Your April 2025 Update from Michael Wilson

Hello and welcome to my April 2025 update!

Spring is certainly in the air! I hope you’ve been enjoying the glorious sunshine as much as we have here at the Cruise Centre. March was officially one of the sunniest on record, and it certainly felt that way to us. In fact, our solar roof system – installed 15 years ago – recorded its highest-ever March output, giving a very welcome boost to our running costs!

While the weather was bright, March was otherwise a relatively quiet month for us, with sales falling short of expectations. A key reason for this was Cunard’s decision to delay the launch of their summer 2027 programme, which has traditionally been a strong market for us, particularly in relation to sailings departing from the UK. We’re still awaiting news on the revised launch date, but as soon as we hear, we will reissue our preview brochure so you can register your interest ahead of the on-sale day.

On the subject of product launches, we are eagerly awaiting the launch of the new 2027 summer collection from P&O Cruises. We are hard at work preparing our preview material and will open for pre-booking at 8.30am on Wednesday, 23 April 2025. 

The on-sale dates are as follows:

• Exclusively on sale for Caribbean, Baltic and Ligurian tier members of the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club from Tuesday, 29 April 2025
• On general sale for holidays departing March – June 2027 from Wednesday, 30 April 2025
• On general sale for holidays departing July – October 2027 from Thursday, 1 May 2025

We pride ourselves on booking efficiently during major launches like this, and securing the cruise and accommodation of your choice remains our top priority! By letting us know your preferences, we will make every effort to secure them when the cruises go on sale. Further details of the new collection, together with advance registration options, will be available to you on Wednesday, 23 April when they are released by P&O Cruises.

On a personal note, I recently had the pleasure of taking my first-ever trip to Sweden. Together with Danny (our Marketing Manager), Katie (my daughter and our COO), and Oliver (my son and our newly appointed Product Manager), we made a flying visit to Stockholm to meet with our website development team. What a beautiful and stylish city! Even in the space of a short visit, we were struck by how clean, calm, and welcoming Stockholm is. The waterfront views, historic buildings, and café culture made quite the impression – and we even squeezed in a quick walk around the old town, Gamla Stan, which is absolutely charming.

The real purpose of the trip, though, was to sit down with our developers and map out exciting plans for our online presence. Our main focus was an innovative tool that will allow you to book your cruise and choose your own flights and accommodation in one seamless process. I’m delighted to report that the system is exceptionally user-friendly and almost ready to go live. Look out for more updates in the coming weeks!

Speaking of the website, while we were in Stockholm, we saw the team testing a new connection with Virgin Voyages. We are currently working towards making the sailings fully bookable on our site, and when we do, this will bring the total number of cruise lines you can book online with us to 16. And remember: whether you book through our website or over the phone, the same level of expert support is always available. We’re just a call or message away.

The past few weeks have been exceptionally busy in the wider cruise industry, especially when it comes to refits. Cruise ships must go into dry dock every few years for essential maintenance, and it would seem that many of our cruise line partners have been using this as an opportunity to carry out some interior refurbishments. The P&O Cruises favourite Azura has just emerged from her latest refit, and will shortly be followed by the adults-only ship, Aurora. One of our Cruise Experts embarked on the first sailing after Azura’s refit and has been full of praise for the improvements; we’ll be sharing some of Heather’s images on our social media channels over the coming days.

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth has also been extensively refurbished in recent weeks. Among the areas to have been revamped is the ever-popular Queens Room, where many of you will no doubt have enjoyed the cruise line’s signature white-gloved afternoon tea. There are also some new additions, including The Pavilion Wellness Cafe, which has proved a hit on board Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Anne. Full details are available on our website.

I also noticed that Majestic Princess has been undergoing renovations. Launched in 2017, this is one of the smaller ships in the Princess Cruises fleet by today’s standards, but the latest refit has seen many new venues introduced that have proved popular on other ships. Highlights include Alfredo’s Slice, which will serve made-to-order pizzas on the pool deck, replacing Chopsticks Noodle & Dim Sum Bar. Majestic Princess also now has its own O’Malley’s Irish Pub, which features on many other Princess Cruises ships. You can read more details on the refit by clicking here.

Not only are many cruise ships undergoing refits at the moment, but a number of the operators we work with have revealed plans to invest in new ships. The first is Marella, which has traditionally purchased existing ships and carried out extensive refurbishments. However, the brand has placed orders for two brand-new ships that are set to be launched in 2030 and 2032, so I’ll be keen to see exactly how these differ from the rest of the Marella Cruises fleet. 

This news comes as Emerald Cruises also announced it would be welcoming two new superyachts and a river ship in 2027. Emerald Raiya and Emerald Xara will each accommodate 128 guests, and will spend their winter 2026/27 seasons in Seychelles and the Mediterranean, respectively. Meanwhile, Emerald Lumi will be the cruise line’s first river ship that has been uniquely designed to sail the Seine. She will set sail from Paris through Normandy and beyond, visiting towns including Honfleur and Rouen along the way. If any of these new ships interest you, please make sure your email preferences are up to date, and we will send out any further details as and when we receive them.

You may recall from my last update that the latest Norwegian Cruise Line ship, Norwegian Aqua, was about to set sail. Several members of our team were invited on a special preview sailing, and their feedback has certainly been glowing. From what I’ve heard, everything from the quality of the food on board to the entertainment was top notch; many of them were even brave enough to try the Aqua Slidecoaster, the world’s first hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide at sea! Make sure you take a look at our social media channels for an insight into this incredible new ship, which is now bound for the Caribbean for her inaugural season.

One of the most significant developments since my last update was the announcement that  Fred. Olsen would be offering inclusive pricing on its sailings from 2026 onward. This smaller ship cruise line has been gaining popularity with our Cruise Club Members over the past few years, and I suspect this will only increase the cruise line’s appeal even further. Guests will now receive house beers, wines, spirits, and draught soft drinks with lunch and dinner as part of their cruise fare. Other benefits include complimentary guided walks in selected ports, and shuttle buses will be provided in instances where the port is located more than a mile from where the ship is docked. Fitness classes and gratuities are also covered as part of guests’ cruise fare from January 2026. This announcement came as Fred. Olsen released its autumn/winter 2026 collection, further details of which are available on our website.

Thank you all for your continued support and for those of you who are travelling over the coming weeks, bon voyage and have a great holiday.