The World, a private residence at sea, will begin 2008 along the western coast of Africa, following its New Year’s celebration in the Canary Islands. The vessel begins January in Senegal and continues south with stops in Sao Tome and Principe, Namibia and South Africa.

Seabourn Cruise Line has signed an agreement with Cruise Strategies Ltd. to handle sales and marketing in Canada. Cruise Strategies was recently established by cruise and travel executive Vanessa Lee.

From the Amazon to Antarctica, Peru to Patagonia, Buenos Aires to Brazil, there is no more enjoyable, convenient and comfortable way to explore the impressively diverse and often remote treasures of South America and the world’s most southern waters than by cruise ship. Luckily, 16 member lines of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) do just that.

The Disney Cruise Line celebrated the official opening of an office at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany this week with a ceremonial hoisting of its colors at the facility’s entrance.

Cruise West, the leading small-ship cruise line, will offer more departures, an upgraded ship, early booking savings, and the debut of the Spirit of Glacier Bay for its signature Alaska cruises in 2008.

In less than a year, Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas will make her debut in Southampton, England where she will be the largest ship ever to be home-ported in Europe.