Travelers wishing to spend next winter in the sunny Caribbean can trade their parkas for piña coladas and snow shovels for snorkels, with Celebrity Cruises¹ latest slate of 2008 and 2009 cruises, which open for sale today.

With the splendor that characterizes the majesty of transatlantic cruise ship “Serenade of the Seas,” the liner from Royal Caribbean made intermediate port call in Casa de Campo, in the Dominican Republic’s east region.

Caribbean cruise pricing is showing slow improvement, while Alaska pricing is down and Europe remains strongest, according to a report from investment firm AG Edwards.

Cruise tourism promises to spur up the activity and the Dominican economy in general, prompting the Tourism Ministry and the private sector to team up to sell the Dominican Republic as a grand ports-of-origin destination.

Celebrity Cruises’ latest slate of 2008 and 2009 cruises, opened for sale with holiday sailings including a five-night Western Caribbean itinerary roundtrip from Miami on December 24, 2008, with stops in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Grand Cayman, and on December 29 out of Miami, another five-night sailing that will call on Key West and George Town.

The Norwegian Jade will be the new name of the Pride of Hawaii when it is reflagged and deployed to Europe, NCL Corp. said Monday.