The well-traveled readers of Condé Nast Traveler have cast their votes and awarded Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity with the coveted No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the magazine´s 6th annual “Best Cruise Ships in the World” readers´ poll. Crystal Serenity´s score of 96.2 and Crystal Symphony´s rating of 95.0 put the two ultra-luxury vessels at the top of all 80 cruise ships recognized in the magazine´s February 2006 issue on newsstands now. While the poll divides ships into categories of large, medium and small –with Crystal ships considered medium-size- the two Crystal ships earned the highest scores of any ship in all three categories.

This year, 13 ships from the member companies of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) will offer convenient cruises to Bermuda from eight North American homeports, eliminating the hassles and costs associated with air travel. In 2006, travelers can sail to Bermuda from Baltimore, Boston, Cape Liberty (Bayonne, New Jersey), Charleston, Gloucester (Massachusetts), Fort Lauderdale, New York and Philadelphia.

Royal Caribbean is ordering a new ship, a mammoth 5,400-guest, 220,000-ton vessel that jumped off the drawing board recently and is now a prototype developed under the project name Genesis. Finnish shipbuilder Aker Yards will build the ship for a Fall 2009 delivery, continuing a 35-year collaboration with Royal Caribbean.

MSC Cruises announces an exciting lineup of new 2006-2007 Caribbean itineraries along with repositioning sailings to New York and the debut of the MSC Musica in the North American market. “It´s going to be a memorable season, from beginning to end,” says Richard E. Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA. “With a new ship and exciting itineraries, we are continuing to make new cruising experiences available to our guests.”

Norwegian Cruise Lines is coming back to the Big Easy. The Port of New Orleans and NCL announced that the Norwegian Sun will be the first ship to homeport in the city since Hurricane Katrina when it returns October 15. The ship will sail seven-day Western Caribbean cruises. Prior to the hurricane, New Orleans was on pace to break the 1 million-passenger mark, according to Port of New Orleans President and CEO Gary LaGrange.

Royal Caribbean Cruises posted a record net income for 2005 at $716 million on revenues of $4.9 billion, compared to net income of $474.7 million on revenues of $4.6 billion in 2004. At the same time, RCCL stemmed losses during the fourth quarter with $3.6 million, as compared to a net loss of $25.8 million in the year-ago period.