Group cruises

group cruises

Bahamas Cruises

Head for these laid-back islands on casual Bahamas cruises, most of which depart from Florida. Cruise to the Bahamas and you'll find pretty beaches, good snorkeling and opportunities for water-skiing, parasailing, jet skiing, windsurfing and more. Cruises to the Bahamas also offer colorful artwork, spirited dances and lively music. Nassau's duty-free shopping and famous straw market lure shoppers in search of handicrafts. At night, many Bahamas cruise passengers go ashore to try their luck at resort casinos.
Cruises to the Bahamas are available year-round.
Most cruises to the Bahamas last three or four nights, though some Caribbean cruises visit a Bahamas cruise port as part of a longer itinerary.
MostThings to do in Bahamas, sightseeing & attractions, map of bahamas, weather and cruise port information. Bahamas Cruises depart from Port Canaveral or Miami.

New Cruise Ships - list of new cruise ships in 2006

New Cruise Ships


Cruise travel 2006 will see the launch of a number of new ships. Six of the large cruise lines will be offering new ships. Here’s a quick rundown of the six brand new cruise ships for 2006.

Holland America cruise ship Noordam
HAL newest cruise ship launched on February 22, expected to be the last cruise ship in the Vista-class series, Holland America Line's newest ship Noordam will accommodate 1,848 passengers. The new cruise ship is the first to be designed for Holland America’s “Signature of Excellence” program. A number of design enhancements are included to the public areas and staterooms for the pleasure of cruise travellers. Included is the already very popular Explorations Café’, a coffee bar/Internet café’, game room, library all powered by the New York Times. A first in the last few years, the Noordam will spend its 2006 maiden season sailing wintertime cruises from New York to the Caribbean.

Pride of Hawaii – NCL America’s new 2006 cruise ship
The new cruise ship for NCL America is the Pride of Hawaii. This vessel is a sister ship to the Norwegian Jewel and is actually the first new build from the hull up for the cruise line. Launching in June, the 2,224 passenger ship is expected to be the next step in their “Freestyle Cruising” concept. The interior décor is to have a Hawaii theme. Cruise travel departing weekly on Mondays, Pride of Hawaii will travel the islands calling Honolulu home.

Freedom of the Seas – new 2006 cruise ship from Royal Caribbean
Launching in May, the 3,600 passenger, 158,000-ton Freedom of the Seas will actually be 10,00 ton larger than Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and become the largest cruise ship in 2006. A number of new and enhanced amenities are expected to please passengers. The addition with the most hype is the surf park feature. Whirlpools are also actually cantilevered over the side of the new cruise ship. The H2O Zone is expected to be a hit as well. Freedom of the Seas is expected to sail 7 day cruises to the Caribbean from Miami.

New Princess Cruises ship Crown Princess
Launching in June, the new for 2006 cruise ship Crown Princess will accommodate 3,110 happy cruise travel passengers. The popular Skywalker’s disco has been redesigned, and the Lotus Spa has been expanded. The International Café has been added for pastries and snacks, and a Princess first ever wine and seafood bar. Other expansions and/or changes have been made to the Wheelhouse Bar, Sabatini’s Trattoria, and the Sterling Steakhouse. With Eastern Caribbean stops at Bermuda and Turks and Caicos, Crown Princess will sail roundtrip out of the Red Hook terminal at New York.

MSC Musica
Launching on July 01, the Italian ship Musica brings MSC strongly into the big ship ranks accommodating 2,550 passengers. A full 80% of her 1,275 staterooms will be outside rooms with 65% will have verandas. Featuring a large spa area, several dining options, a three deck high waterfall and a variety of entertainment venues, Musica will sail the eastern Mediterranean from Venice.

