After taking my first cruise on the world's largest ship this year, here are the sailings I'm most excited for in 2023

In spring of 2022, I embarked on a seven-night voyage on the largest cruise ship of its kind, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas. We sailed to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; and Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian island.

It was my first cruise, and I thought it felt surreal to be on such a large vessel in the middle of the ocean. A week of sun and cool breezes was just what I needed after a winter at home in New York City.

I learned a lot about this type of travel on my first cruise. I realized that I disliked dealing with motion sickness and crowds, but I loved seeing multiple countries on one trip and the feeling of being out in the middle of the ocean.

I also came to understand that cruising is a lifestyle and it's easy to see the appeal. In January 2020 — before the pandemic disrupted the cruise industry — Forbes reported that at that time, an average of 30 million people took a cruise each year, up from 17.8 million in 2009. And according to Cruise Line International Association's 2022 report, there will likely be even more people cruising by the end of 2022 than there were in 2019 before the pandemic.

While I left my trip thinking the cruising lifestyle was not for me, I still thought it was a totally epic way to travel, and I want to take more cruises to get a well-rounded perspective on this type of vacation. I hope to take another one in 2023, hopefully on one of the following new ships and routes that I'm particularly excited about.

Carnival Cruise Line's new Carnival Jubilee ship will set sail for the first time in 2023.

Named after one of the first Carnival cruise ships that sailed for 30 years before being scrapped in 2016, according to Cruise Hive, the new Carnival Jubilee will have several fun "zones," from water slides to a roller coaster, according to the company's website.

Sailing from Galveston, Texas, to the Western Caribbean, the Carnival Jubilee will have a range of cabins ranging from interior staterooms to suites with private balconies, according to the same source.

Pricing, which starts at around $534 per person, includes the room and most onboard meals and activities, according to the website.

I don't have kids, but with the wealth of fun for children onboard this ship, I think it's a great option for families, and I'd love to take some of my younger cousins on a Carnival Jubilee cruise to experience the ship's wide variety of activities while visiting Caribbean ports like Cozumel and Costa Maya.

MSC Cruises, a European cruise company, is launching Explora Journeys in 2023. It's a new luxury cruise line with four ships meant for people who don't consider themselves cruisers, Travel and Leisure reports.

Unlike a typical cruise where travelers often only spend one day in each port, Explora Journeys will be slower-paced, giving guests multiple nights at each port, CN Traveler reports. And no itinerary will ever be repeated, making each cruise a unique experience, according to the same source. The trip duration will range from three to 35 nights, according to their website.

The same article states that every stateroom will have an outdoor terrace, and the ships will hold up to 900 passengers. Onboard Wonder of the Seas, I booked an oceanview room because a room with a terrace was more expensive, so I think this is a unique and exciting feature.

Explora Journeys will travel to off-the-beaten-path ports around the world, from Norway and Greece to Alaska and the Arabian Peninsula, beginning in July 2023, according to their website.

Prices range between $2,000 and $20,000 per person, depending on the route and trip duration, according to the same source. This price includes lodging and most onboard meals and activities, as well as Wi-Fi.

I think Explora Journeys would be the perfect cruise line for me since I longed for more time at each port during my Wonder of the Seas cruise. And having an outdoor terrace in my room might help relieve my motion sickness at sea.

I had a hard time sleeping onboard the Wonder of the Seas cruise ship. In my oceanview stateroom, I slept on two twin-sized beds pushed together to form a king-size bed and I often found myself waking up in the crevice.

However, luxury cruise line Celebrity Cruises, which is owned by Royal Caribbean, is known for having cozy, cashmere-topped true king-sized beds.

But I'm especially intrigued by their forthcoming ship, Celebrity Ascent, which will have 32 cabins designed for solo travelers, according to the company's website. As someone who traveled solo on a cruise, I think these single staterooms are much needed within the cruising industry.

