Whichever category the new ships fit into, we will all have more cruise ship choices for 2007!
1. NCL Norwegian Pearl - Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
Norwegian Pearl Photo Courtesy of NCL
The Pearl carries 2,380 passengers and is 93,000 GRT. She is the first ship with a bowling alley, and is designed for NCL's "freestyle cruising", with a dozen restaurants.
The Pearl alternates 5 and 9-day cruises to the Caribbean in the winter and spends her summers in Alaska. Panama Canal repositioning cruises link the two seasons.
2. Carnival Freedom - Carnival Cruise Lines
Photo Courtesy of Carnival Cruises
The Carnival Freedom will sail the Mediterranean in the spring, summer, and fall of 2007 before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean for the winter. She will also sail the Mediterranean in 2008.
3. Royal Princess - Princess Cruises
Royal Princess Photo Courtesy of Princess Cruises
In April 2007, the new Royal Princess joins two other "R-class" ships sailing for Princess -- the Tahitian Princess and the Pacific Princess. Royal Princess will sail five new Mediterranean itineraries through late 2007.
4. Emerald Princess - Princess Cruises
Emerald Princess Photo (c) Linda Garrison
The Emerald Princess sailed her first cruise in April from Venice, Italy and was christened in Athens, Greece on May 12.
The Emerald Princess will sail the Mediterranean until the fall of 2007 when she will reposition to the Caribbean for the 2007-2008 winter season.
I sailed on the new ship in May 2007 and have an extensive profile and the Emerald Princess and over 150 photos of the ship.
5. Liberty of the Seas - Royal Caribbean International (RCI)
Liberty of the Seas Photo Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International
The Liberty of the Seas has all the amenities of the Freedom and will sail the eastern and western Caribbean on 7-day cruises.
6. MS Fram - Norwegian Coastal Voyage (NCV)
The 12,700 GRT, 318 passenger MS Fram is scheduled for its maiden voyage in April, 2007. The christening ceremony will take place in Oslo on May 19, 2007. The Fram is an expedition ship sailing the North Atlantic to Greenland, Iceland, and points north in the summer and Antarctica in the winter. The Fram will have an interesting Pole to Pole longitudinal world cruise in its first season, starting in Greenland in September and ending in Antarctica and South America 66 days later.7. Celebrity Journey - Celebrity Cruises
Princess is not the only cruise line adding one of the former "R-class" ships to its fleet in 2007. The 30,000 GRT, 710-passenger Celebrity Journey (originally the R6) joins the Celebrity fleet in May 2007. The Celebrity Journey sailed most recently as the Blue Dream of Pulmantur, which was acquired by Celebrity's parent company RCI in late 2006.The Celebrity Journey will sail a series of Bermuda cruises from Cape Liberty, New Jersey in the summer and fall of 2007 before repositioning to South America and Antarctica for the winter of 2007-2008.
8. Costa Serena - Costa Cruises
The 112,000 GRT, 3000 passenger Costa Serena will be the second ship in the "Concordia class" to join the Costa fleet when she is christened in May 2007. The Costa Serena and Costa Concordia are the largest Costa cruise ships. The Costa Serena will sail the Mediterranean through at least 2007.9. Norwegian Gem - Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
Norwegian Gem Photo Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line
The Norwegian Gem joins the NCL fleet in October 2007 in the Mediterranean and cruises there before moving to New York in early December 2007. The Gem will then sail to the Caribbean from New York on cruises of varying lengths and itineraries.
10. Queen Victoria - Cunard Line
Photography by Steve Dunlop, Used with Permission
The Queen Victoria can transit the Panama Canal, and she embarks on her first world cruise in January 2008.
