With itineraries appealing to almost everyone, no wonder some 10 million people set sail last year.
What our experts say
Premium
Premium cruises
Celebrity
Cruises
Celebrity
Cruises promotes itself
as a sophisticated, upscale
cruise line with highly
personalized service and
five-star dining. Its nine
ships -- two more 2,850-passenger
vessels are on order --
sail to Alaska, Bermuda,
California, the Caribbean,
Europe, the Galapagos Islands,
Hawaii, Mexico, the Panama
Canal, and South America.
Cruise
West is a family-owned business
featuring a relaxed and
casual atmosphere aboard
its 10 small ships which
accommodate 70 to 138 guests.
It offers a major alternative
to big-ship cruising by
exploring remote locales
in Alaska, Mexico, Costa
Rica, on the Columbia River,
in California Wine Country,
the South Pacific, and Japan.
The
two cruise ships sailing
under the Disney banner
were the first ever designed
and built as family cruise
liners, aimed at pleasing
parents and children. The
Disney Magic and the Disney
Wonder are virtually identical
and offer three-, four-
and seven-night cruises
to the Caribbean from its
Art Deco terminal in Port
Canaveral, Fla.
With
the February 2006 maiden
voyage of the ms Noordam,
the 130-year-old HAL expanded
its fleet to 13 ships, which
offer nearly 500 cruises
from 25 home ports. Itineraries
from two days to 108 days
include visits to all seven
continents.
Think
"The Love Boat."
Princess, which started
out as a single ship cruising
around Mexico in 1965, skyrocketed
to fame in 1977 when the
Pacific Princess starred
in the hit TV show. Today,
its fleet has grown to 14
ships with two more on the
way, accommodating more
than a million passengers
each year to more worldwide
destinations than any other
major line.
The
one you see on TV all the
time -- the ship with rock-climbing
walls, ice-skating rinks
and (soon-to-be) onboard
surfing. In May 2006, RCI
will make headlines again
as it debuts its new Freedom
of the Seas -- the largest
cruise ship ever -- which
brings its fleet to a total
of 20 ships sailing to some
120 destinations.
