The world´s largest cruise vessel made its first-ever call to Costa Rica on Wednesday, docking in Port Moin in the province of Limon. The “Queen Mary II”, an eye-popping 151,400-ton liner with 2,600 passengers aboard and a crew of 1,253, has been in operation since 2004 and is run by Cunard, a British maritime company.

Carnival Cruise Lines has a number of exciting developments planned for the 2006 cruise season, including new year-round four- and five-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida, featuring a brand new port of call, Grand Turk, along with an expanded schedule of 12-day Mediterranean voyages and the resumption of service from New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. A number of new shipboard enhancements are also scheduled to be rolled out fleet-wide in the coming year, including the “Carnival Comfort Bed” sleep system and the “Georges Blanc Signature Selection” menu items created by the world-renowned chef and restaurateur. Carnival will also continue its efforts at catering to the family cruise market and expects to carry a record 525,000 children this year, the most in cruising.

Royal Caribbean International shot down allegations of wrongdoing by the family of George Smith IV, the honeymooner who disappeared aboard the Brilliance of the Seas in July. In a strongly worded 11-page document, the cruise line gives its own version of the chronology of events leading up to and following Smith´s disappearance.

Princess Cruises added 12 sailings from northern California to its Mexican Riviera program aboard the Dawn Princess in 2006-2007. The 10-night roundtrips from San Francisco add one night to the itinerary and replace previously scheduled southern Caribbean and Panama Canal departures, for a total of 20 trips between Sept. 26 and April 23, 2007.

Holland America Line is introducing a new line of amenities by Elemis Aromapure to extend the Greenhouse Spa and Salon concept to its guest accommodations. The fleet-wide rollout starts on February 22 with the Noordam, when staterooms will be equipped with Time to Spa miniatures. The effort is part of the line´s Signature of Excellence upgrade program, said Richard Meadows, senior vice president, marketing and sales.

The founder of easyCruise says he´ll bring his bright orange ship to South Florida later this year for a no-frills alternative to traditional cruising. Entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou said last week that he plans to begin offering Caribbean cruises from Miami or Fort Lauderdale in November aboard easyCruiseOne, his bare-bones, no-frills cruise liner now sailing between Barbados and Martinique.