American Cruise Lines’ 3,344gt/2024-built American Liberty, (above) the company’s third Coastal Cat, was announced on 24th July as having completed her sea trials so American Cruise Lines accepted delivery of the 100-passenger ship from Chesapeake Shipbuilding early. The American Liberty is the newest ship in ACL’s ongoing Project Blue series of 12 new small ships for river and coastal cruising in the U.S.A. The American Liberty sailed on her inaugural cruise on 15th August from Providence, Rhode Island, along the company’s popular New England Islands itinerary.

Aroya Cruises’ parent company, Cruise Saudi, announced in July that it had renamed the first ship in its fleet (above), the 150,695gt/2017-built Manara (built as the World Dream) as the Aroya, combining the words Arabian and Roya, which translates to vision or dream. Aroya Cruises officially launches in December 2024 using the 3,362-passenger capacity Aroya, a floating resort. The 335m-long ship was undergoing an extensive refurbishment to become like a brand-new ship. Being based in Jeddah, the Aroya will initially sail around the Red Sea. Itineraries range from 3-7 nights, which include calls at a Saudi private island, Aqaba in Jordan, Sharm El Sheikh and Ain Sokhna in Egypt.

Celebrity Cruises made history in September 2013 when the 121,878gt/2010-built Celebrity Eclipse became the largest passenger ship (in terms of gross tonnage) to use the western Solent, outward bound from Southampton. She repeated this on 2 further occasions that season.

On 27th July the same company broke their own record when the 130,818gt Celebrity Apex departed Southampton for Vigo and completed her very first passage of the western Solent.

Neonyx Cruises’ 102,784gt/2004-built Goddess of the Night (above) returned to Eleusis in Greece on 3rd July after being seized by the Italian government in mid-June during her stint as floating accommodation during the 50th Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) 13th-15th June. Sadly, the ship had been detained following complaints about poor sanitary conditions onboard. Following a stay of a few weeks at the port of Brindisi, the ship, owned by Seajets, returned to Elefsis via Lavrio. It was announced in May that Neonyx Cruises intended to offer a one-of-a-kind adults-only product focussing on parties and nightlife. Sailing from Piraeus, the company is expected to offer 3 and 4-night cruises to destinations in Greece and Turkey, including Santorini, Mykonos and Cesme. The maiden voyage was originally scheduled for 15th July but it was not clear if the delayed return from Brindisi would affect the schedule.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s 236,473gt/2024-built Oasis Class ship Utopia of the Seas (above) arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida, on 11th July after her delivery voyage from St. Nazaire, France. Specialising in short getaways, the ship’s official debut came on 19th July 19, sailing 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday getaways to The Bahamas. The ship’s godmother had been announced as the GRAMMY-winning singer and songwriter Meghan Trainor with the naming ceremony taking place on 16th July in Port Canaveral on the ship’s open-air AquaTheatre. The Monday event kicked off the Utopia of the Sea’s 3-night celebration cruise that included one party after the next, including a live concert on board hosted by Meghan Trainor herself.