cruise bargains

by Paul Motter

The Brits Discover Cruising

Remember your first cruise, all the pre-misconceptions you had about feeling claustrophobic, hospital-cafeteria-like food, thinking you had no taste at all for nautical decor likes pipes, winches and 8-inch door thresholds?

Then after your first cruise your fears were dispelled and you couldn't wait to tell your friends all about every little detail? That is what the Brits are going through now with the popularity of cruising just starting to reach mania-proportions. It's like us paying them back for the Beatles, we have given them a reason to get excited and divert them from their daily lives.

The pinnacle to date was last week when the new "Independence of the Seas" was christened in Southampton. This is the first Royal Caribbean mega-mega-ship to be christened over there and scheduled to stay there through the summer season catering to the British market.

At 160,000-tons, she is the sister to Freedom and Liberty of the Seas, all three sharing the title world's largest cruise ship. The Brits have actually had cruise ships for many years now, but in terms of popularity cruising had barely pierced the public psyche. But in 2007 the number of first-time cruisers grew 11% and is projected to grow by 14% this year. The rate of growth in number of first time cruisers in Britain is now the highest in the world.

Something for U.S. Cruiser's Excitement

While everything seems to be happening "over there" this summer, over here we also have some things to look forward to, starting in December of 2008 we have the brand new Celebrity Solstice arriving. This ship represents the first of what will be a whole series of new classes of vessels set to debut through 2012. Solstice is poised to be a beautiful new ship, with modern architecture and muted colors. She will elegant and tasteful.

For a preview of Celebrity Solstice, complete with pictures, go to our Solstice Preview. Following the Solstice will be new classes of ships - which means completely new designs from the keel up, coming in from NCL, Oceania, Carnival, Silversea, Seabourn and most highly anticipated, the new Genesis-class from Royal Caribbean.

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