Disney Cruise Line
By Matt Hannafin
Is picking the top ships of the year more of an art or a science? Is it a matter of quantifiable parameters, or is it more gut instinct?
The answer is: It's all those things. When examining the mainstream and luxury ships currently in service for the American market and beyond, we looked for true standouts: ships that offer unique services or experiences, ships that surpass the competition, and ships that point the way toward new or better ways of doing things.
When it comes to these Top 12 Ships of 2012, the itineraries may almost seem beside the point.
Photo Caption: The Disney Fantasy under construction
Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger sister ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are more than just the biggest cruise ships ever. They're also the best designed, most imaginative, most experientially diverse, and most forward-thinking megaships ships out there -- the first vessels that live up to the cliché of being "cities at sea."
Where every other cruise ship is a monolithic structure composed of decks stacked atop the other, Oasis and Allure have "split" superstructures, meaning their top eight decks are bisected lengthwise by a long, open-air canyon. Besides letting light and air into the center of the ship (even inside cabins have a view), this makes the whole vessel feel more 3D -- like you're walking the streets of a high-rise city, not riding elevators between the floors of a building.
The ships' size also meant Royal Caribbean was able to design "neighborhoods" around the vessel to offer different experiences -- most notably the open-air, adult-oriented Central Park, with thousands of real plants and trees, and the open-air, family-oriented Boardwalk entertainment zone. The ships also offer some of the best entertainment at sea and one of the largest selections of restaurants. At the same time, the sheer number of restaurants, lounges, and entertainment spaces means that many of them can be surprisingly cozy and intimate.
Photo Caption: Allure of the Seas meeting Oasis of the Seas near Fort Lauderdale. Courtesy Royal Caribbean International
Introduced in consecutive years from 2008 to 2011, the 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, and the 2,886-passenger Celebrity Silhouette are the most stylish megaships ever built. Outside, their form is both massive and sleek, while inside a unifying high-end aesthetic ties the many moods and experiences of their public rooms into a satisfying whole. Building upon all that was (and is) great about Celebrity's older vessels, the Solstice class outshines them all with a more contemporary look and a far wider range of dining and activity choices.
The newest of the bunch, Celebrity Silhouette is also the best. This 2011-built ship improves on some of her sisters' signature spaces -- especially the Lawn Club, a grassy outdoor space that is much more social and fun aboard Silhouette. This ship also has several new spaces, including a fun "grill it yourself" restaurant and the super-relaxing Hideaway lounge, a kind of tree house for adults. Expect even more aboard the larger Celebrity Reflection, launching in October 2012.
Photo Caption: An aerial view of the Celebrity Silhouette and the Lawn Club
Disney Cruise Line's 2,500-passenger Disney Dream (launched in 2011) and her soon-to-launch sister ship Disney Fantasy (debuting in February 2012) are the first new ships Disney has debuted since 1998's Disney Magic and 1999's Disney Wonder -- and they're totally worth the wait. As elegantly designed, entertainingly whimsical, and functionally practical as their older fleetmates, they also offer raise the bar with more space (they're about 50% larger), more and larger kids' facilities, more dining options, more adults-only retreats, more high-tech wizardry, and more of what made the older ships work in the first place -- that classic Disney mix of old-time nostalgia and wide-eyed, childhood wonder, all wrapped up in an operation that ticks along like a Swiss watch.
Fantasy, which is currently in the final stages of construction at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard, will add some new features to those already successful aboard Dream. Look for two new production shows, an interactive treasure hunt featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, an AquaLab outdoor water park, a new relaxation pool for adults, an improved Animator's Palate restaurant (in which kids' drawings are animated while they eat, and appear on big-screen TVs), and a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique selling princess dresses and pirate garb.
Photo Caption: Disney Dream at sea
There have been no regularly scheduled cruises on America's greatest river system since Majestic America Line went belly-up in 2008, but all that's about to change. Beginning in mid-April 2012, a new line called the Great American Steamboat Company will begin offering weeklong cruises on the Mississippi aboard the 436-passenger American Queen.
