Seventeen ships will be launched in 2023, although five of them will be launched in the final days of the year. Of the remaining twelve, only three will be ships over 100,000 tons, making the trend of building many luxury and exploration vessels quite evident.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 63 – December 2022
Seabourn Pursuit: 
The first quarter will be dominated by new developments in the luxury sector, with the Seabourn Pursuit, sister ship to the Seabourn Venture, entering expedition cruise service with its first routes to Iceland, Scotland, the Norwegian Fjords and Greenland.
Emerald Sakara: 
Following it will be the Emerald Sakara, the second ocean-going vessel from Emerald Cruises, best known for its river cruises. This is a luxury exploration megayacht that will sail around the Seychelles.
SH Diana: In March, Swan Hellenic will receive its third ship, the SH Diana, slightly larger than its predecessors but still under 13,000 tons and with a capacity for only 192 passengers. As is typical for Swan Hellenic, it will spend much of the year sailing in polar regions, but will begin its service with expedition cruises in the Mediterranean.
Viking Saturn: Viking Cruises will receive the Viking Saturn, which will be its ninth sister ship of the previous eight, with 47,800 gross registered tons.
Oceania Vista: Spring will arrive and with it the Oceania Vista, a new ship design for Oceania Cruises that we will have the pleasure of having in the Mediterranean in its inaugural season before crossing the Atlantic to spend the fall between New York and Los Angeles, and the winter in the Caribbean from Miami.
Resilient Lady: Resilient Lady, Virgin Voyages' third ship, which began construction during the pandemic and was delivered to the company by Fincantieri in December 2022, will not begin sailing until May 2023 with cruises to the Greek Islands from Athens. It will then depart for Australia at the end of 2023.
Ocean Albatros: The Ocean Albatros will join the Albatros Expeditions fleet in May, with its characteristic x-bow and polar class 6, it will constantly sail through the polar regions.
MSC Euribia: In June, the MSC Euribia, the third Meraviglia-Plus class ship from MSC Cruises, will begin sailing, but with several new features. The most important is that it will be powered by liquefied natural gas engines, and its hull will also be painted with a striking design by the artist Alex Flämig, the result of an ideas competition organized by the cruise line.
Scenic Eclipse II: The Australian company Scenic Cruises, long dedicated to river cruises, experienced a real odyssey to launch its first ultra-luxury ocean-going ship, the Scenic Eclipse, but things have gone much better for its second unit, the Eclipse II, which will finally arrive in June and will be christened in Malaga.
Explora I: A little later than initially announced, in mid-July we will see the Explora I for the first time, the first ship of the new luxury cruise line Explora Journeys, from the MSC group, which will make its first cruises in Northern Europe.
Silver Nova: In mid-August, we'll see the Silver Nova, a revolutionary new ship for the luxury segment, with a groundbreaking asymmetrical design and modern dining spaces. It will be the eleventh ship in the Silversea Cruises fleet and will accommodate 728 guests who can visit destinations in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and Madeira before crossing the ocean to New York.
Norwegian Viva: The Norwegian Viva will arrive at the end of August, the second Prima-class ship in Norwegian Cruise Line's fleet, and will be sailing the Mediterranean until November. In 2024, it will return to the Mediterranean as one of the featured ships departing from Barcelona.
Seven Seas Grandeur: On November 25, the Seven Seas Grandeur, a new 55,000-ton ship from Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the ultra-luxury company of the NCLH group, will depart from Barcelona. Its destination will be Miami, where it will spend the fall and winter before returning to Europe.
Celebrity Ascent: The first cruise of the Celebrity Ascent is scheduled to depart from Fort Lauderdale on December 3, thus beginning its winter season in the Caribbean.
