8 New Cruise Ships Launching This Year That We Can’t Wait to Sail On

Whether you love the idea of exploring polar regions or winding through rainforests by river, sailing gorgeous lakes or iconic seas, travelers will have a host of new ships to choose from this year. From mega-ships to intimate river boats, luxury yachts and expedition vessels, some two dozen new cruise ships are set to launch in 2025.

While much of this year’s cruising hullabaloo will be centered around massive oceangoing vessels like Royal Caribbean’s 5,610-passenger Star of the Seas and MSC Cruises’ 6,762-passenger World America (which rank among the world’s largest cruise ships), our list focuses more on smaller ships in exciting locations like Colombia’s Magdalena River and North America’s Great Lakes. We’ve included some larger ocean ships, too, like the latest from Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages. But all of these new ships take a unique approach to cruising, and we’ve included the ways in which they are also doing their part to lessen their environmental footprint.

Here are the eight new ships we are excited to see set sail this year.

AmaWaterways’ AmaMagdalena and AmaMelodia

After a series of development delays, AmaWaterways is confident that 2025 is the year it will launch its much-anticipated cruises on Colombia’s Magdalena River. The 60-passenger AmaMagdalena is scheduled to begin sailing in March and will be the first modern overnight cruise on this waterway that runs through the heart of Colombia. While the inaugural sailing is more than a year later than first anticipated, building a new river product from the ground up is no easy task. Besides navigating the challenges of working with a new ship-building partner in Cartagena, the company had to partner with local communities to ensure docks and other infrastructure and programs needed to support the first commercial sailings on the river were complete before the cruises could launch. But AmaWaterways president Rudi Schreiner says the 60-passenger AmaMagdalena is just about ready to go, with its first departure scheduled for late March. A second ship, the 64-passenger AmaMelodia, is scheduled to follow this summer. Both ships will feature spacious cabins, all with balconies; a fitness center; spa treatment room; and a sun deck with a pool. The ships will sail between Cartagena and Baranquilla, with optional pre- and post-cruise stays in Medellin, Cartagena, and Panama City.

Green notes: Schreiner says one of his top priorities in Colombia is to develop long-term educational programs and partnerships with local communities that are focused on cleaning up the river, which gets trash and runoff from the Magdalena River Valley, home to 70 percent of the country’s population.

Rendering courtesy of Aurora Expeditions

Aurora Expeditions’ Douglas Mawson

If you’re looking to experience the latest advances in expedition travel, the Australian adventure travel company Aurora Expeditions will welcome its third state-of-the-art expedition ship, the Douglas Mawson, in December. The newest addition to its fleet will enable the company to return to East Antarctica for the first time in 13 years this year while also expanding the line’s sailings to warm waters in Europe in summer 2026. With a capacity of only 130 adventurers for polar expeditions and 154 on warmer water sailings, the ship offers an intimate, casual luxury experience aboard with 11 different types of staterooms and suites, including a range of spacious single-berth staterooms, all with elegant Nordic interior design. The Douglas Mawson will also feature ample public spaces and modern amenities, including a heated outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzis, a gym, sauna, and multiple observation areas. Like its sister ships, it will also have a Citizen Science Center, where guests will have the opportunity to help the expedition team gather and share data with scientists studying marine and animal life in polar regions.

Green notes: As a certified B Corp company, Aurora is known for its comprehensive sustainability initiatives, including waste minimization programs, carbon offsetting, and collaborations with leading conservation organizations. Its expert guides are hyper-focused on safe and responsible exploration to ensure travelers tread lightly on the fragile polar environments.

Courtesy of Stephen Beaudet/Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises’ Allura

Oceania Cruises is upping its game when it comes to luxury, culinary-focused cruising with the launch of this 1,200-passenger ship this summer, Allura. Like its sister ship, Vista, which set sail in 2023, Allura will have what Oceania says are the largest standard cabins in the industry, at 291 square feet each and all with balconies. But why stop there? The largest suite will measure a whopping 2,400 square feet. Like Vista, Allura will also feature five specialty dining venues, including signature restaurants Ember, which will serve “inventive American” cuisine, and the wellness-focused Aquamar Kitchen. Allura will also have a new Crêperie serving crêpes and waffles in the morning and gelato in the afternoon. Both Vista and Allura are also getting the French restaurant Jacques, named after the line’s culinary founder Jacques Pepin, who developed Oceania Cruises’ culinary philosophy. Oceania has differentiated itself by emphasizing its culinary offerings, including specialty dining with no up-charge, expansive culinary centers aboard where master chefs offer daily classes, and a wide variety of excursions focused on food and wine. On Allura, there will be 1 chef for every 10 guests, and the line says a full half of its 800 crew members are dedicated to food and food-focused experiences. (For a preview of what you can expect, read our full review of the Oceania Vista.)

