If you’ve been following the announcements about Royal Caribbean’s new ships, you’ve heard about their next generation ships, called Royal Caribbean Genesis. There will be two sister ships, and they don’t have names yet. Well, they have finally announced some cool things about what will be on them! So far, it sounds pretty cool, and I’d love to see it!

The ship will have 7 neighborhoods, and they have announced that the first neighborhood is Central Park.

Central Park will be a very lush area in the center of the ship and will have seasonal flower gardens, serene pathways, and more. It sounds really pretty, and I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the neighborhoods.

These ships will be the largest in the world once they are built, and will be 16 decks high. It will launch towards the end of 2009, so we still have a while to wait until we can go on it - but I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about the ship before that!

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The Carnival Splendor - the newest ship from the Carnival Cruise Line will start taking people all over Europe on July 2nd. If you’ve been thinking about taking your family on a cruise in Europe, but weren’t sure if they would have a good time, the Carnival Splendor is for you!

This ship was created for families, and therefore has a lot of amenities just for those with families. Take for instance, the many different kids clubs they have. The kids clubs are separated into 3 age groups. There is Camp Carnival for kids aged 2 through 11, Circle C for kids 12 through 14, and then Club O2 for kids 15 through 17. Each of these groups of kids have their own areas to play in, and these areas are much larger than on other ships.

The two older groups get their own dance floors with high tech sound and lighting systems, TV’s, and more. They will even have shore excursions for the older kids so that if you would like, they can see Europe with kids their own age. These areas are much bigger than on other ships, so you won’t have to worry about your kids getting bored, no matter what their age!

There are many special food choices for kids, so they will be happy both at meal time, as well as walking around the ship - especially since pizza and ice cream will be available 24 hours a day!

So if you’ve wanted to take a cruise in Europe, but have been worried that your kids would be bored, here is the perfect compromise! They’ll have lots of fun, and you’ll get some time alone!

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Sail away with Nickelodeon and Royal Caribbean. Want to go on a great family cruise, but don’t want to cruise with Disney…yet you still want TV and movie characters there to help entertain your kids?

Nickelodeon has teamed up with Royal Caribbean, and they will be doing a 1st ever Nickelodeon Family Cruise on the world’s largest cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas! So now you’ll not only be able to go on an amazing cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, and enjoy all that it has to offer, but you’ll be able to see Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, and more!

This cruise will be a 7-night Caribbean cruise leaving out of Miami, and stopping in Cozumel, Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica, George Town, Grand Cayman; and Royal Caribbean’s private island.

In case you don’t know about Freedom of the Seas, besides being the current largest cruise ship in the world, they also have some really innovative things on board. For instance, you can surf on board! Yes, you read that right. They have a surf park, where you can actually try surfing while on board. They also have a really cool water park called H2O zone. They of course have all of the Royal Caribbean standards, such as a rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, and more…but this ship is different! So you don’t miss the comforts of home they even have both a Johnny Rockets and Ben & Jerry’s on board!

If you’re looking for a cruise that the entire family will love, and want a little something extra special for the kids, the 1st ever Nickelodeon Family Cruise is something to check out.

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Priceline has great deals on cruises right now! You can get cruises up to 75% off.

On top of that, if you book by January 31st you can get savings booklets, onboard spending, or other similar freebies based on the cruise line. If you book by February 15th, depending on the type of cabin you book, you can get a discount coupon to use on a hotel stay.

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It must be the week of cruise line contests! Yesterday we had the “Name that ship” contest from Royal Caribbean, and today there is a contest by Carnival.

You can win a 4-day cruise for 2 just by sharing your love story with Carnival Cruise Lines by February 3rd, 2008.

Once you share your love story, Carnival will select their top 5 love stories. These stories will then be posted on their website so that readers can vote for their favorite.

The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day, and will receive a 4-day Caribbean cruise on either the Carnival Imagination or Carnival Inspiration.

So share your favorite love story and before you know it, you and your loved one will be sharing a free cruise!

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Royal Caribbean is building 2 new ships in a new class - the Genesis class, and wants your help in naming them! These ships will be bigger and better than any of their previous ships. For now, they are referred to as Genesis I (which will launch in 2009), and Genesis II (which will launch in 2010).

This is where you come in. Come up with a name for both ships. They both have to end with “of the Seas” just like the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet. They also must go together, since they are a part of the same class of ships. Other then that, the choice is up to you and your imagination!

If you win, and they choose your name for one of the ships, you will win a few amazing prizes. First off, you will be flown to England to attend the naming ceremony of Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, in April 2008. You will get one night hotel as well as a 2-night cruise on the Independence of the Seas.

You will then get to go to the naming of the ship for Genesis I or II (in 2009 or 2010) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. You will also get to go on the inaugural cruise for that ship as well!

If that wasn’t enough, you will also get a 7-night Caribbean cruise on that same Genesis ship! Talk about an incredible set of prizes.

If you think you have what it takes, try to name that ship now, as you only have until February 29th, 2008.

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Last night (Sunday January 13th) if you were in NYC, you might have seen something that happened for the first and only time…ever.The Cunard’s 3 “Queens” - Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Mary 2, and Queen Victoria all met up in New York Harbor. This is the first and only time that 3 of Cunard’s ships have ever been at the same place at the same time. There was a celebration including fireworks as all three ships passed the Statue of Liberty.

The Cunard Victoria was only launched a year ago, while the Queen Mary 2 launched in March 2003, and the Queen Elizabeth 2 launched in September 1967, and will be retired later this year to become a floating hotel in Dubai.

While it may not sound incredible, it took over 2 years of planning to get all 3 ships to meet like that! It would have been an incredible sight to see, and not something that will be done again anytime soon.

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Orbitz has a really great sale on cruises right now. Cruises start at $199, and you can get any or all of the following:

• Free iPod with minimum 7-night cruises
• Free Spa Treatment with select 5+ night cruises
• Free $300 Onboard Savings Booklet with select 7+ night cruises

This sale includes many cruise lines, so you are sure to find your favorite.  The prices really are low, and I was surprised they are giving all of this extra stuff since the prices are already great. This is going on through January 28th.

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Liberty of The Seas is the latest Royal Caribbean ship to be introduced to the public.  It starts its first cruise in May, and just named the ship’s godmother this past weekend. 

This ship is very similar to the previous ship Royal Caribbean introduced, the Freedom of The Seas.  They both belong to the same family of ships, the Freedom class.  Here are some of the features you will find on this ship:

• FlowRider - the first surf park at sea
• H20 Zone Water Park
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Boxing Ring
• Ice Skating Rink
• Johnny Rockets
• Ben & Jerry’s
• and more…

The ship will be starting out in the Caribbean, alternating between Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries.   Both are round trip Miami, with the Eastern itinerary including stops at San Juan, Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, and Labadee/Hispaniola Island, and the Western itinerary including stops at Labadee/Hispaniola Island, Montego Bay, George Town, and Cozumel.

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Going on a cruise in Europe is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while.  Waking up each morning at a different European destination sounds amazing to me, and I hope to be able to find a cruise that goes to the exact destinations I would like to visit, soon.

It looks like even more people want to cruise in Europe, as more and more cruise ships have been spending their summers in Europe.  Royal Caribbean just announced that next summer (summer of 2008), they will be sending seven of their ships over to Europe.  These will be the Brilliance of the Seas, the Independence of the Seas, the Jewel of the Seas, the Legend of the Seas, the Navigator of the Seas, the Splendour of the Seas, and the Voyager of the Seas.

This means it will be even easier to find that exact cruise that you are looking for.  Personally, I can’t wait to hear what all of the itineraries are!

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