These are boom times for cruises.
Demand has surpassed where it was before the pandemic, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), with nearly 35 million passengers estimated to have set sail in 2024, up from an already staggering 31.7 million in 2023.
The surge is expected to continue in 2025, and an increasingly large percentage of the more than 37 million cruisers who will likely take to the seas will be first-timers and people under 40.
What can those travelers expect to find on ships and in ports in 2025?
We pored over cruise line announcements, reviewed current trends, and consulted with industry experts to discover what’s new and noteworthy in the new year.
High demand across the industry—and higher prices
There will be more cruisers than ever, but what type of trips will they be going on?
Teresa Tennant, senior vice president of the travel agency Cruise Specialists, reports a rise in multigenerational family getaways—even on luxury ships. “Since many older people prefer a more luxurious experience and want to treat their families,” Tennant says, “the kids and grandkids are cruising with them.”
Tenant has also noticed that European ocean and river cruises are trending in 2025, with more savvy travelers booking in the shoulder seasons to avoid crowds and the highest prices.
In the Western Hemisphere, short cruises are hot, with lines like Royal Caribbean offering 3- and 4-night sailings aboard 5,558-passenger ships such as Utopia of the Seas. Billed as “The World’s Biggest Weekend,” the trip encourages guests to think of the ship as the destination, limiting port stops to the line’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Given the high demand for cruises across the board, booking a sailing in 2025 and beyond might be more expensive and you might run into limited availability. Some Alaska sailings for 2025, for instance, are twice the price they were in 2024.
To help keep costs down, you can try the shoulder-season trick mentioned above or book through a trusted travel advisor who knows how to find the best deals and discounts. (Click here to read more about those strategies and nine other ideas for saving money on a cruise.)
New ships with more bells and whistles
More than a dozen new cruise ships are expected to debut in 2025, and, as usual, cruise lines will introduce a bunch of fresh amenities and services on board.
In April, MSC Cruises will launch MSC World America, which will feature a new outdoor top deck destination for families—the first of its kind for MSC. The area will have a water park, an 11-story dry slide, a ropes course, and The Harbour Light House, modeled after the lighthouse on MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. Thrill seekers can take a ride on Cliffhanger, the only overwater swing ride at sea that will suspend guests 160 feet above the ocean. Indoors, the new ship boasts the only Eataly restaurant on a cruise ship.
Norwegian Cruise Line has surprises of its own in store when its new ship, Norwegian Aqua, launches that same month. As the first ship in the Prima Plus class, Aqua can accommodate nearly 3,600 passengers and is 10% larger than sister ships Prima and Viva.
Cruisers will find more outdoor and open public spaces on Aqua, as well as the line’s largest Haven area (the exclusive ship-within-a-ship retreat); new and expanded dining concepts, including NCL’s first Thai specialty venue; and the first-ever hybrid roller coaster/water slide on a cruise ship. That attraction replaces the racetrack at the top of other recent additions to Norwegian’s fleet.
Other new ships slated to sail in 2025: the hero- and villain-themed Disney Destiny, the Viking Vesta, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, Princess Cruises’ Star Princess, Windstar Cruises’ Star Seeker, Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel, Oceania Cruises’ Allura, and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Luminara.
Port restrictions to fight overtourism
With more passengers setting sail and larger ships making calls on cities worldwide, some destinations have pushed back.
Bar Harbor, Maine, voted to restrict the number of visitors to just 1,000 passengers who can come ashore each day. While that cap won’t affect smaller luxury ships operated by lines such as Regent Seven Seas, Crystal Cruises, and Seabourn, the limits obviously have a significant impact on other cruise vessels. Those larger ships may still call on Bar Harbor, but no more than 1,000 people will be allowed to disembark.
Other destinations that have enacted similar caps on cruises include Santorini, Greece; Juneau, Alaska; and Venice, Italy, where larger vessels are being redirected from the Grand Canal to the industrial Porto Marghera.
Many residents in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Valencia, and Ibiza have likewise grown fed up with cruise crowds and have begun clamoring for more limits.
Amsterdam plans to move cruise ships away from the city center port over the next 10 years.
If any of these destinations is on your bucket list, you may want to choose to sail on a smaller (usually more expensive) cruise ship or be proactive about securing an available spot on the list of passengers permitted to get off the ship.
Longer cruises and more destination-intensive itineraries
While some cruisers prefer long weekend getaways, such as those offered by Royal Caribbean, other travelers like to stay at sea for extended periods of time, or get to know a destination better through an immersive itinerary.
Says Tennant of Cruise Specialists: “Interestingly, transatlantic cruises are getting a boost from people who have a European vacation [that they’ve already booked] and have the time to take a leisurely cruise to their destination—it’s much more comfortable and entertaining than flying.”
The gold standard for transatlantic voyages is a sailing aboard one of Cunard’s iconic ocean liners.
Don Jones, senior vice president and managing director of Andrew Harper, notes, “We’ve noticed interest in cruises longer than 7 nights and itineraries that include longer stops in ports.”
Lines like Azamara cater to those travelers with extended stays at ports during itineraries that include signature destination offerings such as the line’s onshore AzAmazing Evenings designed to let guests dive deeper into local traditions with cultural performances and other events. Among the country-intensive voyages available are 8- to 14-night cruises to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, France, Italy, and Croatia.
Top-notch culinary experiences—and not just on luxury cruises
High-end cruise lines typically offer extraordinary culinary experiences involving partnerships with renowned chefs. A case in point: the new luxury line Explora Journeys has employed renowned French chef Franck Garanger to oversee the cuisine and has teamed up with other acclaimed chefs to create onboard restaurants and an epicurean journey curated by the likes of molecular gastronomy specialist Thierry Marx.
But it’s not just luxury lines that offer unique gourmet fare these days.
Sharon Concepcion, vice president of Travel Leaders Vacation Center, says guests booking trips on more mainstream ships are also interested in outstanding dining venues, cooking classes, and onshore culinary offerings.
“Travel Leaders Vacation Center’s top trends from our 2025 bookings include a greater desire for culinary experiences, both onboard and in port,” Concepcion says. “Cruise lines are investing in new and unique dining concepts like Royal Caribbean’s Icon class Empire Supper Club.” And in port, she adds, “our advisors are booking more cooking classes and market tours than ever.”
Solo cruising continues to grow
CLIA estimates that 8%–13% of cruisers are now traveling solo, with many lines now offering no supplement or reduced supplement fares on regular staterooms and suites. Some lines also offer solo staterooms priced with single travelers in mind.
Norwegian doubled the capacity of solo staterooms across its 19-ship fleet in 2024, offering nearly 1,000 dedicated solo staterooms. Travelers staying in those cabins also have keycard access to the line’s Studio Lounge, where solo passengers can mix and mingle with other cruisers traveling the same way.
Given the number of people expected to cruise in 2025, you definitely won’t be alone, even if you’re traveling solo.
Pictured at top: a rendering of Norwegian Aqua and photos of MSC World America and Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas while under construction