Celebrity Cruises announces that that they have ordered a second new ship for a 2008 delivery to their fleet. The ship will be named the Celebrity Solstice, to reflect the naming of it’s sister ship the Celebrity Equinox.

Celebrity Cruises has exercised its option to order a second 118,000 gross-registered-ton ship today, reaffirming its commitment to innovative products and high guest satisfaction. German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will build the new tonnage, with delivery of the first ship planned for Fall 2008 and the second ship in Summer 2009. Celebrity also announced names of both new ships.

The first new ship will be called Celebrity Solstice, and the second ship will be named Celebrity Equinox. The new series of ships will be known as the Solstice class. Terms for the second Solstice-class vessel are substantially the same as those of the first ship.

Both new ships will be 2,850-guest vessels measuring 1,033 feet in length and 121 feet in width. Their added size will allow Celebrity to offer larger standard staterooms, a higher percentage of balconies and an exceptional range of guest-inspired services and amenities.

When on a cruise, the biggest fear is having to dine with people who are less than thrilling. The cruise industry is recognizing this  difference and now is offering  more choices for dining, and working to provide personal and intimate options for the dining public. Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, and Disney have all started offering more options for their passengers, but Norwegian Cruise Line was the originator of the trend.

The trend today is toward flexibility of dining times, variety of cuisine and premium dining in intimate restaurant settings.
The shipboard dining experience now prizes quality over quantity and frequency.
Norwegian Cruise Line is credited with pioneering the trend in 2000 with its launch of Freestyle Cruising. With a sweeping stroke, it did away with the large dining room, the two dinner seatings, the assigned table companions and the nightly dress code.
As others have rushed to mimic Norwegian’s model, dining space has been carved up into restaurant-type venues. Smaller galleys have been built here and there, particularly on the newer ships.

Visit  The Columbus Dispatch for more details on other cruise lines and their dining options.

Celebrity Cruise Lines swept Conde Nast Traveler’s annual readers’ survey ranking “The Best Cruise Ships in the World.” The line did well as a whole and also for the individual ships.

In the Large Ship Category, Celebrity took the top 4 ships and 6 out of the top 10.

• 1. Constellation
• 2. Millennium
• 3. Summit 
• 4. Infinity
• 7. Galaxy
• 9. Mercury

This is an amazing record for  a cruise line. Congratulations Celebrity Cruise Lines!

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise lines will start allowing passengers to check through their luggage to their flights. Disembarking a Cruise ship is probably the worst part of the cruise, and this program will make the process much smoother for everyone by taking the pressure off of the baggage handlers.

The program, which began with ships based in Vancouver, B.C., in 2003 and costs $10-$20 per passenger, is rolling out this winter at five more ports — San Juan, Seattle, San Diego, Miami and Fort Lauderdale (the last three for Celebrity only). “Anything that makes disembarkation easier will be popular,” says Mike Driscoll, editor of Cruiseweek.USATODAY.com.

If you are wanting to track down Demi, Ashton, Paris, Nicole, Lidsay, Mary J. Lay-Z, Uma, and even stars that are on the wane such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Beyonce, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Kevin Costner, and Jack Nicholson, we have the scoop for you with the help of Entertainment Tonight.

“Some of the A-list hotspots this year are Anguilla, Cabo San Lucas, Aspen, Miami,” ONDINE COHANE, senior editor of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, tells ET. “These are where people are going for the hot getaway and also for the winter traditional Christmas.”

Stars spotted at the One & Only Palmilla in Cabo have included DEMI MOORE and ASHTON KUTCHER, who went after their wedding for their honeymoon. GWYNETH PALTROW and CHRIS MARTIN went to Cabo for their honeymoon, and JENNIFER ANISTON has also been escaping down there, away from the paparazzi glare.

The tiny island of St. Bart’s in the French West Indies is one of the more popular celebrity destinations, known for its European flair, great restaurants and wonderful hotels. UMA THURMAN, MARY J. BLIGE and especially BEYONCÉ and JAY-Z love to spend their vacation time down there.