CostaConcordia – Costa Cruises’ 2006 new cruise ship
Based in Italy and owned by Carnival Corporation, Costa Cruises is introducing its largest cruise ship in its fleet. The CostaConcordia, launching July 14, has accommodation for 3,000 passengers. The interior décor is themed around European architecture. Even the room names are European oriented – Grand Bar Berlin, Cafeteria Helsinki, and dining rooms Milan and Rome. For those seeking an interesting activity the ship will have a Formula One driving simulator! The new cruise ship will sail year round in the Western Mediterranean for Rome’s Civitavecchia port.
With so much to choose from, it may be hard to know what new cruise ship to try out first for your cruise travel in 2006!

2007

CRUISE LINE SHIP NAME SIZE PASSENGERS SHIPYARD COST (M) DELIVERY DATE

Cunard Queen Victoria 95,000 1,850 Fincantieri $472 January 2007
NCL Norwegian Pearl 93,000 2,384 Meyer Werft $500 February 2007
AIDA TBD 68,500 2,030 Meyer Werft $315 April 2007
Princess EmeraldPrincess 116,000 3,100 Fincantieri $400 Spring 2007
Carnival Carnival Freedom 110,000 2, 974 Fincantieri $400 Spring 2007
Royal Caribbean Freedom Class 160,000 3,600 Aker Yards $720 Summer 2007
Radisson TBA 49,000 700 T. Mariiotti $250 Summer 2007


2008

Carnival TBD 110,000 3,000 Fincantieri $475 Spring 2008
Princess Canberra 116,000 3,100 Fincantieri $490 Spring 2008
MSC Fantasia 133,500 3,887 Chantiers de l'Atlantique $550 Spring 2008
Royal Caribbean Freedom Class 160,000 3,600 Aker Yards $720 Summer 2008

Celebrity Celebrity Solstice 118,000 2,850 Meyer Werft $750 Fall 2008

2009

AIDA TBD 68,500 2,030 Meyer Werft $315 April 2009

MSC Serenata 133,500 3,887 Chantiers de l'Atlantique $550 Spring 2009
Celebrity Celebrity Equinox 118,000 2,850 Meyer Werft $750 Summer 2009
Royal Caribbean Genisis Project 220,000 5,400 Aker Yards $1,000 Fall 2009

Royal Caribbean International --- ordered the world's largest and most expensive cruise ship, a $1.24-billion vessel that will hold up to 6,400 passengers. It's the latest step in the industry trend of supersizing ships. The ship, dubbed Project Genisis, will be 1,180 feet long and 220,000 gross registered tons when it is delivered to Royal Caribbean in fall 2009 by Aker Yards, part of a Norway-based company.

Cunard Line (which is owned by Carnival Corp.) currently has the world's largest cruise ship — the Queen Mary 2 — at 151,400 gross registered tons. But Royal Caribbean is scheduled to get an even bigger ship in June, the 160,000-ton Freedom of the Seas. It will carry a maximum of 3 4,370 passengers.

The $1.24-billion price tag for the Project Genisis includes all expenses for the ship, "from forks and knives and sheets to artwork and everything else," said Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president of maritime operations for Miami-based Royal Caribbean.
The announcement steals some of the spotlight from rival Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator (Royal Caribbean is the second largest). Carnival has studied building a ship about the same size, but its Pinnacle project is "on the back burner" because of its prohibitively high price, spokesman Tim Gallagher said.

Information
Royal Caribbean: www.royalcaribbean.com
Aker Yards: www.akerasa.com/

Royal Caribbean's ships are typically more upscale than the bargain Carnival Cruise Lines' vessels, but they aren't as traditional as those of luxury carriers such as Cunard. Royal Caribbean has been an innovator in amenities such as ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls and surfing pools.

Project Genesis will carry 5,400 passengers based on two people per cabin. But as many cabins have additional berths, so the maximum capacity rises to 6,400. bRoyal Caribbean still offers a variety of ship sizes, so customers who don't like larger vessels will have other options.. The ship will sail in the Caribbean, where many ports already handle megaships, but ports will need some infrastructure improvements.

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