A kaleidoscope of thrilling images and adventures await guests of the Seven Seas Mariner´s “Grand Circle South America” voyage departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 10, 2006, on a roundtrip 62-night journey which is also available in four 12- to 20-night combinable segments. Aboard and ashore, the all balcony-suite Seven Seas Mariner´s six-star luxury experience will be enhanced by a series of enrichment programs with famed ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society experts, plus a selection of new “Concierge Choice” shore excursions.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) changed up the itinerary of its New York-based ship, the Norwegian Dawn, so that it will call in Bermuda during its 2006-2007 seasons. The ship, which in 2003 pioneered a seven-day year-round cruise from New York that included two ports in Florida and two in the Bahamas, will begin a new itinerary in May that calls in Bermuda; Great Stirrup Cay, NCL´s private Bahamian island; and an overnight in Nassau, Bahamas.

According to a survey conducted by the Falkland Islands Tourist Board, half of the cruise vessel passengers who take a cruise to Southern South Atlantic countries do so because the Falkland Islands is on the itinerary. The survey showed that around 30,000 people during the 2004-20055 austral summer joined ships touring from Buenos Aires to Santiago because they saw that there would be a one-day stopover on the Falkland Islands.

A return to Israel, the Carnival in Rio, three days cruising Antarctica, three days in Dubai and Cape Town, and multiple African safari options are among the rare travel opportunities distinguishing Crystal Cruises´ 12th annual 2007 World Cruise. Departing on January 12, 2007, from Miami, Florida to Southampton, England on a 109-day journey of discovery, the ultra-luxurious Crystal Serenity will explore 44 ports of call in 27 countries on five continents –the most extensive global crossing ever offered by the luxury line.

Celebrity Cruises will be rolling out a soft launch on November 20 of its Cirque du Soleil collaboration by moving its Cirque-themed concepts out of a lounge-style environment and into a theater. The cruise line and the production company teamed up in 2004. Celebrity would sponsor Cirque productions and Cirque would create onboard entertainment for Celebrity.

The St. John´s cruise industry has set a record high in the of number of cruise passengers who have visited the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2005. A total of 18 cruise ships have called in 2005, carrying a record 13,576 passengers, up 71 percent from the 7,953 reported during the previous year when St. John´s hosted 17 cruise vessels in 2004. Both the home porting and continuous voyage markets reached all time highs in 2005. St. John´s hosted 11,946 continuous voyage visitors this past season, a 75 percent increase from the 6,822 reported in 2004. Meanwhile, the home porting market reported a record 1,630 visitors, a 44 percent hike over the 1,131 seen in 2004.