Luxury Cruising Editorial

While many cruisers hop on a ship to get away from work and all strenuous activity, there is a growing number of passengers who have a never-miss-a-workout mindset. And with the fitness competition Hyrox on the rise, a new cruise is creating the perfect opportunity.

But before you get too excited about this Hyrox cruise, U.S. residents will have to wait a while before their own sailing is available.

The first-ever Hyrox Cruise is a four-day, adult-only Mediterranean trip sailing from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, from October 21–25, 2026.

Because of the strong demand anticipated for this sailing, Mein Schiff 4 has been exclusively reserved for the event. This means the cruise line had to cancel a previously scheduled voyage to make way for the fitness sailing.  2,300 athletes and 15 elite Hyrox pros are expected to be on board in October.

What is Hyrox?

To understand why this cruise is a big deal, you need to know about Hyrox.

The fitness world was long dominated by CrossFit. Hyrox, though, has become the world’s fastest-growing fitness race.  For some, CrossFit was a bit too over the top and inaccessible if you weren’t a trained Olympian. 

This doesn’t mean Hyrox is a cake walk though.

The format is simple: run 1 kilometer, do a functional workout, and repeat that sequence eight times. The workouts, like sled pushes, burpee broad jumps, and wall balls, are simple to learn. This simple format attracts everyone from casual gym-goers to professional athletes.

Training in a “Floating Fitness Arena”

During the cruise, Mein Schiff 4 will be transformed into a “floating fitness arena.” Passengers can look forward to a schedule that’s heavy on sweat and light on downtime:

• 5-6 workouts daily and specialized clinics.
• Meet-and-greets with world-class Hyrox athletes.
• A unique, never-before-seen Hyrox race format staged right on the ship.

The itinerary includes a full day at sea and quick stops in Marseille, France, and Barcelona. The ship itself belongs to TUI Cruises, which primarily serves the German-speaking market (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Americans Need to Stay Patient

If you’re an American Hyrox fan, there’s a catch. The cruise is currently only open to residents of the EU and the U.K. This is due to regional travel regulations and the cruise line’s specific focus.

Hyrox has promised that this is just the beginning for their travel concepts which has been named Hyrox Experiences.  So, hopefully soon there will be some events and sailings opened up for U.S. and other markets.

Tickets for the high-intensity Hyrox sailing go on sale December 9th. And if running and lifting aren’t your thing, Zumba is also bringing back its popular Zumba Cruise in 2026 with Norwegian Cruise Line.

Villa Vie Residences, a cruise line that has a ship you can buy a cabin and live on, is adding a second ship through a new luxury product.

Villa Vie has announced that Chris Cox will head up Project Lumina, a luxury arm of the cruise line.

As president, Chris will oversee vessel acquisition, full-ship conversion planning, architectural programming, sales and marketing strategy, investor engagement, and global partnership development.

While Villa Vie has not said which ship they are buying, rumors are swirling that the ship will be Navigator from Regent Seven Seas Cruises. 

Crescent Seas, another cruise line startup, was originally going to buy the ship from Regent but backed out last month. Chris Cox was Head of Global Sales for Crescent Seas before joining Villa Vie Residences.

Project Lumina

Project Lumina will operate in parallel with Villa Vie’s current contemporary model aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey.

The Odyssey will continue to receive dedicated leadership, sales, and operational focus, maintaining its role as the cruise line’s flagship contemporary residential product.

What do we know about this luxury ship you will be able to live on?

• Fully owned private residences
• World-class amenities and services
• A carefully curated global itinerary for discerning travelers seeking an elevated residential experience at sea

With the introduction of Lumina, future residents will enjoy a wide spectrum of ownership options. It will range from attainable world-travel homes aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey to ultra-luxury villa experiences aboard the upcoming Lumina flagship.

The company said that more details such as ship name and inaugural development will be shared at a later date.

Chris Cox, President of Project Lumina, gave the following statement:

“I’m thrilled to join Villa Vie at such a defining moment for the brand and for the category,” said. There is incredible demand for authentic, residential oceangoing lifestyles—from attainable world-travel homes to ultra-luxury villa experiences. Project Lumina will be about listening carefully to that demand and translating it into beautifully designed, high-value products that feel both elevated and deeply personal.”

MSC Cruises is extending the Cyber Monday sale on select cruise ships, keeping the booking window open through December 8.  On top of that, the cruise line is offering a one-day-only Travel Tuesday bonus.

It’s a busy time of year for most of us, so MSC Cruises decided to keep the Cyber Monday offer available for an extra six days to give cruisers more time to lock in a deal.

The Cyber Monday deal being extended to next Monday offers cruises starting at $199 and up to $1,000 in onboard credit.  The offer is perfect for families as well as kids sail for free (17 and under).

