Cruising is quite simply getting better, too. Ships are more spacious and sophisticated, passengers more adventurous, shore excursions more varied. In fact, the only difficulty in cruising these days is keeping up with all that's happening, and making choices from the increasingly varied smorgasbord of cruises. Here are 14 more reasons to get excited about cruising in 2017.

1 ICEBERG ITINERARIES 

Polar cruising goes from strength to strength, and next year it looks as if the fabled Northwest Passage will be squarely in the sights of adventurous cruise lines taking advantage of melting ice pack to make the epic journey across northern Canada. Ponant ship Le Boreal, Regent's Seven Seas Navigator and Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity are among ships tackling the route next year and bringing considerable luxury to the Arctic wilderness. Heritage Expeditions goes one better with a Northeast Passage journey across Russia, a journey only previously make by a handful of expedition vessels. See crystalcruises.com, heritage-expeditions.com, ponant.com and rssc.com.au

2 KIDS' PLAY 

Good news for those who want to cruise with kids: times they are a-changing on rivers as companies such as Tauck and Uniworld broaden their offerings to appeal to multigenerational passengers. Adventures by Disney has partnered with AmaWaterways on three different eight-day Danube River itineraries, and Pandaw River Cruises has just started family-friendly departures on the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers. AmaWaterways' AmaViola and Tauck's MS Joy and MS Savor now have family-friendly cabins such as triples or interconnecting rooms. Expect the family trend to keep growing on rivers over the next few years. See adventuresbydisney.com, pandaw.com, tauck.com.au and uniworldcruises.com.au

3 ASIAN PERSUASION 

Last year, we tipped Asia as the next big cruise destination, and now feel obliged to repeat ourselves. Cruise Lines International Association numbers show a stunning 24 per cent increase in cruise-passenger numbers last year, and a near 15 per cent growth from Australians. This year, Asian sailings were up 43 per cent, with 60 ships plying Asian waters. Carnival, Crystal, Costa and MSC cruise lines are all focusing on Asia, and Norwegian Cruise Lines has returned for the first time in 15 years. Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises are especially the ones to watch, with ships now home-ported in China. See princess.com and royalcaribbean.com.au

4 ADVANCED AUSTRALIAN FARE 

A fifth of all Australian cruisers choose to sail home waters, and that percentage will increase over the next few years thanks to more ships home-ported in Australia, more visits by cruise ships and an increasing number of short "taster" cruises on offer to destinations such as the Whitsundays, Tasmania and Kangaroo Island. Royal Caribbean, P&O, Carnival and Princess have significant short-cruise offerings; next year Cunard's Queen Mary 2 joins their company. Princess Cruises has announced maiden cruises out of Adelaide for the first time in 2017. The Murray River is also showing strong bookings as our only river-cruise destination. See cunard.com and princess.com

5 ARE YOU BEING SERVED?

Butler service has long been a feature of luxury small ships, but attentive personal service is spreading to bigger, more mainstream cruise lines – at least in certain cabin classes. MSC, Costa, Norwegian and P&O all offer butlers, and Royal Caribbean has just rolled out its "royal genies" for guests in Loft Suites or higher categories to help with everything from customised shore excursions to laundry and shoe shining. River cruises are also seeing a burgeoning of butlers: from this year, Uniworld is offering in-suite butler service across its entire European fleet. See royalcaribbean.com.au and uniworldcruises.com.au

6 KIMBERLEY COASTING 

The Kimberley has long loomed large in the minds of adventurous Australian travellers, but only recently have they acknowledged that travelling the northwest by sea provides an alternative perspective on this great red land. Kimberley cruises from Aurora Expeditions, Kimberley Quest, North Star Cruises and Silversea are booming. In 2017, more completion arrives when suave French cruise company Ponant inaugurates Kimberley cruises on its luxury expedition ship L'Austral. APT is also expanding its Kimberley offers next year, with an extra ship in its portfolio, and new departures. See aptouring.com and ponant.com

7 VIKING RAID

Viking River Cruises made the competition sit up and take notice, and now the company is conquering the oceans too. It has already launched two ships, two more are coming next year (Viking Sky and Viking Sun) and a fifth and sixth thereafter. And after focusing on Europe, the company has expanded to North America's eastern seaboard and the Caribbean, and has announced that Viking Sun will be making a world cruise departing December 15, 2017. It also has 10 new ocean-cruise itineraries next year in places as diverse as South America, the western Mediterranean and Cuba. See vikingcruises.com.au

