This will be the season to escape for the holidays to the warm waters of the Caribbean aboard a Windstar Cruises luxury motor sailing yacht, the 308-passenger Wind Surf and 148-passenger Wind Spirit, exploring uncommon ports of call on a 10- to 11-day cruise.
The Wind Surf´s 10-day holiday cruise departs December 18 on a round trip from Bridgetown, Barbados, calling on Tobago, the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and the French Antilles.
With 30 different Panama Canal cruises offered in 2006, Holland America Line showcases the eighth wonder of the modern world with more experience and more choices than before.
Building on its rich maritime tradition, the premium cruise leader offers 15 diverse itineraries –including roundtrip sailings and full transit voyages ranging from 10 to 34 days aboard the newest five-star fleet in the Panama Canal.
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.