American Queen is the largest stern-wheeler ever built -- a grand wedding cake of filigree and curlicues crowned with two huge fluted smokestacks. Ornamentation and decoration are everywhere, framing an assortment of vintage period furniture and antiques. Even her engine is a vintage steam plant, rescued and restored from a 1930 U.S. Army Corps dredge (now assisted by a modern propulsion system). She looks so authentically 19th century that it's hard to imagine she was actually built in 1995.
Photo Caption: American Queen sailing the Mississippi River
The 450-passenger sister ships Seabourn Odyssey (launched in 2009), Seabourn Sojourn (2010), and Seabourn Quest (2011) update the classic Seabourn experience, whose watchwords have always been calm, relaxing, smooth, and über-professional. Like all the Seabourn ships (and all other true luxury ships), they're less about knocking passengers over the head with gimmicks and nonstop activity. Instead, the Seabourn experience is more about providing a relaxing venue as staff members scurry around bringing you things: a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich in the afternoon, suntan lotion while you're out by the pool, a drink from the bar whenever you want (gratis), and even a moist wipe for your sunglasses, if a server spots a smudge.
The ships themselves are tasteful and understated in an obviously expensive kind of way -- more Coco Chanel than rococo Carnival. Where many ships slather their public rooms and corridors with wild colors and eye-catching artwork, these sister ships embrace simplicity; little ornamentation clutters up the beautifully designed wood, leather, marble, and onyx interiors.
Photo Caption: Seabourn Odyssey in Venice
Though not even close to being a perfectly conceived and executed vessel, the 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic makes this list for three reasons: 1) Along with Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, she's the best ship at sea for entertainment, featuring innovative production shows, fantastic music, and best of all, performances by the Blue Man Group; 2) she offers NCL's fun, casual, unconventional experience; and 3) she's the best ship today for solo travelers (128 super-mod studio cabins are designed for hipsters traveling alone).
The problems she has are all weird design issues, including cabin bathrooms that could have been designed by the Three Stooges. Get past those minor issues, and you'll have a great time.
Photo Caption: Norwegian Epic
We live in the era of the super-megaship, with new vessels routinely carrying 3,000 or 4,000 passengers and drawing crowds through big-budget wow. Oceania's 1,250-passenger Marina (launched in early 2011) and upcoming sister-ship Riviera (launching in May 2012), on the other hand, hark back to an earlier era of cruising, when you could walk from bow to stern without breaking a sweat and where the vibe was more quiet romance than blockbuster adventure.
As the first ships purpose-built for the line, Marina and Riviera shine but in a beautifully counter-trending way: by being quiet, calm, and homey and with just enough glitz to remind you that you need to be treated nicely. The Marina-class ships are also two of the best "restaurant ships" at sea, with six specialty restaurants among the nine dining options -- a remarkable number considering the ships' relatively modest size. Several venues, including Jacques Pépin's eponymous bistro and the pan-Asian Red Ginger, are absolutely exquisite.
Photo Caption: Oceania Cruises' Marina
Launched in December 2009, Silver Spirit was Silversea's first new ship in nearly a decade. And like Seabourn's Odyssey-class ships, it represents a refinement of the line's already refined experience. She's 27% larger than Silversea's previous generation of ships, and the luxury line has taken advantage of this space to add new dining options (six restaurants in total, including a supper club and a Japanese venue), an 8,300-square-foot spa, a greater percentage of stateroom verandas (95% of the ship's staterooms have 'em), and new lounges -- all while still giving passengers a huge amount of personal space.
For a true luxury experience -- with all the exquisite service, remarkable cuisine, perfect design, high-end amenities, and free-flowing champagne that implies -- you can find no finer.
Photo Caption: A Veranda Suite aboard Silversea Spirit
If Seabourn and Silversea are the Fortune 500-style of luxury cruising, SeaDream represents the Steve Jobs model in a turtleneck-and-jeans kind of way. Dress codes on SeaDream I and SeaDream II steer clear of the traditional tux-and-sequins dress-up night by favoring "yacht casual" wear -- jackets for men, perhaps, but never ties. Itineraries are designed to favor small yachting ports, and the ships often stay late or overnight in port to give passengers an opportunity for nightlife.
