Courtesy of Princess Cruises.

Princess Cruises marked Valentine’s Day by unveiling the maiden season itineraries of its highly anticipated Royal Princess debuting in June 2013, as well as some additional features of the ship’s signature, and greatly expanded atrium, the social hub of the ship.

Preceding the ship’s inaugural program of 12-day Grand Mediterranean cruises between Barcelona and Venice beginning on June 23, Royal Princess will sail on her inaugural voyage, a seven-day Iberia cruise from Southampton to Barcelona departing June 16.

The Royal Princess maiden season cruises will open for sale on March 15, 2012. There will also be two three-day preview cruises sailing roundtrip from Southampton on June 10 and 13 that will be available for booking at a later date.

“It’s fitting that our new ship will cruise on our most popular Europe itinerary, the Grand Mediterranean,” said Jan Swartz, executive vice president for Princess Cruises. “And the shorter preview cruises prior to the Mediterranean season certainly offer a unique opportunity to sample the new Royal Princess experience our passengers are eagerly awaiting.” [Read more →]

Courtesy of Oceania Cruises.

A 10-member cast of singers and dancers will perform music from many of Webber’s best-known shows, including CATS, The Phantom of the Opera and its sequel Love Never Dies, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

While celebrating the highly anticipated stateside debut of its stylish Celebrity Silhouette – the fourth and newest member of Celebrity Cruises’widely heralded Solstice Class fleet – Celebrity Cruises also is intensely focused on the fifth member of the class, Celebrity Reflection, which sets sail in the Fall of 2012. And when she does, she’ll boast all the attributes that have netted Celebrity’s Solstice Class the broadest array of honors in the brand’s 20-year history – including Celebrity’s #1 ranking in the large-ship category of the prestigious annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards – and a host of entirely new features, including a significantly expanded array of luxury suites. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Paul Gauguin Cruises.

Paul Gauguin Cruises, operator of the highest-rated and longest continually sailing luxury cruise ship in the South Pacific, the m/s Paul Gauguin, announced the acquisition of a second ship which will begin sailing under the Paul Gauguin Cruises banner in December 2012. This ship will be christened m/v Moana after completing a multifaceted renovation in November 2012. Moana features 45 staterooms accommodating 90 guests. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan announced that Norwegian Cruise Line’s new state-of-the-art 4,000 passenger ship, Norwegian Breakaway, will make New York City its year-round home port. Beginning in May 2013, Norwegian Breakaway – which will be the largest ship ever to home port in the City – will replace Norwegian Star, and embark on a minimum of 88 cruises from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal through March 31, 2015. The ship calls will bring an estimated 140,000 additional embarking passengers into New York City over two years, resulting in an estimated $35 million in additional direct spending. Mayor Bloomberg and Norwegian Cruise Line were joined at the announcement in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal by New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky and NYC & Co CEO George Fertitta. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Norwegian Cruise Line has selected the winning names for its two new Freestyle Cruising® ships: Norwegian Breakaway, launching in April 2013, and Norwegian Getaway, launching in April 2014. The names were selected as the culmination of its “Norwegian’s Cruising for Names” contest held in conjunction with national newspaper USA Today.

Norwegian felt these names best reflected the innovation of the brand along with the freedom and flexibility of the line’s signature Freestyle Cruising and invoked the feeling that these ships will provide a “break” at sea from the stress of everyday life. Breakaway is defined as “a departure or break from routine or tradition” and Getaway is defined as “a place where one escapes for relaxation, vacation, etc.” [Read more →]

Courtesy of Oceania Cruises.

Oceania Cruises celebrated a major milestone on Saturday, July 16, as the line’s new 1,250-guest Riviera was afloat for the first time and moved from the construction dock to her fitting-out berth.

“The float out of a ship is a beautiful occasion which marks the beginning of her life and we are eagerly anticipating the day next spring that we can unveil her to the world,” stated Frank Del Rio, Chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent company of Oceania Cruises. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Norwegian Cruise Line (“Norwegian”) unveiled the first look at its new balcony and mini-suite stateroom designs for Project Breakaway, the project name for the company’s two new next generation Freestyle Cruising ships scheduled for delivery in April 2013 and April 2014. Each of the 144,017 gross ton vessels will have approximately 4,000 passenger berths. Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s chief executive officer, presented the designs to more than 1,000 travel partners during a conference in Las Vegas. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Seabourn.

As the sun set over the waterfront of this Spanish Mediterranean city, Seabourn introduced the new 450-guest Seabourn Quest to the world on June 20th during a glittering naming ceremony presided over by Blythe Danner. The award-winning actress served as godmother to the new luxury vessel, Seabourn’s third new ship and the sixth to join its fleet, completing a three-year expansion for the line. [Read more →]