16.5%
6) Disney’s AquaMouse with the final 7% of the votes.
So with all that in mind, I do find it interesting that Carnival has already confirmed that on the next two Excel-class ships that are in production (Festivale and Tropical), they have opted to not include a Bolt coaster and will instead create a bigger area for waterpark attractions.
(6/30/2025) Carnival Cruise Line dropped a huge announcement this week confirming that the chain’s fleet is switching back to Coke products from Pepsi. The controversial switch from Coke to Pepsi apparently took place in 2019, just ahead of the pandemic, but now in 2025 they are reversing this decision. According to the statement from Carnival, Coca-Cola products will be coming back on-board fleet wide later this summer, featuring Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta and more.
MSC Cruises - (6/21/2025) Blooloop reports that one of the new attractions on-board the new MSC World Asia will be “the world’s longest dry slide at sea” when it launches in 2026. This will be MSC’s third “World Class” vessel when it sets sail in December 2026 and while it will copy many of the design concepts from MSC’s World Europa and World America, the World Asia will feature the “Tree of Life” slide, which will send guests down 12 decks in mere seconds.
Previously this year it was announced that MSC had upped their original order for four World Class vessels to a new total of Six to come out between now and 2030.
(5/20/2025) MSC Cruises announced that they have placed orders for two more of their “World Class” ships, which will bring the total number up to six of the vessels within the fleet once the order is complete.
Currently MSC offers cruises on the MSC World Europa and MSC World America, with the MSC World Asia expected to launch in 2026 and WSC World Atlantic in 2027. The latest order would see those last two ships expected to launch in 2029 and 2030.
(2/4/2025) Following the official launch of the MSC World America in April 2025, details about MSC’s next “World” Class ship have now been revealed. With a planned launch in December 2026, MSC World Asia will be the third World class vessel in the fleet, which started with the launch of the MSC World Europa in December 2022. A forth World class ship, yet to be named, is also planned to be launched in 2027.
For those looking for unique ship-mounted experiences, the MSC World Asia will also feature the same “Cliffhanger” swing ride that hangs riders over the edge of the ship that will first premier on the World America this Spring.
Norwegian Cruise Line - (12/31/2025) Private islands and/or exclusive beach destinations have become a major selling point for cruise lines as they sail around the Caribbean. These days just about every cruise line has at least one, with more stops on the way all the time. Most of these little stop can be found on tiny islands within a quick to the north or east of Nassau and you would be surprised to know that some of them even actually share the same island. For example Princess Cay, a popular stop for many Princess and Carnival cruise ships, is actually on the same island as Disney’s new Lighthouse Point stop. The ocean pier Disney installed to dock their ships is just south and perfectly visible from where the boats park to tender to Princess Cay, but Disney wisely put their beach portion on the opposite side of the island, out of view.
Another set of ports that are very close to each other would be Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day CocoCay private island, but the next tiny island over is home to Norwegian Cruise Lines older Great Stirrup Cay private island, which you can see here.
Norwegian has confirmed that the first of several major upgrades to Great Stirrup Cay have been completed as of December 28th, adding a sea pier where their vessels can now dock rather than rely on tenders. The Norwegian Getaway was the first ship to have the honor to dock at the new pier this week. The pier will continue to grow as well, adding new berths so that more than one ship can dock at a time when necessary, not unlike the Royal Caribbean’s pier next door that can accommodate two ships at a time.
Other new improvements just added include the Great Life Lagoon pool area that features two new swim-up bars and space for a DJ and other live entertainment. The area also includes lounges chairs as well as rentable cabanas and villas structures if you’re so inclined. There is also a new children’s play area with “new water play features”.
More improvements will continue to open throughout 2026, including The Great Tides Waterpark, a 6-acre park that will offer 19 waterslides, a lazy river and cliffside slides that should be ready by Summer 2026. The island will also add an adults only club area called the Vibe Shore Club, that will offer more premium services for guests looking to escape to a quieter environment.
(11/18/2025) According to those attending IAAPA the Wiegand Waterrides booth confirmed that they would be opening a second SlideCoaster along with Norwegian Cruise Lines on the new Norwegian Luna that is set to launch next year. The first slide coaster opened in 2025 with the launch of the Norwegian Aqua, so it makes sense for another one to launch with the premier of the sister ship, Luna, that is expected to begin sailing from Miami April 2026 following a transatlantic relocation cruise from Italy that should begin in mid-March.
(7/30/2025) Norwegian Cruise Line has unveiled plans to build their own waterpark on a private 270-acre island in the Bahamas. According to the details the Great Tides Waterpark will feature 19 waterslides, an 800-foot long lazy river along with swim-up bars, a huge splash zone, and “the industry’s first cliffside jumps”. Opening in Summer 2026, a visual icon for the waterpark will be the Tidal Tower structure which will be home to 8 of the park’s biggest and best waterslides.
