New Cruise Ships Scheduled (and some on hold)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Travel Weekly has a recent article detailing continuing plans for new river cruise ships and some that have been put on hold [thanks to @notamermaid for this information]

https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/Sailings-sidelined-but-not-growth-plans

 

Still scheduled:

Amadeus River Cruises – Amadeus Imperial – 2021 [2020?]

American Cruise Lines – American Jazz – September 2020

American Cruise Lines – American Melody – 2021

American Cruise Lines – [unnamed] – 2021

American Queen Steamboat Co – American Countess – August 2020

AmaWaterways – [Europe] – 2021

AmaWaterways – [Nile] – 2021

Emerald Waterways – ? – 2021

Viking – Viking Saigon – summer 2021

Viking – [Mississippi] – 2022

 

On hold:

AmaWaterways – AmaSiena [is this the 2021 ship above?]

Avalon – Avalon View

Uniworld – SS Sao Gabriel [Douro]

Uniworld – SS Sphinx [Nile]

[I'm not sure about these:]

Viking – six ships [Europe]

Viking – one ship [Nile]

[notamermaid]

Thank you for your work, hostjazzbeau.

 

The article has given the slightly misleading impression that all ships from 2020 have been moved to 2021. I was not so happy about that. So here is one clarification from me. The Amadeus Imperial was moved from earlier this and has now been christened: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Amadeus-Imperial-christened

The Amadeus Cara is the one still scheduled for next year, i.e. they are not stopping production of that ship despite the pandemic.

The AmaSiena should have had her christening and maiden voyage by now but that has obviously been postponed, I do not know the AmaWaterways plans but they have expressed in interviews the hope that they will return to sailing in Europe in Autumn, which could mean deployment of the AmaSiena.

 

Perhaps some prospective cruiser knows more.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

This year has obviously changed the normal dynamic in cruise ship construction and launching.  Normally a ship would be completed, christened, and have its maiden voyage in the same year.  But now, shipyards have reopened and so completed ships whose owners aren't ready to take them.  Or if they take them, they aren't ready to christen them – and certainly aren't able to sail them.  So dates become almost meaningless.

[steamboats]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 Normally a ship would be completed, christened, and have its maiden voyage in the same year. 

 

Usually not regarding the European waters as the season starts March/April... So the construction is started the year before and the ships goes into service in spring (March, April, May). 

 

Most of the cruise ships planned for 2020 for Europe should have been more or less completed prior to the pandemic and now are sitting idle somewhere. So many ships might be finished but not put into service yet due to the pandemic.

 

I have my own list but 2020 is pretty much mixed up.

 

steamboats

[Daisi]

The Avalon View was to have been christened Apr 6 2020, but Covid came first.  It should be ready to go, and I would think Avalon has "control" of it, not the shipyard.

 

I am supposed to sail on it next May, we had been hoping that there would be a few cruising done so the initial problems would be sorted.  Mind you, the way things are going, I'm starting to wonder if we will be sailing in May, as we have to get through the winter....

[need2travel1]

Any news on Uniworld's new ship the La Venizia (the old River Baroness) that was supposed to debut back in March?  It's not on the list above for 2020 or 2021.  

[gnome12]

Any news on Uniworld's new ship the La Venizia (the old River Baroness) that was supposed to debut back in March?  It's not on the list above for 2020 or 2021.  

As you point out, it isn’t a new build.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[notamermaid]

2 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

As you point out, it isn’t a new build.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

And that is why it is not in the list, true. Steamboats linked to their list where the deployment after refurbishment is also mentioned as March of this year. I checked her position on marinetraffic. She is signalling in a port area at Sant' Apollinare in Italy.

 

notamermaid

 

[Ritabob]

I think Uniworld was also going to rework the River Queen into a SS.

RB

[gnome12]

12 hours ago, Ritabob said:

I think Uniworld was also going to rework the River Queen into a SS.

RB

To me that is a pity. I liked the (relative) simplicity of the River Queen and the River Countess, especially when we had a chance to raft next to the SS Maria Theresa.

[Ritabob]

Gnome 12,

I agree, the Queen is my favourite of all the Uniworld ships we have been on.  When we first read about the planned upgrades we decided to book a trip on the last official cruise before going for its makeover.  It is / was ? suppose to be the Baden Baden and Moselle cruise at the end of October.  We backed out in June.   Now the 2021 brochure lists the Queen,  not a SS.  I guess there will be no hurry to update her.

As an aside, we were on the last cruise of the Ambassador before that ship was converted to the A.

RB

[notamermaid]

The pandemic has also hit A-Rosa not just with cruising but also their plans for the new ship. The hybrid propulsion vessel, i.e. added electric power, is being built in Romania. The launch has been postponed to 2022: https://www.cruisetradenews.com/a-rosa-river-cruises-new-e-motion-ship-delayed-until-2022/ 

 

notamermaid