The 6 best 2023 cruise itineraries to book right now

Table Of Content

• Major New Cruise Ships Arriving in 2023
• Ford autonomous driving boss Sammy Omari explains the shift from Argo AI to Latitude AI
• Canal cruises in Amsterdam
• A little more breathing room in the lane
• Ford's advanced BlueCruise driver assist features will only be available as a subscription
• Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on American Queen Voyages' American Countess

While the headline features of v1.2 are useful, the system in general feels more stable and predictable than when I first tried it. For a start, there were none of the unexpected moments where BlueCruise decided it simply couldn't handle an otherwise-regular corner and threw control back to me in short order. "During our internal testing across a variety of roads in the U.S., BlueCruise 1.3 stayed engaged in hands-free mode for an average of 3X longer compared to BlueCruise 1.2," Omari wrote in an announcement on LinkedIn. "We saw an even larger performance improvement from BlueCruise 1.0 to BlueCruise 1.3 with an average of 5X longer engagement in hands-free mode." The Argo AI sensor package, mounted to the roof of its test vehicles, costs more than the cars themselves.

Major New Cruise Ships Arriving in 2023

Among the favorites are the cruise line’s thrilling dive shows and ice skating shows, each enhanced with immersive features and stunning special effects. Compared to past Oceania ships, Vista offers new dining options, such as Ember and Aquamar Kitchen. In terms of accommodations, expect all-veranda options, and staterooms and suites with oversized rainforest showers. At just 67,000 gross tons and a guest capacity of only 1,200, there’s no denying that Oceania’s Vista is small.

Ford autonomous driving boss Sammy Omari explains the shift from Argo AI to Latitude AI

Smart energy efforts have also been applied to the ship’s waste elimination, climate control and ventilation. From MSC Cruises, Explora I is a new offering that’s designed to be a luxury experience like you’ve never seen before from MSC Cruises. The first of this new class of ships, Explora I is the first of three sister ships that are expected to appear over the next four years, through 2026.

Canal cruises in Amsterdam

When Sammy Omari joined Ford a year ago, Ford’s software teams would issue internal releases of software on a quarterly basis. Omari noted that Ford is taking inspiration from tech companies like Netflix and Apple by implementing this approach. Like the former, it wants to constantly be pushing new content, and like the latter, it wants updates to work regardless of when you bought your vehicle.

What exactly that future, Latitude-powered, eyes-off system looks like and how much it will cost remains to be seen. For now, though, the 1.3 release of BlueCruise will land on all compatible Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs sometime this summer. Right now, the “perception” piece of BlueCruise — that is, the first level of processing information from the car’s various sensors — is handled in part by software licensed from Mobileye. Hardware redundancy is not something that can be added via OTA update to Ford’s current lineup of cars.

Team outing Amsterdam

This series of three ships that include Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer is known for a particularly high level of luxury. This can be most clearly seen in the new Grandeur Regent Suite, which offers 4,443 square feet, a sauna, steam room, spa room, capacity for six, 270-degree views, a balcony and a sunroom. The ship won’t be among the largest in the world when it debuts, but it will be Carnival’s largest to date, larger even than Mardi Gras, placing Carnival Jubilee just shy of the world’s current top 10 largest cruise ships. There will be more than 1,400 cabins and most will offer ocean views and nearly 90% will offer balconies.

BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving Hardware Coming to More 2024 Fords and Lincolns - MotorTrend

BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving Hardware Coming to More 2024 Fords and Lincolns.

Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Book a nice lunch cruise in one of our iconic blue boats, where you can view all the beauty of Amsterdam and enjoy a delicious lunch. In addition to having a huge number of staterooms and suites to pick from, on this ship, you’ll also have a wide array of restaurants and bars to pick between, as you plan your itinerary. The upcoming Norwegian Viva will be the sister ship to Norwegian Prima, and Norwegian Cruise Line has said that you can expect nearly identical experiences on both ships. But as for the fun stuff, MSC Euribia will offer five pools, one of the largest waterparks at sea, the longest LED dome at sea in the promenade, 10 restaurants and 21 bars. Just like all four of the Virgin Voyages ships, Resilient Lady will offer the adults-only environment infused with fitness, music and party-esque amenities that the cruise line is known for.