Because I sailed alone, when booking my Wonder of the Seas cruise, the listed rates for my ship were per person, not per room like most hotels. When switching between one and two guests in my search, the cost per person doubled when I had just one person selected. This is known as the "single supplement." Solo cabins were not available when I booked my Wonder of the Seas cruise.

These solo cabins will be smaller than rooms for more than one person, but cheaper. I think it's a great alternative to paying the dreaded single supplement, where solo cruisers may have to pay double to occupy a room meant for two people. This is because it helps the cruise line make up for the lost revenue that would have come from having a second person onboard staying in the cabin, according to the LA Times.

On the Celebrity Ascent, single rooms will come with a private small outdoor space, according to the same source, which I think might have also helped to relieve my motion sickness.

Setting sail in December 2023, the company's website states that the Celebrity Ascent will have many of the same features as the Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex ships, like the movable "Magic Carpet" deck that functions as a restaurant, bar, and embarkation area.

With prices ranging from $600 to $3,000 per person, Celebrity Ascent ships will travel to the Caribbean and Europe, according to their website. This price includes the room, Wi-Fi, and meals from most of the restaurants onboard.

Virgin Voyages is adding a new member to its class of luxury adult-only "lady ships" in 2023. With a similar layout to the 2021 Scarlet Lady ship, the forthcoming Resilient Lady will also only be available to passengers 18 and up.

When I cruised onboard Wonder of the Seas, I noticed that there were many kids running around everywhere, which I thought made my trip less relaxing than it could have been. I think an adult-only ship would give me a calmer experience.

Cabins onboard the Resilient Lady will range from interior staterooms with no window to 2,000-square-foot suites with personal outdoor hot tubs, according to the company's website.

The Resilient Lady will depart from Athens, Greece, and travel to Australia and the Caribbean in the winter months, according to the same source.

While pricing and booking are not yet available for the Resilient Lady, the cost will include a room, Wi-Fi, and meals from every restaurant onboard, according to the same source.

Viking Cruises is a travel company with a line of identical ocean cruise ships that are able to access smaller ports that mega ships can't, and the new Viking Saturn will be just like the rest, except newer.

One thing I loved about cruising onboard Wonder of the Seas was how new the ship was. I appreciated the modern design of my stateroom, which felt completely untouched when I stepped inside. So I'd love for my next ocean journey to feel just as sparkling new.

Unlike my Wonder of the Seas trip, which had more than 5,000 guests onboard, I think the Viking Saturn will give cruisers a more intimate experience. Like its sister ships, every cabin for the Viking Saturn's 900 guests will have a balcony, and the ship will also have luxury communal spaces like an infinity pool and a Nordic spa, according to the company's website.

The same source states that Viking Saturn will embark on journeys around the world, from Europe to the Americas, with starting prices ranging from $3,000 to $14,000. This price includes the room, meals, and drinks onboard, and one excursion at each port of call, according to Eat Sleep Cruise.

Although I don't imagine I'll ever have the budget or time for it, Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise looks to me like the most exciting sea journey I could ever take.

Over 274 nights, Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas ship will travel from Miami, Florida, to more than 60 countries around the world, including stops for the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, and the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, according to the company's website.

The ship embarks on this journey for the first time in December 2023, and rooms onboard will range from interior staterooms with no windows to balcony suites, according to the website.

While pricing is not available online, interested travelers can call Royal Caribbean to reserve a spot on this global adventure, according to the same source.

The price, which I suspect will command several thousand dollars, will include business-class airfare, a hotel stay before the cruise, transportation from the airport to the hotel and the cruise port, laundry service, Wi-Fi, and some shore excursions.

I'm not sure if there's any vacation that feels quite like cruising. The epic sight of the sun rising over you in the middle of the ocean is something worth experiencing — even with motion sickness — in my opinion.

From relaxing on the top deck to exploring ports of call, I hope my 2023 is filled with new adventures at sea on one — or all — of these ships.