October is always a big month for ship deliveries but we rarely get three ships delivered three days in a row! They are all big, beautiful and unique in their own way. With these three giants in the game, cruise industry just got bigger by around 13 thousand berths. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect on each one!

Carnival Panorama

Carnival Panorama will launch year-round service from Long Beach, Calif., on Dec. 11, becoming the line’s first new ship homeported on the West Coast in more than 20 years.

As the name implies, Carnival Panorama reflects design inspiration with more opportunities to connect with the sea. The ship features a number of innovations including the first Sky Zone trampoline park at sea as well as a first-in-fleet culinary studio where guests can participate in hands-on cooking classes, tastings and other food-related activities hosted by the ship’s chefs.

Carnival Panorama also offers a variety of longtime guest favorites such as a massive WaterWorks aqua park, Sky Ride, the popular bike in the sky with breathtaking views, a suspended ropes course and dining venues like Bonsai Teppanyaki and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse with barbecue favorites from Food Network star and longtime Carnival partner Guy Fieri along with craft beers brewed on board.

A wide range of staterooms and suites are available as well, including spa staterooms with exclusive privileges at the luxurious Cloud 9 Spa, extra-spacious staterooms in Family Harbor and tropical-inspired Havana staterooms with access to a Cuban-themed bar and pool.

The third and final Vista-class vessel for Carnival, Carnival Panorama, was delivered by Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, near Venice on Oct. 29th but her inaugural journey will not take place until December and that is beacause Panorama has to make a 40 day long journey from Italy to California! Her journey will last this long because her lifeboat arangment is preventing her from going trough the Panama Canal. During this month long journey, the crew will be making sure that Panorama is prefectly ready for her inaugural cruise out of Long Beach!

Norwegian Encore

Taking the brand’s exclusive, stand-out attractions to the next level, Norwegian Encore features the world’s longest race track at sea at 1,100 feet with four high-speed curves extending up to 13 feet over the side of the ship; the largest outdoor laser tag arena at nearly 10,000 square feet with the addition of augmented reality elements; and new immersive escape room and interactive theatre experiences in the 10,000-square-foot Galaxy Pavilion.

In addition to featuring many of the highly rated restaurants and lounges that have made the Breakaway Plus class one of the most innovative and successful in the company’s history, Norwegian Encore will debut a new elevated Italian dining experience, Onda by Scarpetta, in collaboration with LDV Hospitality. The Tony Award®-winning musical, “Kinky Boots” will headline the world-class entertainment on board, with returning guest favorites “The Choir of Man,” “Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical” and the rocking Beatles cover band of The Cavern Club.

She was delivered by Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on Oct. 30th and she is the final Breakaway/plus class ship to be delivered to Norwegian. She is also the biggest ship owned by NCL to date, and it seems like that she will hold that title for quite some time since the next class of ships to be built for Norwegian, Leonardo class, will be slightly smaller than Norwegian Encore. What a fitting name for the final ship in this higly succesfull class that is loved by many!

Launching this November, Norwegian Encore will offer seven-day voyages to the Eastern Caribbean from Miami beginning Nov. 24, 2019; Bermuda, and Canada and New England itineraries from New York City beginning Apr. 22, 2020; voyages to the Western Caribbean from Miami beginning Dec. 12, 2020; and in the spring of 2021 will make her West Coast debut and sail to Alaska from Seattle.

MSC Grandiosa

As MSC Cruises’ most environmentally advanced ship to-date, MSC Grandiosa is equipped with some of the latest cutting-edge environmental technology including a state-of-the-art Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and next-generation Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) system. She has been designed to meet the world’s strictest environmental standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). MSC Grandiosa also offers a richness of guest experiences, from world-class entertainment, a wide choice of international dining options, original activities for families, an enhanced MSC Yacht Club to the world’s first virtual cruise personal assistant ZOE.

The new ship offers guests, among other features, two brand new shows from Cirque du Soleil at Sea, created exclusively for MSC Grandiosa guests. This is part of a long-term partnership between MSC Cruises and the world leader in artistic entertainment, Cirque du Soleil that will result in a total of eight original shows available on MSC Cruises’ four Meraviglia generation ships. MSC Grandiosa is the third ship to feature the exclusive entertainment concept. The four other Cirque du Soleil at Sea shows, two for each ship, have already been created for MSC Meraviglia and MSC Bellissima.MSC Grandiosa will showcase an even larger Mediterranean-style promenade, the ground-breaking feature unique to the Meraviglia and Meraviglia-plus prototypes. Serving as the social hub of the ship, the promenade features an array of shops and specialty restaurants as well as a new bar and lounge, L’Atelier Bistrot, which will offer lounge seating with a stage and a dance floor. Impressionist art will also be on display in this space and have “terrace” seating with Parisian Bistrot tables and chairs along the promenade. Throughout the day and the evening, the promenade will host surprise performances, including flash mobs and themed parties as well as awe-inspiring projections on an even longer 323 ft. LED Sky screen.
The industry-leading shipboard digital innovation program, MSC for Me, will allow guests to customize their vacation and enhance their cruise experience. As the Company continues to evolve and innovate the digital offering, guests can expect new features, offering a connected cruise experience to meet their individual needs.

She was delivered to MSC on Oct. 31st. and she will be christened in Hamburg by Sophia Loren in November! If you want to sail on a bigger and better version of Meraviglia or Bellissima this is a ship for you!

---

What do you think about these 3 new ships? I love them all! The only problem is… I want to try them all! Hopefully I will!

As always, thanks for reading, Dominik!