|
Cruise travel 2006 will see the
launch of a number of new ships.
Six of the large cruise lines
will be offering new ships. Here’s
a quick rundown of the six brand
new cruise ships for 2006.
Holland America cruise ship Noordam
With an expected launch date of
February 22, Holland America will
be offering their new Noordam.
Expected to be the last cruise
ship in the Vista-class series,
Noordam will accommodate 1,848
passengers. The new cruise ship
is the first to be designed for
Holland America’s “Signature of
Excellence” program. A number
of design enhancements are included
to the public areas and staterooms
for the pleasure of cruise travellers.
Included is the already very popular
Explorations Café’, a coffee bar/Internet
café’, game room, library all
powered by the New York Times.
A first in the last few years,
the Noordam will spend its 2006
maiden season sailing wintertime
cruises from New York to the Caribbean.
Pride of Hawaii – NCL America’s
new 2006 cruise ship
The new cruise ship for NCL America
is the Pride of Hawaii. This vessel
is a sister ship to the Norwegian
Jewel and is actually the first
new build from the hull up for
the cruise line. Launching in
June, the 2,224 passenger ship
is expected to be the next step
in their “Freestyle Cruising”
concept. The interior décor is
to have a Hawaii theme. Cruise
travel departing weekly on Mondays,
Pride of Hawaii will travel the
islands calling Honolulu home.
Freedom of the Seas – new 2006
cruise ship from Royal Caribbean
Launching in May, the 3,600 passenger,
158,000-ton Freedom of the Seas
will actually be 10,00 ton larger
than Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and
become the largest cruise ship
in 2006. A number of new and enhanced
amenities are expected to please
passengers. The addition with
the most hype is the surf park
feature. Whirlpools are also actually
cantilevered over the side of
the new cruise ship. The H2O Zone
is expected to be a hit as well.
Freedom of the Seas is expected
to sail 7 day cruises to the Caribbean
from Miami.
New Princess Cruises ship Crown
Princess
Launching in June, the new for
2006 cruise ship Crown Princess
will accommodate 3,110 happy cruise
travel passengers. The popular
Skywalker’s disco has been redesigned,
and the Lotus Spa has been expanded.
The International Café has been
added for pastries and snacks,
and a Princess first ever wine
and seafood bar. Other expansions
and/or changes have been made
to the Wheelhouse Bar, Sabatini’s
Trattoria, and the Sterling Steakhouse.
With Eastern Caribbean stops at
Bermuda and Turks and Caicos,
Crown Princess will sail roundtrip
out of the Red Hook terminal at
New York.
MSC Musica
Launching on July 01, the Italian
ship Musica brings MSC strongly
into the big ship ranks accommodating
2,550 passengers. A full 80% of
her 1,275 staterooms will be outside
rooms with 65% will have verandas.
Featuring a large spa area, several
dining options, a three deck high
waterfall and a variety of entertainment
venues, Musica will sail the eastern
Mediterranean from Venice.
CostaConcordia – Costa Cruises’
2006 new cruise ship
Based in Italy and owned by Carnival
Corporation, Costa Cruises is
introducing its largest cruise
ship in its fleet. The CostaConcordia,
launching July 14, has accommodation
for 3,000 passengers. The interior
décor is themed around European
architecture. Even the room names
are European oriented – Grand
Bar Berlin, Cafeteria Helsinki,
and dining rooms Milan and Rome.
For those seeking an interesting
activity the ship will have a
Formula One driving simulator!
The new cruise ship will sail
year round in the Western Mediterranean
for Rome’s Civitavecchia port.
With so much to choose from, it
may be hard to know what new cruise
ship to try out first for your
cruise travel in 2006!
Brian A Schmidt is the author
and web publisher of a1-discount-cruises.com
your #1 source for cruise information,
discounts and great deals! Visit
http://www.a1-discount-cruises.com
to book your fabulous cruise vacation!
For more interesting articles
visit our Article Map pages. If
you have questions regarding choosing
a cruise line contact us at info@a1-discount-cruises.com
using the subject line “Questions”.
|
