Carnival Corporation & PLC has ordered a 68,500-ton cruise ship for its AIDA Cruises brand, which caters exclusively to the German-speaking market, marking the third new ship order placed for its German cruise line in the past nine months. The 2,030-passenger vessel, which will be constructed by Germany´s Meyer Werft shipyard at an all-in cost of €315 million, is scheduled to enter service in April 2008.

A yacht charter company headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and the Grenadines, jumped on the bandwagon to offer refunds on new passports for U.S. citizens bound for a sailing vacation in the Caribbean next year. Horizon Yacht Charters (HYC) will refund the full cost of up to two first-issue passports, which amounts to $97 per adult, "to minimize the impact of the proposed travel initiative set to take effect December 31 on those who do not have passports but have plans to sail with us next year," said HYC Director Andrew Thompson.

Celebrity Cruises is planning to build its first post-Panamax cruise ship, a 117,000-ton, 2,850-passenger vessel that, if ordered, would be ready in the second half of 2008. The line said July 12 it signed a letter-of-intent with Papenburg, Germany-based Meyer Werft yard, which built Celebrity´s Century-class ships and, more recently, sister line Royal Caribbean International´s four Radiance-class ships.

Eight Princess ships will be sailing through the sunny Caribbean during the 2006-07 season, giving passengers more choice than ever with a selection of eleven itineraries, including Southern Caribbean cruises aboard the new Crown Princess and an inaugural season of sailings from the new homeport of New Orleans. The cruises will range from seven to fourteen days, aboard some of the youngest and most amenity-filled ships in the region. Crown Princes, which will sail on her first full program of Southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan, and Golden Princess, which will inaugurate Princess´ first sailings from a new homeport in New Orleans, will be joined by Caribbean Princess in the Eastern Caribbean, Star Princess in the Western Caribbean and Grand Princess sailing the Western Caribbean from Galveston.

With an ice-strengthened hull and advanced satellite navigational equipment, the 122-passenger Clipper Adventurer is capable now of transporting passengers in a comfortable manner to virtually anywhere on the face of the earth. The best example of this range of itineraries is found on the ship´s fall and winter schedules, where it travels on various voyages from the Panama Canal to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Golden Princess will introduce its first West Coast cruises next season as part of Princess´ 2006-07 Mexican Riviera cruise program, which features south-of-the-border cruises from both Los Angeles and San Francisco. In total, three ships (Diamond Princess, Golden Princess and Island Princess) will continue Princess´ legacy and leadership in Mexico with the itineraries that first brought the line to prominence.