ORLANDO—The next vessel to take the title of world’s largest cruise ship is headed to Port Canaveral. Disney is sending a new ship to Port Everglades for the first time. And new ships will debut from Norwegian, MSC Cruises, Princess, Celebrity, and more.
These are some of the cruise highlights for Florida coming in 2025.
The marquee event has to be the arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, a sister ship to current titleholder Icon of the Seas. Landing the newest and largest ship is a first for Central Florida, with the past titleholders all making their debuts out of South Florida.
Those ports, though, will get plenty of new ship action as well while cruise lines feed demand with new hardware. Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, and PortMiami saw record passenger counts of nearly 20 million in 2024, with each forecast to grow further in the coming year.
Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas
Coming in at more than 250,000 gross tons, it will be incrementally bigger than Icon of the Seas, which debuted out of PortMiami in 2024 and can sail with 10,000 people on board, including crew and passengers.
It has a six-slide water park called Category 6 among nine neighborhoods carved out similarly to the slightly smaller Oasis-class of the cruise line. Unique features on Star of the Seas will be “Back to the Future: The Musical” on top of new productions for its ice rink and signature AquaTheater.
The ship will also have its own high-end version of Icon’s Empire Supper Club with the introduction of the Lincoln Park Supper Club themed to 1930s-era Chicago. That’s among more than 40 food and beverage options on board.
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Destiny
The third Wish-class ship follows the debuts of Disney Wish in 2022 and Disney Treasure in 2024, both of which sail out of Port Canaveral. Destiny, though, marks a shift for DCL, as it will debut out of Port Everglades, which became Disney’s second year-round Florida home in 2023.The ship has the same footprint as its sister ships but features a signature stage show based on the animated film “Hercules,” a dinner theater experience tied to “The Lion King,” and a sweets shop themed to “The Incredibles.” It will also embrace villainy with a new piano bar themed to the character Cruella de Vil from “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” and a pub pulling inspiration from the theme park ride and film franchise for “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Aqua
NCL is debuting the first in what it calls its Prima Plus class, a larger version of the recent Prima and Viva ships that feature a large wraparound lower-deck walkway and popular food hall concept.This ship will feature what the line says is the first hybrid coaster at sea called the Aqua Slidecoaster, dual slides that are a mix of roller coaster and waterslides that feature a magnetic lift to send riders through two different courses traversing three decks and venturing about the ship’s funnel.
Also new to the ship will be a digital sports complex, the line’s first dedicated Thai venue, a new wine bar concept, and the line’s first three-bedroom duplex suites for its exclusive area called The Haven.
The ship will sail seven-night Caribbean itineraries beginning in April from Port Canaveral, then in August migrate to New York before heading back to Florida to sail from Miami from October to April 2026.
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel
Details on just what will be on the fifth Edge-class ship for the premium cruise line won’t be revealed until February, but it has the same design as its recent sister ships, including the Magic Carpet—an exterior elevator platform that acts primarily as an innovative way for passengers to disembark and reboard the ship when it tenders at ports of call but also doubles as an entertainment and dining venue.The cabins will once again feature the popular Infinite Verandah staterooms in which the balcony is part of the cabin.
One unique thing about this new ship will be its capability to use methanol as a fuel source, a first for any ship in the Royal Caribbean Group family of cruise lines and an effort to reduce its carbon footprint.
The ship’s debut sailing out of Port Everglades is Nov. 18 before it begins regular seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages.
Princess Cruises’ Star Princess
The second of the line’s Sphere class of ships, the largest in its fleet, follows on the heels of 2024’s Sun Princess, which can carry 4,300 guests based on double occupancy.The new vessel will have an expanded nonsmoking casino area, more seats in its Irish pub, and a larger version of new art-inspired dining venue Love by Britto. The architectural debuts on Sun Princess will be mirrored on the new ship, including the spherical atrium called The Piazza that juts out on both sides of the ship’s hull, the transforming theater space called The Arena, and a top-deck, glass entertainment venue called The Dome.
One thing missing from Sun Princess was a planned hang-glider attraction, so for Star Princess, the space will be a dedicated sports court and track along with a splash pad.
MSC Cruises’ MSC World America
The closest competition to Royal Caribbean in the massive ship category is MSC’s World class, which comes in at more than 200,000 gross tons and will be able to sail with 6,762 passengers on top of 2,138 crew. The size allows the line to carve it up into what it calls districts, similar to Royal’s Oasis- and Icon-class neighborhoods.That includes The Harbour, an outdoor park with a over-the-side-of-the-ship swinging thrill ride called the Cliffhanger as well as a water park and ropes course. Another major space will be the three-deck World Galleria with shopping, restaurants, and bars. The line’s MSC Yacht Club ship-within-a-ship concept for higher-paying customers will feature 152 suites.
Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady
The last of four ships originally planned for Richard Branson’s adults-only cruise brand, the Brilliant Lady has a hull design change from its sisters to allow for Panama Canal crossings.The ship will follow its sister ships’ offerings with more than 20 dining and lounge options, hammocks on the balconies, and high-end wellness spaces.
Oceania Cruises’ Oceania Allura
For the sister ship to 2023’s Oceania Vista, the culinary-focused cruise line plans on serving crêpes.The Crêperie will be strategically located adjacent to the coffee bar, taking the space of the ship’s library on its sister ship. It will be the 12th dining venue on board not including the line’s popular Culinary Arts Kitchen that offers travelers a variety of themed cooking classes.
Allura will arrive in Miami on Oct. 12 and make a variety of Caribbean and Bahamas sailings through April 2026.
Carnival’s Celebration Key
Carnival has not had its own private Bahamas destination, having to share its sister lines’ Holland America and Princess Cruises ports of call Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays. Now it will be getting its own, a 369-acre site on Grand Bahama opening in summer and welcoming ships from Port Canaveral, PortMiami, Jacksonville, and Tampa, as well as six other U.S. ports.The port of call will open with one dock capable of handling its largest ships, the 6,000-passenger Excel class, including Port Canaveral-based Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration out of Miami.
The largest port construction project in the line’s history will be carved into five segments the company calls portals. The site will also have a south-facing mile-long beachfront expanse and massive freshwater inland lagoon the line says is the largest in the Bahamas and Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean’s Royal Beach Club Paradise Island
The cruise line is opening up the first of several smaller resort destinations in its portfolio with a 17-acre strip of land in Nassau with first visitors expected in December.Passengers can elect to visit the beach club for the day, which will play up Bahamian culture alongside traditional offerings such as two separate beaches, 40 cabanas, food and drink venues, and seven pools with three swim-up bars.