Between this and the addition of the crazy new dueling launched Aqua Slidecoaster added to the Norwegian Aqua earlier this year, it looks like Norwegian is getting serious about adding more attractions for their guests to enjoy.
(3/22/2025) Footage of a new water-coaster creation called the Aqua Slidecoaster was spotted testing on Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) newest ship, the Norwegian Aqua. Launching into service in Summer 2025, this creation is unlike anything we’ve seen on a cruise ship before, featuring two side-by-side coaster slides that move slowly into place on a conveyor belt before coming to a stop in position for a launch.
This is no hydro-magetic launch and not a master blaster style water launch, instead a giant two pronged devices slides into place on tracks just behind the two rafts, positioning arms in the rear of the seat-back on each raft in order to launch forward and push both rafts at once up the launch hill and into their respective tunnels for the remainder of the ride around the top deck of the ship and back down to the runout at the bottom.
I’ve got to say that this looks like a lot of fun, and while I don’t have a tech specs for it, the launch system does look to be a magnetic LSM style launch system that can move the shuttle up and down the track as needed.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line - (10/12/2025) Royal Caribbean has revealed the details about their next Icon class cruise ship, Legend of the Seas, set to launch to guests in Summer 2026 in Europe before venturing to it’s new port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in November 2026.
Legend of the Seas will feature the “Category 6” waterpark attractions along the upper decks (featuring six major slides) as well as the Crown’s Edge experience (part skywalk, part zip-line, 154 feet above the ocean). Other attractions include the Lost Dunes mini golf concept, the Adrenaline Peak rock climbing wall, and for entertainment fans, look for the premier of the new Doald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” broadway musical style show and an interesting restaurant where you dine on a multi-course meal while appearing to be taking a train ride.
(5/25/2025) Royal Caribbean has pulled back the curtain on their plans for the new Perfect Day Mexico cruise destination. Similar in concept to Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day ar CocoCay private destination, Perfect Day Mexico is said to be even larger, spanning across a 200 acre site on Mexico’s coast. When it opens in late 2027 it will feature the new Loco Waterpark, featuring 30 waterslides, including the longest watercoaster in the world, a giant slide themed like a Sombrero, the longest lazy river in the world and more.
(1/6/2025) A Screamscape reader just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise where they stopped at Nassau and spotted the new Royal Caribbean Beach Club under construction from the port. In fact, the Beach Club will be built on a narrow strip of land between the cruise docks and the open ocean.
The interesting thing is that based on memory, and google maps, the area used to be more green and even looked to have some houses or buildings here, but is now in the process of being entirely cleared out.
(1/5/2025) Royal Caribbean will open a new private island destination for their cruise guests in the Bahamas in December 2025 called Royal Beach Club Paradise. According to the details, this 17-acre beach club on the western end of Paradise Island will offer both beaches and pools, including the world’s largest swim-up bar.
As we mentioned in the previous upside, this will be the first of Royal Caribbean’s new “Beach Club” destinations, which unlike the Perfect Day at CocoCay, access to the Beach Clubs will not be free, but rather require an extra charge, just like the other non-exclusive shore excursion options at Paradise Island. The Beach Club will be divided into three areas: a Family Beach, Chill beach and Party Cove.
Look for more of these Beach Clubs to be added in the future, with the next site to be in Cozumel, Mexico, opening sometime in 2026.
Virgin Voyages - (5/2/2025) Virgin Voyages is preparing to launch their latest ship, the Brilliant Lady, starting this fall with a series of journeys from New York City. As the fourth ship in the fledgling cruise line, it was originally designed to be like the previous three ships, but as the launch gets closer Virgin has been announcing a series of upgrades and changes made to the Brilliant Lady that will make it stand apart.
This week’s announcement reveals that the Razzle Dazzle restaurant, a staple of all four of the ships, will be given a twist by adding Spanish inspired dining, renaming the space as “Rojo by Razzle Dazzle”.
A similar transformation was achieved with the Razzle Dazzle restaurant on the Scarlet Lady which was given a new Chinese-inspired menu and renamed as the Lucky Lotus by Razzle Dazzle.
 My wife and I are big fans of adult-only Virgin Voyages, and have taken two cruises with them so far, both on the Scarlet Lady out of Miami, but we’re looking into joining one of the inaugural voyages on the new Brilliant Lady out of New York this Fall so stay tuned! In the meantime, if you want more information about what Virgin Voyages has to offer and information on how to book your own trip, follow this link over to my wife’s Travel Agent page at Joyous Adventures and she would be happy to fill you in!
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