The yacht-like ships, which carry just 110 passengers each, are the smallest luxury vessels in the market. Things are kept as flexible as possible: If you want, you can have a dinner table set up in various places on deck, with a waiter to make sure things are up to par. Or you can spend the night outdoors on Deck 6, with one of the queen-size "Balinese Dream Beds" made up by the crew with duvets and pillows.
Photo Caption: SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream I
The 2,390-passenger Norwegian Jewel, Jade, Pearl, and Gem -- some of today's most fun and contemporary ships at sea -- are the ideal megaships for Generations X and Y. Each ship has a super-social atmosphere, creative décor, 10 restaurants (from teppanyaki to Tex-Mex), and music and pop culture references tailored to a surprisingly youngish demographic.
All ships have some of the best beer-and-whiskey bars at sea. Jade and Jewel have three karaoke rooms that can be reserved for private parties; Gem and Pearl have Day-Glo bowling alleys in super-hip nightclubs, plus sketch and improv comedy performances by the great Second City comedy troupe. And you can even order pizza ($5 per pie) 24 hours a day, with delivery anywhere on the ship.
Photo Caption: Norwegian Pearl
The third of three sister ships, the 3,646-passenger Carnival Breeze will stand out by being the first Carnival vessel purpose-built to showcase the line's new "Fun Ship 2.0" initiative, which aims to transform its onboard experience for a new era of mass-market cruising.
Breeze's earlier sister ships, Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic, already established the template: Carnival's biggest-ever ships (some 15% larger than any other); décor that's a bit toned down from Carnival's over-the-top design past; somewhat higher quality furnishings and fittings than previous Carnival ships; new concepts including the indoor/outdoor Lanai social gathering spot, running clear through the ship from port to starboard; the largest spa in the Carnival fleet; and a water park with one of the longest waterslides at sea.
To this, Fun Ship 2.0 will add a poolside burger joint created by spikey-haired restaurateur and Food Network star Guy Fieri; a sports bar created in partnership with videogame maker EA Sports; a Mexican cantina bar; a comedy club concept created with comedian and TV personality George Lopez; a pharmacy-themed bar prescribing cocktails custom-made for what ails ya; and more.
Photo Caption: Carnival Breeze will be a replica of Carnival Dream (pictured)
Is picking the top ships of the year more of an art or a science? Is it a matter of quantifiable parameters, or is it more gut instinct?
The answer is: It's all those things. When examining the mainstream and luxury ships currently in service for the American market and beyond, we looked for true standouts: ships that offer unique services or experiences, ships that surpass the competition, and ships that point the way toward new or better ways of doing things.
When it comes to these Top 12 Ships of 2012, the itineraries may almost seem beside the point.
Photo Caption: The Disney Fantasy under construction
Where every other cruise ship is a monolithic structure composed of decks stacked atop the other, Oasis and Allure have "split" superstructures, meaning their top eight decks are bisected lengthwise by a long, open-air canyon. Besides letting light and air into the center of the ship (even inside cabins have a view), this makes the whole vessel feel more 3D -- like you're walking the streets of a high-rise city, not riding elevators between the floors of a building.
The ships' size also meant Royal Caribbean was able to design "neighborhoods" around the vessel to offer different experiences -- most notably the open-air, adult-oriented Central Park, with thousands of real plants and trees, and the open-air, family-oriented Boardwalk entertainment zone. The ships also offer some of the best entertainment at sea and one of the largest selections of restaurants. At the same time, the sheer number of restaurants, lounges, and entertainment spaces means that many of them can be surprisingly cozy and intimate.
Photo Caption: Allure of the Seas meeting Oasis of the Seas near Fort Lauderdale. Courtesy Royal Caribbean International
The newest of the bunch, Celebrity Silhouette is also the best. This 2011-built ship improves on some of her sisters' signature spaces -- especially the Lawn Club, a grassy outdoor space that is much more social and fun aboard Silhouette. This ship also has several new spaces, including a fun "grill it yourself" restaurant and the super-relaxing Hideaway lounge, a kind of tree house for adults. Expect even more aboard the larger Celebrity Reflection, launching in October 2012.