8 GO WELL 

It's no longer enough just to have an on-board spa for massages and skin-care regimes. Wellness is becoming a more comprehensive offering at sea. For example, MSC Cruises has just launched its Wellness Experience offering state-of-art fitness facilities, exclusive shore activities and access to on-board fitness trainers. Early next year, Seabourn is introducing a mindful living program offering meditation, yoga and holistic wellness classes. Meanwhile, Silversea has a number of  Wellness Expedition Voyages in 2017 aboard Silver Discoverer promising fitness and wellness programs that include classes in yoga and pilates, spa treatments and lectures on balanced nutrition. See msccruises.com.au, seabourn.com and silversea.com

9 MORE LUXURY 

The demand for ever-more luxe ships is nothing new, but it's one trend we feel sure will just keep on going. This year saw the launch of Regent's Seven Seas Explorer, which claims to be the world's most luxurious ship; Seabourn's Seabourn Encore is set to sail this December. In 2017, prepare for the arrival of Silversea's new Silver Muse and a new ship from Star Clippers, Flying Clipper. And in 2018 comes Seabourn Ovation, four new Ponant ships and Scenic's first ocean ship Scenic Eclipse, which will carry helicopters and a mini submarine. See ponant.com, rssc.com.au, scenic.com.au, silversea.com and starclippers.com

10 CRYSTAL GAZING 

Nearly every cruise company is launching new ships and expanding itineraries, but if you're going to keep your eyes on just one in 2017, make it Crystal Cruises, the ocean-cruise company that has just launched both small-ship and river-cruise offshoots. Crystal Yacht Cruises has already expanded its itineraries on Crystal Esprit in 2017 and announced a second ship Crystal Endeavour for August 2018, which will specialise in Arctic and Antarctic voyages. Meanwhile Crystal River Cruises floated out Crystal Mozart in Europe this July and has four more ships launching in 2017, all named for composers. See crystalcruises.com

11 PASSAGES TO INDIA 

First it was the Mekong, then the Irrawaddy, and now India's rivers are hotting up on the Asian river-cruise scene. This year saw a new Ganges river cruise from Uniworld on the new 56-passenger, all-suite Ganges Voyager II. Travelmarvel has a new Colours of India journey in 2017 that includes a two-week cruise along the Ganges River between Patna and Kolkata. But we tip the Brahmaputra River as the next place you'll be hearing more about; Pandaw River Expeditions and Assam Bengal Navigation Company are already offering cruises there. See assambengalnavigation.com, pandaw.com, travelmarvel.com.au and uniworldcruises.com.au

12 ATLAS OBSCURA 

River-cruise passengers are increasingly looking to interesting alternatives to the Rhine and Danube for a holiday afloat. We reckon you'll be hearing more about some 50 of the world's rivers that already offer river cruises, but don't yet enjoy wide recognition. These include the Elbe in Germany (where Viking River Cruises has expanded its ship numbers), the Loire River in France and the Oder River in Germany and Poland, both sailed by big European operator CroisiEurope. The Red River in Vietnam, Chindwin River in Myanmar and America's Ohio River are among other underexploited rivers ripe for more cruising.  See croisieurope.travel and vikingcruises.com.au

13 LINGERING LONGER

Australians have always been leaders in long holidays, and cruise companies are now responding to that ethos by offering add-ons to cruises. We predict a steady increase in the number of land-ocean or land-river combination tours in 2017, as well as more extended back-to-back cruises. Among many examples, Evergreen Tours' 2017 European cruises include combined France and Portugal river cruises, and a combined Rhine cruise and Tuscany tour. Luxury tour company Abercrombie & Kent has an Adriatic cruise that also includes a land tour in Italy and a visit to the Venice Biennale. See abercrombiekent.com.au and evergreentours.com.au

14 AMERICAN BEAUTIES

Is it now the turn of America to experience a river-cruise boom? We think so. Un-Cruise Adventures has rolled out new 2017 itineraries on the Columbia River, where it also has wine-themed cruises, and American Cruise Lines will have both more departures and new itineraries on the Columbia River next year. French America Line has entered the Australian market, selling its river cruises along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Most significantly, Viking River Cruises is starting Mississippi cruises in 2017 and will launch six ships there over the next three years. See americancruiselines.com, un-cruise.com and vikingcruises.com.au