“There’s a real concentration of power tycoon and hip-hop impresarios,” says Cohane. “It’s a real concentration over Christmas and New Year’s of all those types of people, so it’s an interesting mix. The highlight of the whole season, of course, is the New Year’s Eve parties, where people like DIDDY have these yacht parties, and celebrities jump from one boat to another.”

Another hot spot is Miami, which is big for the photo op, guaranteed amazing weather and beautiful beaches — and just a few hours’ flight from New York. “Miami is the ‘it’ place for the young Hollywood glamour scene,” says Cohane. “This year alone, LINDSAY LOHAN is having a party at Opium Garden, NICOLE RICHIE is having a party at Mansion and PARIS is having her premiere of her new Club Paris in Miami.”

Stars looking for a white Christmas can fly their private jet into Aspen, which is always a Hollywood hotbed of activity over the holidays. Many stars own homes in the area, including KURT RUSSELL and GOLDIE HAWN and KEVIN COSTNER, and JACK NICHOLSON is a perennial Aspenite. via ET

So chase the stars, live your dreams, and you may be next to your favorite star on the beach sipping a Margarita.

Celebrity Cruises is introducing a new show by Cirque de Soleil. The 30 minute show  called “ A Taste of Cirque de Soleil” features the trademark acrobatic performance this world famous troup is known for. This no extra charge will be performed twice per cruise on the Constellation and Summit.

This is the season for awards and Porthole Magazine has announced its Readers Choice Awards for the cruise industry. Here is Part 1 of the list of awards that Porthole Magazine awarded for 2005:

BEST SMALL SHIP - Seabourn Pride - Seabourn Cruise Line
BEST MEDIUM SIZE SHIP - Oosterdam - Holland America Line
BEST MEGA SHIP - Queen Mary 2 - Cunard Line
BEST RIVER CRUISE - Peter Deilmann Cruises
BEST TALL SHIP - Star Clipper - Star Clippers
BEST PARTY LINE - Carnival Cruise Lines
BEST LUXURY LINE - Crystal Cruises
BEST VALUE-FOR-THE-MONEY LINE - Carnival Cruise Lines
BEST PRIVATE ISLAND - Holland America Line
BEST SHORE EXCURSIONS - Princess Cruises
BEST ONE-DAY CRUISE - Discovery Cruises
BEST SHORT-DURATION CRUISE - Carnival Cruise Lines
BEST ADVENTURE CRUISE LINE - Royal Caribbean International
MOST ECO-FRIENDLY CRUISE LINE - Royal Caribbean International
MOST ROMANTIC CRUISE LINE - Windstar Cruises
MOST FAMILY-ORIENTED LINE - Disney Cruises

The top trend for 2006 in the cruise industry will be centered around themes.  As documented here and elsewhere all of the major cruise lines are offering themed cruises as a way of enticing the 11 million travellers who chose to take a cruise in 2005.  The offerings from the cruise lines are as diverse as taking a cruise with Rusty Wallace, NASCAR star, to dining with Georges Blanc.

The Radisson seven seas cruise has an ongoing partnership with Jean Michel Cousteau son of the faint ocean explorer shocks to provide lectures excursion salute related to oceanography and the environment other Radisson programs include shopping with experts from the BBC’s antique roadshow in Turkey Greece and Rome and the Polynesian island adventures like Paris selling a kayak Safari and swimming with stingrays.

Programs on Crystal cruises include talks by celebrities such as actress Debbie Reynolds and skater Dorothy Hamill; art classes, such as learning to sculpt using chunks of alabaster: and an onboard gallery of stunning photos of the life in China. via AP

After a tumultuous 2005, the cruise industry has many opportunities ahead.  The decision to offer specifics segmented cruises to the travelling public should be very beneficial and provide great opportunities for the cruise industry.

Celebrity Cruises has announced the 3rd Annual “Savor The Caribbean” cruises schedule, featuring some of the top chefs in the United States and the Caribbean. Such notable chefs as Allen Susser, Wilo Benet, Giancarla Bodini, Brian Katz, and Edgar Leaf will be spotlighted on these cruises.

The cruises will be held on the Celebrity ship the Infinity, and will call on Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and Nassau, Bahamas. With each stop, top restaurants on these islands will provide the opportunity for the traveller to visit and enjoy their fare.

This sounds like a great vacation for those who love fine dining.