Photo Caption: An aerial view of the Celebrity Silhouette and the Lawn Club
Fantasy, which is currently in the final stages of construction at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard, will add some new features to those already successful aboard Dream. Look for two new production shows, an interactive treasure hunt featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, an AquaLab outdoor water park, a new relaxation pool for adults, an improved Animator's Palate restaurant (in which kids' drawings are animated while they eat, and appear on big-screen TVs), and a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique selling princess dresses and pirate garb.
Photo Caption: Disney Dream at sea
American Queen is the largest stern-wheeler ever built -- a grand wedding cake of filigree and curlicues crowned with two huge fluted smokestacks. Ornamentation and decoration are everywhere, framing an assortment of vintage period furniture and antiques. Even her engine is a vintage steam plant, rescued and restored from a 1930 U.S. Army Corps dredge (now assisted by a modern propulsion system). She looks so authentically 19th century that it's hard to imagine she was actually built in 1995.
Photo Caption: American Queen sailing the Mississippi River
The ships themselves are tasteful and understated in an obviously expensive kind of way -- more Coco Chanel than rococo Carnival. Where many ships slather their public rooms and corridors with wild colors and eye-catching artwork, these sister ships embrace simplicity; little ornamentation clutters up the beautifully designed wood, leather, marble, and onyx interiors.
Photo Caption: Seabourn Odyssey in Venice
The problems she has are all weird design issues, including cabin bathrooms that could have been designed by the Three Stooges. Get past those minor issues, and you'll have a great time.
Photo Caption: Norwegian Epic
As the first ships purpose-built for the line, Marina and Riviera shine but in a beautifully counter-trending way: by being quiet, calm, and homey and with just enough glitz to remind you that you need to be treated nicely. The Marina-class ships are also two of the best "restaurant ships" at sea, with six specialty restaurants among the nine dining options -- a remarkable number considering the ships' relatively modest size. Several venues, including Jacques Pépin's eponymous bistro and the pan-Asian Red Ginger, are absolutely exquisite.
Photo Caption: Oceania Cruises' Marina
For a true luxury experience -- with all the exquisite service, remarkable cuisine, perfect design, high-end amenities, and free-flowing champagne that implies -- you can find no finer.
Photo Caption: A Veranda Suite aboard Silversea Spirit
The yacht-like ships, which carry just 110 passengers each, are the smallest luxury vessels in the market. Things are kept as flexible as possible: If you want, you can have a dinner table set up in various places on deck, with a waiter to make sure things are up to par. Or you can spend the night outdoors on Deck 6, with one of the queen-size "Balinese Dream Beds" made up by the crew with duvets and pillows.
Photo Caption: SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream I
All ships have some of the best beer-and-whiskey bars at sea. Jade and Jewel have three karaoke rooms that can be reserved for private parties; Gem and Pearl have Day-Glo bowling alleys in super-hip nightclubs, plus sketch and improv comedy performances by the great Second City comedy troupe. And you can even order pizza ($5 per pie) 24 hours a day, with delivery anywhere on the ship.
Photo Caption: Norwegian Pearl
Breeze's earlier sister ships, Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic, already established the template: Carnival's biggest-ever ships (some 15% larger than any other); décor that's a bit toned down from Carnival's over-the-top design past; somewhat higher quality furnishings and fittings than previous Carnival ships; new concepts including the indoor/outdoor Lanai social gathering spot, running clear through the ship from port to starboard; the largest spa in the Carnival fleet; and a water park with one of the longest waterslides at sea.
To this, Fun Ship 2.0 will add a poolside burger joint created by spikey-haired restaurateur and Food Network star Guy Fieri; a sports bar created in partnership with videogame maker EA Sports; a Mexican cantina bar; a comedy club concept created with comedian and TV personality George Lopez; a pharmacy-themed bar prescribing cocktails custom-made for what ails ya; and more.
Photo Caption: Carnival Breeze will be a replica of Carnival Dream (pictured)