Cruise Ship Reviews

Cruise Ship Reviews on the New 2006 Cruise Line Offerings

Are you fond of cruise traveling? If you are an admirer of the elegant and sleek cruise ships, well the year 2006 have its new collection of cruise ships. Most probably, if you go on a cruise travel you will meet up with six new additions of cruise ships to satisfy your cruise trip for the year 2006.

If you think this is a kind cruise ship reviews, then think again! We are only giving you the benefit of advanced knowledge for your plans of cruise travel for the year.
Well, what are you waiting for? Here are the six largest cruise lines with their new cruise ships.

1. The Noordam ship of Holland America cruise
This new ship of Holland America was launched on February 22, 2006. It was also expected to be the last cruise ships of Holland America’s Vista-class series.

However, it is the first to be designed for the said cruise line’s “Signature of Excellence program.

Due to this, this cruise ship review seem it fit to be called a first in the last few years.

The Noordam can accommodate 1,848 passengers. For this new cruise ship, there are design enhancements made for more pleasure and enjoyment of cruise passenger travelers. The design enhancements were focused mainly on the public areas and staterooms, the meeting point of many of the cruise travelers.

* 85 percent of all staterooms have ocean views, 67 percent of all staterooms have verandahs
* The two-tier Vista Dining Room featuring five-course menus, and offering everything from continental cuisine to vegetarian and low-carb options, enhanced by impeccable service and an extensive wine list
* The intimate reservations-only Pinnacle Grill, which offers an elegant, sophisticated dining experience featuring Sterling Silver premium hand-selected cuts of beef, inspired seafood dishes and many select wines rated "Excellent" by Wine Spectator - as well as distinctive Bvlgari china, Riedel stemware, and Frette linens
* The Lido Restaurant, which offers a relaxed ambience for all three meals and features a variety of fresh, cooked-to-order specialties
* The Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine magazine, the setting for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes
* Explorations Café, powered by The New York Times, featuring the largest library at sea, as well as comfortable music listening stations and Internet access
* The Greenhouse Spa & Salon - your spa at sea - featuring thermal suites and a magnificent hydrotherapy pool
* The new Pinnacle Bar, where guests can taste a selection of the best wines from around the world
* The Vista Lounge, featuring Las Vegas style productions, talented vocalists, illusionists, comedians, and variety acts
* The Crows Nest, where sweeping views make this observation lounge a top choice for relaxing during the day, and in the evening transforms into a hip, fashionable nightclub featuring top-notch DJs and great bands.
* Expanded Club HAL® featuring programs for kids ages 3 to 12
* The Loft and The Oasis for teens, new areas designed exclusively for ages 13-17 to get away from family, have fun, socialize and hang out with people their own age.

There are also additions, like the very popular Explorations Café’. As cruise passengers are well aware of, it is a coffee bar/Internet café’, game room, and library. The New York Times powers all the Explorations Café.

The Noordam’s maiden season for the year 2006 is sailing wintertime cruises from New York to the Caribbean.

2. Norwegian Cruise Lines’ America’s Pride of Hawaii
This new cruise ship for 2006 by NCL America is the sister vessel of the Norwegian Jewel.

For the cruise line, Pride of Hawaii marks the first new build from the hull up.

Its launching is to be on June. This passenger ship is expected to accommodate 2,224 passengers. It will be the next step in Norwegian Cruise Lines’ America’s “Freestyle Cruising” concept.

The Pride of Hawaii’s interior décor will be, of course, Hawaiian.
This cruise ship will run by departing weekly on Mondays and travel the islands calling Honolulu home.