Icon of the Seas: Just days before the end of 2023, we'll see the Icon of the Seas, the world's largest new cruise ship at 252,000 gross tons, surpassing the current Oasis-class vessels. What Royal Caribbean has revealed so far is spectacular, with a new semicircular entertainment lounge at the bow replacing the popular AquaTheatre, as the stern has been completely redesigned. A lengthy report would be needed to describe this ship, which is initially intended to cruise the Caribbean year-round.
Brilliant Lady: Shortly before the end of 2023, Virgin Voyages will receive its fourth ship, Brilliant Lady, which will go directly to the Caribbean to make cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Carnival Jubilee: The inaugural cruise of the Carnival Jubilee, sister ship to the Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration, is scheduled for December 30th; it is another Excellence series ship powered by LNG.
December will be a hectic month where several very important ships will arrive that will be major players in 2024.
Starships in the Mediterranean
MSC World Europa: MSC Cruises launched its largest ship to date, the 205,000-ton MSC World Europa, at the end of 2022. Its first destination was to serve as a hotel for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but after the tournament it will cruise the Red Sea, before returning to the Mediterranean in spring to become one of the flagship ships of 2023 with embarkation in Barcelona.
MSC Seashore: MSC Cruises will not stop there, but will position the MSC Seashore, one of its most modern Seaside-EVO class ships, in Valencia.
Symphony of the Seas: In Barcelona it will compete with another giant, the Symphony of the Seas, which Royal Caribbean is deploying for the second time in Europe, demonstrating its commitment to our continent.
Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda: For its part, Costa Cruises will have its two most modern and largest ships in Barcelona, the Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda, with departures on Sundays and Mondays.
Norwegian Viva: The new Norwegian Viva will spend the summer in the Mediterranean with cruises from Trieste, Athens, Civitavecchia and even Lisbon.
Celebrity Edge: Celebrity Cruises will have the Celebrity Edge making cruises from Barcelona to Civitavecchia or vice versa, while Virgin Voyages will also put the Valiant Lady in Barcelona.
Enchanted Princess: The Enchanted Princess, launched at the end of 2021, will be making cruises from Barcelona, Civitavecchia and also Athens.
Silver Nova and Oceania Vista: In the luxury segment, the big new additions will be the Silver Nova and the Oceania Vista.
GREEK ISLANDS
Following the restrictions imposed by Venice and with the port of Piraeus having very limited operational capacity, some shipping companies have decided to use Civitavecchia (Rome) as a home port for cruises around the Greek Islands and the Adriatic Sea.
Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas and the Celebrity Beyond: These two star ships in this area will operate from the Italian port.
Norwegian Breakaway: The Norwegian Breakaway will be another of the star ships in the Eastern Mediterranean with embarkations in Civitavecchia for cruises that combine the Greek Islands with the most famous ports in Italy.
The Resilient Lady: The Resilient Lady will be cruising the Greek Islands from Athens (Piraeus) all season.
Starships of Northern Europe
MSC Euribia: The MSC Euribia will debut in June with cruises through the Norwegian Fjords, while the Norwegian Prima will return to Europe to cruise between Iceland (Reykjavik) and the United Kingdom (Southampton).
Celebrity Apex
The Celebrity Apex will be in Amsterdam for cruises to the Baltic Sea, British Isles, Iceland or Norwegian Fjords while the Costa Firenze will be doing Norwegian Fjords from Kiel or Copenhagen.
Holland America Line
's Rotterdam, launched in 2022, will be making cruises from Amsterdam to the Baltic, Norwegian Fjords and Iceland.
Silver
Dawn, currently Silversea Cruises' newest ship until the Silver Nova arrives in August, will spend the entire European high season sailing in Northern Europe from Copenhagen, Bergen, and Southampton. Its sister ship, the Silver Moon, will also offer cruises from Reykjavik and Lisbon.
STAR SHIPS IN THE CARIBBEAN
In the Caribbean, the most modern ships will be the Disney Wish, the MSC Seascape, and the Carnival Celebration, all of them recently inaugurated, in addition to the Wonder of the Seas, Valiant Lady and the Celebrity Beyond among others.
