The 2026 cruise orderbook is all about first in class. A total of four oceangoing newbuilds will be first in class, spanning the mainstream, luxury, and expedition segments.
The new year will see some long-awaited entrants, too, including the first Four Seasons Yacht Club vessel, Four Seasons I, set to debut in Q1, and Corinthian, the first oceangoing cruise ship from luxury brand Orient Express.
Keeping with the luxury tier, Regent Seven Seas Cruises welcomes its largest luxury vessel to date, the 77,000-gt Seven Seas Prestige. With capacity for 822 passengers, Seven Seas Prestige will be the largest in the fleet and an evolution of the brand’s previous Explorer class.
Disney Cruise Line will also debut what is perhaps its most daring newbuild, Disney Adventure, in Q1. Though it’s not strictly a newbuild – it uses the hull of the former Global Dream, ordered for Dream Cruises by former owner Genting Group and acquired by Disney in 2022 – Disney has spent considerable time, money, and effort gutting and revamping Global Dream to turn it into Disney Adventure. It will be the line’s first-ever ship to be homeported in Asia and its largest vessel to date, with capacity for 6,000 passengers.
Successful Designs Revealed
While the remainder of the 2026 ocean cruise orderbook may not be first-in-class vessels, there are a number of tried-and-true designs launching from global brands around the world.
Notable entries for 2026 include the debut of Royal Caribbean’s third Icon-class vessel, the 5,610-pax Legend of the Seas, which debuts in Q2; MSC’s third World-class vessel, MSC World Asia, which debuts in Q4; and the 4,000-pax Mein Schiff Flow for Germany’s TUI Cruises – the second of the InTUItion class, following the launch of Mein Schiff Relax in 2025.
Viking returns in 2026 with two brand-new oceangoing newbuilds, Viking Mira and Viking Libra. They become the 14th and 15th Star-class ships to debut for Viking since Viking Star in 2015, though both are slightly “stretched” versions that can accommodate 998 passengers instead of the previous 950.
Carnival’s Chinese-based subsidiary, Adora Cruises, gets its second newbuild in 2026, the 141,000-gt Adora Flora City. Based off Carnival Cruise Line’s successful Vista platform, Adora Flora City will be a sister to 2023’s Adora Magic City and will be based in Guangzhou, China. The vessel is slated for Q4 delivery, with operations to start in early 2027.
Also new for 2026 is Emerald Kaia, the third yacht-like vessel built for Emerald Cruises. Carrying just 128 passengers, Emerald Kaia follows on the heels of the successful Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara in expanding Emerald’s footprint into the oceangoing arena, increasing the company’s presence on the waterways of Europe.
— Aaron Saunders, Digital Editor