NEWS UPDATES

May 19, 2006 – NCL Corporation (“NCL”) today announced that it has extended its relationship with the Republic of Kiribati enabling it to continue to offer Fanning Island on its long Hawaii cruises through to 2011 and to commit one of its purpose-built new Freestyle Cruising ships to this increasingly popular itinerary. Norwegian Sun, will replace Norwegian Wind sailing 10- and 11-day itineraries from Honolulu with a stop at Fanning Island beginning in September 2007. This newer, larger ship, launched in 2001, will take over and grow NCL’s 10- and 11-day Hawaiian trade when Norwegian Wind is transferred to the Star Cruises fleet in late April 2007. The addition of Norwegian Sun to Hawaii, following the addition of Pride of Hawaii in June, completes the Norwegian Cruise Line brand and NCL America’ brand Hawaiian fleets and will bring the total NCL Hawaiian fleet to over 8,500 lower berths.

3. The Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas
This new 2006 cruise ship will be launched on May.

This 158,000-ton cruise ship has a capacity of 3,600 passengers. It will actually be 10,000 tons larger than the Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. With this, it is expected to become the largest cruise ship for 2006.

The Freedom of the Seas both will have new and enhanced amenities for the passengers’ pleasure. There is already an ongoing hype among the cruise travelers about its surf park feature.

We will also expect whirlpools cantilevered over the side of this remarkable cruise ship. Another new thing, the H2O Zone may also become a palpable hit for the passengers.

Bonuses
* Extensive WiFi capabilities and connectivity for cell phones. Because when you're on vacation it's great fun to let the folks at home know what they're missing.
* Staterooms and balconies that are among the largest in the industry. Plenty of room to relax and plan your adventures.
* A full-size, flat-screen TV in every stateroom. But then again, with all the incredible vacation activities to explore, try not to be too disappointed if you have trouble finding time to turn it on.

Following its launching, the Freedom of the Seas will sail seven-day cruises to the Caribbean from Miami.

4. The Crown Princess of New Princess Cruises
For the satisfaction of 2006 cruise travelers, the Crown Princess is expected to accommodate 3,110 cruise travel passengers.

New Princess Cruises cruise line redesigned the Skywalker’s Disco, which has gained popularity from cruise passengers in their other cruise ships. They also have the Lotus Spa and good news for everybody. It has been expanded in the Crown Princess!

New pastries and snacks will adorn the International Café. Crown Princess will then have the first ever wine and seafood bar of the cruise line.

Other expansions were made to other popular features like the Wheelhouse Bar, Sabatini’s Trattoria, and the Sterling Steakhouse.

Crown Princess will sail roundtrip from the Red Hook terminal in New York. It will make stops at the Eastern Caribbean and the Bermuda and Turks and Caicos.

Maiden voyage begins on June 14, 2006.

5. MSC Musica
MSC will launch their new cruise ship for the year 2006 quite late in the year, on July 01. Musica is an Italian ship that will bring MSC into the ranks of big cruise ships. It is expected to accommodate 2,550 passengers.

One of its outstanding features will be that a full 80% of its 1,275 staterooms will be outside rooms. In addition, 65% of these staterooms will have verandas.

It will also feature a large spa area. The Musica’s cruise travel passengers will also have several dining options. They will also enjoy a three deck high waterfall and many different entertainment venues.

Musica will sail the eastern Mediterranean from Venice.

6. The Costa Cruises’ Costa Concordia
This new 2006 cruise ship is owned by Carnival Corporation, which is based in Italy.

This will be the largest cruise ship to join the Costa Cruises’ fleet. It will also be launched quite late this year, July 14. It is expected to accommodate 3,000 passengers.

For the inspiration of its travel passengers, the Costa Concordia will have European architecture theme for its interior décor. All the room’s names will be European inspired or oriented. They will have the Grand Bar Berlin, Cafeteria Helsinki, and the Milan and Rome dining rooms.

If you are seeking for interesting activity while in the cruise travel, Costa Concordia will have a Formula 1 driving simulator for the particular enthusiasts.

Are you jumping with excitement as to when it will start sailing? This new cruise ship will sail year round in the Western Mediterranean. It will head for Rome’s Civitavecchia port.

Can’t decide? Well, check out our other cruise ship reviews of these new cruise ships to find out where you will spend your 2006 cruise travel.