NEW YORK — Cruise trends as the 2013 season gets under way are shaping up to include a bigger focus on multigenerational groups, more specialty food offerings and continued efforts to wow passengers with new onboard firsts like an aquapark, a glass walkway and a vertical garden.

Here are some details on what's new in cruising.

New attractions & activitiesToday's cruise ships offer everything from skating rinks to planetariums to climbing walls, but the new attractions and activities just keep coming.• Crystal Symphony debuted in September with a vertical garden, which is a plant-covered freestanding living wall, 7.9 feet high.• The MSC Preziosa ship, debuting in March, will feature what's being called the longest single-rider water slide at sea, 394 feet long.• On the Celebrity Reflection, an all-glass shower extends over the edge of the ship with a wraparound veranda and special glass so you can see out, but not in.• Carnival Cruise Lines offer TV-quality game shows at sea with passengers as participants, along with 3-D movies in theaters equipped with motion seats and special effects like wind and water.

Specialty foodSeems like every cruise line is upscaling and expanding food options.Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy in October began offering a $50 per person Champagne brunch at Remy, Disney Cruise Line's adult-only restaurant named for the character from the animated film “Ratatouille,” with dishes created by the French Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Lallement.The Norwegian Breakaway will have everything from a Brazilian-style steakhouse to separate bars for Asian noodles, gelato and raw shellfish.But there may be a downside to some of the new food offerings. Arnold Boris, editor in chief of Cruise Gourmet, said he has found that as specialty food options with extra fees increase, basics that used to be offered for free decrease. “It's all unbundled now,” he said.Spencer Brown agreed: “The quality of the main dining room has gone downhill while they've raised the prices to get into these alternative restaurants.”