Cruise holidays are getting cheaper, easier and more luxurious in 2023
With smaller ships and more adventurous ports of call, the future looks bright as we sail into the new year
This was one wake-up call from Mother Nature I know I will never forget.
Upon sleepily opening my eyes, I was astounded to see a procession of snowy icebergs gently floating past my window, framed by a jagged backdrop of ivory mountain peaks on the horizon.
Whooping with child-like excitement, I leapt out of bed like a coiled spring and bounded barefoot on to the balcony (forgetting about the biting sub-zero temperatures) for a close-up view of this incredible frozen wonderland.
It was a moment to treasure as I stood entranced by the hypnotic majesty of my surroundings; a pristine snowscape accompanied by the enduring sound of silence, bar gentle lapping as our ship, Silversea’s Silver Endeavour, slowly carved a path through the ice-speckled waters.
Knowing I was at the bottom of the earth, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced. The untouched beauty of Antarctica, where nature calls the shots at its most uncompromising, is about as far removed from the frenetic whirl of 21st century life as you can ever imagine.
Yet this continent’s bewitching allure of remoteness and ultimate adventure, which over centuries seduced so many explorers, is now attracting a fresh clutch of intrepid visitors, admittedly arriving in rather more comfort aboard a new generation of Polar class cruise ships with specially-strengthened hulls to cope with extreme conditions.
Such expeditionary voyages were the fastest-growing sector of the global cruise market until the dawn of 2020 when Covid abruptly pressed the pause button on this sector.
But as 2023 beckons with an abiding hope that the cruise industry can finally throw off the last shackles of this brutal period, it is evident the pandemic has fuelled an explosion in demand for such bucket list journeys as travellers scramble to make up for precious lost time.
The expedition cruise sector has picked up where it left off, but with added vroom aided by a string of new expedition ships, two of which – Silver Endeavour and Seabourn’s Seabourn Venture – were christened on consecutive days amid Antarctica’s frozen surroundings only last month.
They will be followed by many more in 2023, not just for expedition cruises, but across the global cruising fleet with up to 20 new ocean ships plus around 10 new river vessels hitting the water. This comes on top of the 40 or so ships and riverboats that made their debut this year.
The cruise industry, it seems, is back with a bang and determined to make a splash as it sails into the new year.
Admittedly the cost-of-living crisis threatens to cast a shadow over this rosy outlook, but with numerous studies showing consumers are determined to put holidays at the top of their priority list, while sacrificing other items instead, there’s real hope that 2023 will see the cruise sector not only return to the halcyon days of 2019, but exceed them.
No wonder the mood in cruising circles is upbeat, bolstered by reports from several companies of unprecedented demand for next year and beyond.
As for cruise customers, the legacy of the pandemic when lines were forced to curtail their comeback with round-Britain sailings has helped to win over a new audience of cruising converts.
They, along with other prospective cruisers, can now relish the widest variety of sailings in years along with an ever-more diverse selection of ships, some of which will be based at Southampton, making it even easier to get aboard.
New mega-ships with ever-more ambitious attractions may hog the headlines, but 2023 will also see the emergence of more smaller, sleeker mega-yachts – and even brand new luxury cruise line, Explora Journeys, which sees itself more as a lifestyle brand, pledging to offer a new style of “transformative ocean travel”.
While the Ukraine conflict means Russia remains firmly off-limits for cruises, particularly to St Petersburg, Asia’s reopening has been boosted by Japan’s recent relaxation of restrictions – putting much of this lucrative region back on the map. Australia and New Zealand’s reopening has done the same for the rich cruising waters of Australasia.
So horizons have been pushed back yet again for next year. World cruises are resuming en masse and travellers are becoming increasingly confident of going further afield and extending their trips.
Online cruise agency Cruise.co.uk predicts further growth in cruise-and-stay holidays after recording its best year ever for these as its customers increasingly opted to combine the US music cities of Memphis and New Orleans with sailings from the Big Easy; stays in Las Vegas and/or Los Angeles with California coastal voyages to Mexico; or stays at Niagara Falls and New York with cruises from the city.
But with so many more ships, deputy managing director Tony Andrews stresses the key factors for 2023 are choice and the value for money cruises provide, claiming that prices have changed little over the last decade.
“The cruise industry has already shown what great value it offers,” he said. “Pricing has been consistent versus 10 years ago and this is something the industry should shout about.”
He quoted a 14-night P&O Cruises Caribbean sailing that cost £1,659pp in 2012, coming down to £1,503pp in 2019 and selling for just £1,139pp in 2023.
“With fares like this, I think it will make 2023 a year when we see more people turn to cruising as it is so hard to beat for price, choice and convenience,” he added.
“When you put it next to a land-based holiday, I don’t think cruises can be beaten.”
Predicting that an increased number of sailings from Southampton next year will bring some “great deals”, Andrews added: “I have every confidence 2023 is shaping up to be the year of cruise.”
Opinions differ on how much prices may drop, with cruise companies keen to avoid a price war, but at an industry gathering of cruise leaders earlier this month, there was no mistaking the unbridled optimism.
For the first time in three years, the industry can look forward to calmer waters ahead buoyed by the knowledge that having survived the tumultuous waves of the Covid storm, it can cope with anything.