9 Major Cruise Trends for that Will Affect Your Cruise in 2025
A lot has happened in the last year when it comes to cruising. In 2025, we’re seeing some big changes & some things that will shake up the way you cruise!
In this video I go over cruise trends that are coming this year. From new mega cruise ships to luxury cruise travel, the cruise industry continues to grow. If you’re an avid cruiser or new to cruising, you’ll want to know what’s coming for 2025 & beyond!
This video is full of cruise information & the latest cruise news. However I also share my own thoughts & opinion on cruise industry trends, based on our experiences this past year. We go over news for several cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Carnival & more.
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Please note that I am unable to give personal cruise and travel advice. If you leave a comment I try my best to answer.
ABOUT ME
Hi! I’m Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
Some of the B-Roll used in this video Courtesy of NCLHC, RCCL.
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Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic
33 Comments
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We took our 1st cruise last fall. It was 5 day, 4 night cruise to Cozumel, Mexico that was a gift from our children. It was just the right length. Traveling without grandkids, with our oldest & her in-laws, meant concentrated time together. As the old saying says, fish & guests still k after 3 days.
My very first cruise was 3 days on the Grand Princess from SF to Vancouver, BC. It was a great itinerary for me to start off with as a first time cruiser and I enjoyed it very much. I watched your videos when I was preparing for my first cruise. Now I'm heading on my second cruise on the Ruby Princess next month for 5 days.
Would love a video on finding cruise deals.
Hubby and I will be taking our first weekend cruise in 2 weeks. What sold us on trying a shorter cruise was that we won’t have any At Sea days. We stop in Nassau and CocoCay. And the cruise price was slightly cheaper than a weekend at an all inclusive in Cancun would have been.
Wanted to make some suggestions about excursions. Frequently the ones you plan are better and more economical than the ship's for several reasons. You can arrange for several places you like, avoid a bad stop taking up your day, leave the ship quicker, and get a lunch at a fine restaurant instead of a group lunch. If a vendor has multiple good reviews and speaks your language, things are usually fine.
We worry about outside entities because missing the return could leave your stranded. Here, think of different scenarios. If your next stop is in the same country your downside risk is far less, with maybe a cost of a taxi or train to the next port.
Can't wait to go on Icon of the Seas this September coming soon. This vacation will make up for what happened to myself and my family last year. Travel insurance really saved our butts last years. Between my uncle caught the new COVID while in Jamaica, delayed our flight from Detroit, missed our flight going home from Detroit to Cleveland, didn't get the notification about our flight till we got to Detroit airport, our flight was already booked for next day instead of catching last flight that night, stayed at nice hotel inside the airport but the food and drinks were pricey. I was also happy the flight company paid the hotel and meals. I'm blessed my uncle and auntie made it back to the ship just in time before it left. Lucky there was special medicine that my uncle had to take every morning to get better. What really nice was our head waiter from Freedom of the Seas, he was so worried about them and he will prepared their meals for them when we leave the main dinner room. With my nurse skills she'll check on him. This year our cruise trip will be even better then last year.
I would love to see more about discounts and special values
Cruise deals please
Yes, I would absolutely like to know about how to find good deals on Cruises. 15:07
Thanks so much for all the tips, news updates etc! For us, we have to travel from Nova Scotia so the longer cruises are what we book. Two weeks minimum. GRAMMY G from Nova Scotia! Happy cruising! 🛳️🌴🏝️🏖️😎
Our next cruise is only a 3 night one on Celebrity Edge. Not our choice but the only time my husband is free. Usually we go for at least 8 to 12 nights. I'm sure i will be very sad when it will be over! And it was very pricey!
Ugh mega ships. Thank goodness I have Virgin!
My daughter and I are going on our first cruise. And I'm wondering should I bring money with me to pay for the excursions?
Definitely would liketo know about deals and save $$!
I just took our whole family (17 people) on Harmony of the Seas. ‘First cruise for most. I decided not to “cut corners” and had several Specialty Dinners for those who wanted them. They actually don’t make sense since great dinners are already included but they liked the times for their “private” dinners.
Worst part of a Cruise: Disembarking. Huge crowds.
Hi Ilana, I love watching your videos. I think your presentation is really good and you make issues that may occur not a big deal which I appreciate. I’m not lucky enough to be able to fly but I feel I’m there with you – so thank you. I’ve been on a few cruises, mainly from Southampton which isn’t too far away from where I live but I always check your videos in case you review one of the cruise lines I want to sail with for tips and hacks 🙂💖💖
I would love a video about how to save money when booking a cruise
Since winning a bid on a ship within a ship we won’t go back to normal sailing, lol. We love the NCL Haven experience. Well worth the extra cost!
Cruise deals 👍
We're doing a short cruise this weekend. Trying to see how our 4 year old does on a short one since it will be her first. We've only done longer ones so we will keep you posted.
Just curious about safety while in Port. Are safety concerns with the cruise lines why they are buying their own islands.
🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲we have a dead body on board NCL 🥲 Joy. I begged her to stay on the ship and offered to buy any and everything she needed. She refused. She had a massive heart attack and died.😢😢😢😢😢😢
We always look for a cooler location for our cruise, since we live in a tropical beach setting. We've done alaska, northern canada, iceland, greenland and North Europe
We always ship within a ship, because we love to rest, but utilize the full ship for the other family members. We are really paying for a quieter section of the ship that isnt crowded
"ship within a ship" turns me off. It's not a deal breaker but if I'm looking at a cruise, if there's some deck I don't get to go on because it's for the elites, I'm less likely to choose it. I don't think it's wrong or anything I'm just saying it turns me off.
I don't know if I would like a short cruise, I usually like a vacation that is a week or more. I guess I'll have to try one to know for sure!🤔
Yes learning more about cruise deals would be great!!!! Interesting video. I am doing a cruise on the Ruby princess in April we are going to the Pacific Northwest cruise. I like princess they have a bit different cruises like this one I would not mind doing the California coast as well. I mean I have been to the Caribbean a few times and Alaska and last time we did New England and Canada. One great thing with the Pacific Northwest we get to stop in Seattle I enjoyed that city on our Alaska cruise
I think you have good information bur seriously, just say "welcome " not "or welcome back" . Also it's just "two thousand twenty five" NOT two thousand AND twenty five"
Will u touch on the reciprocal loyalty statuses? I’ve heard something about it. But I’m not sure if it’s a thing already or if it was just being considered.
I’d be willing to pay more for ship in a ship. If only to try it. Use it for special occasions maybe.
Recently, I took a 5 day cruise. I didn’t like it. 3 ports. 1 sea day. Too short for me.
Another great video,thanks!! I have done 3,4,7,9,12, and one 7-night back to back (14 days total, same ship, same cabin). My preference is a longer cruise; however, the 3 and 4 night cruises really fit our budget at the time. It also helped that we could drive to the LA port and get a hotel cruise package ( San Pedro) the night before that included the room, breakfast, parking, and shuttle to and from the pier. I do have planned a 15-16 day RT Hawaii (Princess) cruise from San Francisco in April 2026 and am really looking forward to that with my sister & niece. We splurged on a Reserve Mini-Suite that will add some nice extras to this longer cruise. We also booked a hotel package through our travel agent so that we will have Princess transfers from airport to hotel, a night at the hotel, and then transport to the pier. If I did another short cruise I don't think I would go for less than 4 nights.
Flying to Sydney tomorrow. Have a 5 day Tasmania, and 11 day New Zealand booked B2B. Many Americans have several cruises booked, as the ship does several different itineraries, and because it’s such an issue getting there.