According to the cruise line, a family of four sailing in a balcony cabin on a 7-night MSC World America cruise in July 18 would normally pay about $6,600 for the cruise plus drinks and Wi-Fi.  But with the Cyber Monday promotion on top of the Travel Tuesday deal, the cost comes to around $5,000, a savings of about $1,600, plus onboard credit.

The amount of onboard credit will depend on the stateroom category and the length of the cruise.  Also, this offer is only available to U.S. residents.

The ships included in this offer are as follows: MSC World America, MSC Divina, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seascape, MSC Seaside and MSC Seashore.  These ships sail from ports like Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston.

MSC Seascape just recently started sailing out of Galveston, Texas and is offering year-round 7-night Western Caribbean cruises.

To book this offer, reference the “CYBER MONDAY SALE” promotion.

Keep in mind that this offer is not applicable to group bookings and cannot be combined with any other promotion.

The One-Day-Only Travel Tuesday Deal

The Travel Tuesday offer is for one day only (December 2); however, it can be combined with the offer above for even more savings.

With this offer cruisers can get up to +$250 Onboard Credit that is combinable with Cyber Monday Sale offer on select sailings.  Even higher amounts of OBC are offered for MSC Yacht Club bookings, and sailing dates after April 1, 2026 offer higher amounts of OBC as well.

The ships included in this offer are MSC Divina, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seascape, MSC Seaside and MSC Seashore.

After more than 10 years, Philadelphia is going to have a major cruise ship port again.   Construction on the brand-new PhilaPort Cruise Terminal has officially begun, and the 16-acre site is scheduled to start welcoming Norwegian Cruise Line passengers in April 2026.

Norwegian’s Ship Coming to Philly

Norwegian Cruise Line’s first Jewel-class ship will be coming to Philadelphia for an initial April 16 sailing in 2026.  The 2,376-passenger vessel, Norwegian Jewel, which was built in 2005, will offer 7-day round-trip itineraries out of the port all through the summer. 

The ship will offer Philadelphia residents sailings to Bermuda, with overnights in King’s Wharf and another port visit in Charleston, SC. 

There is also a 9-day sailing scheduled for the ship on August 27 which will allow guests to enjoy 3 days in Bermuda.

In November 2026 Jewel will then move to PortMiami before crossing the Atlantic in the Spring of 2027.

The New Terminal

There is a 7-year berthing agreement between the port and cruise line with an initial commitment of 41 sailings per year.

Norwegian Cruise Line is leading construction efforts on the land side of things while the Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort) handles the water side of the operation.

The new terminal will be right near Philadelphia’s international airport, making transportation even easier for cruise guests who fly into the city. 

The port estimates the new terminal will create about 2,185 jobs and roughly $300 in annual revenue throughout the area.

2026 is going to be a busy year for the “City of Brotherly Love” as well, since the opening of the new cruise terminal will also coincide with the county’s 250^th birthday celebration.

President of NCL, David J. Herrera, said this about Norwegian Jewel coming to the city: “We remain committed to our guests to create unforgettable memories, so they can vacation better with us. We are particularly proud to partner with PhilaPort to launch cruising in the area, making it even more accessible to the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.”

Seven years ago, a new cruise line launched that was promising to sell cabins/condos on a cruise ship that you can live in starting at just $155,000.

Storylines was originally going to buy three older cruise ships and convert them into ships that you can live on.

A year later, the cruise line moved in a new direction and announced a brand new ship that they were going to build that would be unlike any other at sea. A launch date was set for 2023 and prices went up to ranging from $352,000 to $8 million per cabin.

In 2021, Storylines said that construction would begin on this new ship in 2022, after delays from the Covid-19 pandemic. It would be built at the Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia.

In early 2022, the shipyard filed for provisional bankruptcy due to banking sanctions against Russian institutions.

The block was lifted in 2023 and the shipyard moved away from bankruptcy. However, construction on Storylines’ ship, MV Narrative, never began. The launch date continued to get pushed back and the last date the cruise line gave was December 2026.

The cruise line continued to promote and sell cabins on the ship. Several future owners who bought cabins on the ship canceled and asked for refunds due to delays in building the vessel. Many of them posted online about delays in receiving their refunds.

Others have canceled and bought a cabin on Crescent Seas, a new luxury cruise line launching next year that will also have ships you can live on.

Fast forward to today, December 2025. The phone number for Storylines has been disconnected. Cruise Fever attempted to call the number listed on their website and received the following message:

“You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Please check the number and try your call again.”

Posts on Storylines’ social media accounts have been fewer and fewer. On their recent Thanksgiving Facebook post, one user commented, “Where did Storylines go? All numbers disconnected, trying to get my money deposit back.”

While the cruise line’s website is still up, it looks like Storylines will join the likes of Blue World Voyages and others who have tried to launch a ship that you can live on, but were never able to set sail.