With itineraries appealing to almost everyone, no wonder some 10 million people set sail last year.
What our experts say
Cruises: Budget
Budget cruises
Carnival
Cruise Line
Operating
21 "fun ships,"
Carnival lays claim to being
the world's largest cruise
line and travels to more
than 60 destinations. It
is a value-oriented cruise
line with generally younger-than-average
passengers, but says it
carries more passengers
from every age group than
any other cruise line.
The
leading cruise line in Europe
and South America, Costa
currently operates 10 ships
-- with another launching
this summer and yet another
on order -- in the Mediterranean,
Caribbean, Northern Europe,
and South America.
An
early pioneer in Caribbean
cruising, NCL is in the
process of renewing its
fleet. Currently operating
12 ships with some 21,600
berths, by the end of 2007
NCL is expected to add three
new ships to the fleet with
approximately 7,200 berths.
They
call them barefoot cruises
and it's no wonder: once
your cruise set sail --
literally -- Windjammer
is all about kicking back
and settling into an island
groove. With no pretense
about being a luxury experience,
passengers often sleep on
deck under the stars.