I Spent 7 Days on My First Adults-Only Virgin Voyages Cruise

The second is Lane Repositioning, intended to build confidence in the system when you're surrounded by other — often larger — vehicles. “We do need new hardware, and the reason for that is largely redundancy,” Omari said. This includes both sensing redundancy, so that multiple sensors are covering the vehicle in 360 degrees, and also redundancy when it comes to control features like power steering.

The second route is an eight-day sailing from Osaka to Fukuoka, May 15-22, 2023, taking passengers to stops in the Seto Inland Sea, the oldest sea route in Japan. After nearly three years of shutdowns and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan finally reopened to travelers in November 2022. That includes cruise passengers, and several lines — including Holland America Line and Celebrity Cruises (which is offering special "Spice Route" voyages that include Japan) — are returning. The fourth ship from Virgin Voyages, Brilliant Lady will follow the same design as its predecessors. While not much has been announced regarding the ship thus far, you can expect a good array of restaurants (while the ship forgoes the traditional buffet and main dining rooms that are common on other cruise lines).

"The hardware and Ford-developed software stack is laying the foundation for how we will be able to seamlessly deliver hands-free driving excellence quickly to the customer in the future," Omari said. Latitude’s goal, then, isn’t to create fully autonomous driverless shuttles of the sort that Waymo and Cruise have been developing for years. Instead, the shift is back to technologies that can be deployed to passenger vehicles more quickly and more profitably. Instead, true eyes-off driver assistance, of the sort that Mercedes-Benz has recently been granted approval to sell, will only come on Ford’s next generation of EVs, expected in 2025 and at least partly built at the $5.6 billion BlueOval City complex. Omari is Ford’s executive director of advanced driver assist technologies, and CEO of Ford’s new autonomy subsidiary, Latitude AI.

At Blue Boat Company, we offer you a unique experience on the famous canals of Amsterdam. A Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson mentioned a potential switch up in a few of the restaurants and/or entertainment venues, but, otherwise, they’re sticking to what they’ve already proven to do well with Norwegian Prima. The 2024 Navigator and Nautilus lines and “select trims” of the Lincoln Corsair will come equipped with BlueCruise.

Currently, BlueCruise is available on the Mustang Mach-E, the F-150, the F-150 Lightning, and the Ford Expedition. That's not the full extent of Ford and Lincoln's line-ups, true, but it's a strong cross-section of them. Perhaps more notable, you don't have to buy the fanciest trim in order to add BlueCruise.

While Omari declined to specifically list what features and functions are next for BlueCruise, he didn’t rule out Ford’s hands-off technology eventually being able to navigate drivers off of protected highways and into rural and even urban streets. According to Sammy Omari, the CEO of Latitude AI, Ford’s new automation subsidiary, the team behind BlueCruise is dramatically increasing the speed at which it introduces updates. That means small, iterative changes, and a focus on improving the user experience. Plus, starting in December 2023, Virgin Voyages' brand-new Resilient Lady will offer five two- to 14-night sailings from Melbourne, providing locals with a more modern ship. (It's rare for the Australian market to see brand-new vessels.) Voyages include stops in Hobart, Burnie or both Tasmanian ports. On the two-week sailing, ports also include Sydney, as well as Picton, Napier, Tauranga and Auckland in New Zealand.

Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. From interesting new routes to tried-and-true ones that now have new ships, this list will prime your sense of wanderlust for both far-flung destinations and places close to home as we head into the new year. With ships traveling all over the globe, it can be difficult to choose the destination that's right for you, especially when there are so many bucket list-worthy options. Virgin Voyages is relatively new to the cruising game, but that doesn’t mean that the line is lacking in any way.

With Australia and New Zealand finally picking up steam again post-shutdown, it's not surprising that some cruise lines are sending ships to the region for the first time in 2023. Think 44,000 square feet of outdoor space, a new take on the classic cruise ship promenade, two infinity pools, the fastest free-fall drop slide at sea, the largest three-level race track at sea, and more than 100 suites in The Haven VIP area. This will be a transformational venue where guests can enjoy wraparound ocean views during the day, including an inspiring waterfall. The cruise line will be revealing even more details about the ship as its debut draws closer.