Green notes: The forthcoming Allura will be equipped with numerous features to optimize fuel consumption, maximize efficiency, and reduce emissions, including a waste heat recovery system that exploits the engine cooling system to heat auxiliary potable water and air heating systems. Allura will also have an anti-foul coating to slow the growth of organisms that can attach to the hull and affect a ship’s performance and an upgraded propulsion system to maximize its hydrodynamic efficiency. While Allura will initially operate using traditional marine gas, as a part of the cruise line’s climate action strategy, Oceania is exploring the feasibility of eventually operating its existing ships on biodiesel blended fuels.

Rendering courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Luminara

Ritz-Carlton hotel lovers will have more opportunities to sample the brand’s renowned service standards and luxury accommodations when its cruising arm launches its third yacht, the Luminara, in the Mediterranean this summer. With 226 all-balcony suites, the newest yacht will also be Ritz-Carlton’s largest, at nearly double the size of the original yacht, Evrima (which we reviewed, along with the second act Ilma). It will also include two new, 1,000-square-foot upper suite categories, five restaurants, six bars, a wine vault, a Ritz-Carlton spa, a dedicated space for kids programs, and an expanded marina that gives guests direct access to the sea for unmotorized water sports such as paddleboarding and kayaking.

Green notes: Each ship in the the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is fitted with four dual-fuel engines that use liquefied natural gas as their main fuel source, significantly reducing emissions. Additionally, the yachts have advanced water treatment systems, an efficient heat recovery loop, and LED lighting, with the goal of minimizing their environmental impact.

Courtesy of Victory Cruise Lines

Victory Cruise Lines’ Victory I and Victory II

Take a trip back in time aboard the new Victory Cruise Lines, which is reviving two Great Lakes cruisers, Victory I and Victory II (formerly Cape May and Cape May Light.) The ships, built 30 years ago to sail the St. Lawrence Seaway, were first overhauled in 2019 under the Victory name by the now defunct American Queen Voyages. But they sailed just one season prepandemic and one more postpandemic before American Queen Voyages went bankrupt. American Queen Voyages founder John Waggoner came out of retirement to buy back the two Victory ships and they have been undergoing yet another refresh. With a maximum of just under 200 passengers, the ships offer a more original, bed-and-breakfast type atmosphere than some of the larger, more luxurious, modern vessels that have moved onto the Great Lakes in recent years from lines such as Viking and Ponant. Cabins are cozy and include writing desks and antique-style cabinets. There are no swimming pools, but the ships do have a salon and spa and three dining options: the main restaurant, a glass-walled grill on the top deck, and a tavern. Because they are small, the ships can dock at lesser-visited ports, and Victory has exclusive rights for docking in the heart of Chicago at Navy Pier.

Green notes: Victory has partnered with the National Museum of the Great Lakes to put lecturers aboard to educate guests about the history of the world’s largest collection of fresh-water lakes by area and the importance of preserving the lakes, which the museum calls “the most important natural resource in the world.”

Courtesy of Virgin Voyages

Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady

The fun-focused all-adults cruise line Virgin Voyages will offer more destinations and a series of longer itineraries when the fourth ship in its fleet, Brilliant Lady, hits the high seas in September. The 2,770-passenger ship will closely resemble the other three ships in the Virgin fleet, including its wide assortment of specialty dining venues and untraditional amenities (such as a tattoo parlor) and extensive gym and workout classes and facilities. The main difference will be its longer sailings (up to 14 nights, compared to the 7 nights or fewer that its other ships have been sailing) and its focus on North America, the Caribbean, and Alaska. This ship also promises a host of new live entertainment shows, and dining enhancements. (Here’s our take on what it’s like to sail with Virgin.)

Green notes: Virgin uses innovative technologies that transform heat from the ship’s engines into cleaner energy and purify wastewater so that it’s clean enough to drink as part of the line’s ongoing efforts to use less energy and minimize its carbon footprint. Tinted windows, LED lighting, and room sensors are among the design choices to help achieve that goal.