New ship preview: mini, mega, & mammoth — the parade of cruise liners keeps coming - On The Horizon

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2002 by M.T. Schwartzman

The smallest new cruise ship of 2002, American Cruise Line's 1,200-grt/49-passenger American Glory, embarks her first passengers on July 27 in Baltimore. According to the line, the vessel will be slightly larger than her predecessor, the American Eagle. Enhancements will include a bigger library, enlarged cabins, and eight more verandas for a total of 14 balconies. The ship will sail year-round up and down the Eastern Seaboard, beginning with an eight-day cruise of Chesapeake Bay.

Holland America Line unveils its new Vista Class with the 85,000-grt/1,848-passenger Zuiderdam, scheduled to debut in September. She will be Holland America's biggest ship to date, equipped with the line's first "round-the-clock" casual restaurant, exterior elevators, and cabaret-style showroom. Her deployments are expected to cover the Caribbean and Alaska, although specific ports-of-call were unavailable at presstime. Five ships are currently scheduled for the Vista Class, with one due in 2003, two in 2004, and the final one in 2005.

Princess celebrates autumn with the 88,000-grt/1,950-passenger Coral Princess, which represents a brand-new design for the company. An impressive 90 percent of the cabins on the Coral Princess will be oceanview; more than 80 percent of those will come with a private veranda--735 balconies in all. The Coral Princess is scheduled to begin Panama Canal (Gatun Lake) cruises on November 14 roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. A sister, bearing the revered name Island Princess, will follow just eight months later in June 2003.

Royal Caribbean brings out the biggest ship of the year in November, when the 142,000-grt/3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas becomes the fourth running-mate in RCI's stable of Voyager Class vessels, replete with rock-climbing wall, in-line skating track, indoor ice-skating rink, and the Royal Promenade--a four-deck horizontal atrium. The ship will cruise the Caribbean year-round from her homeport in Miami, alternating between the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Next year's Mariner of the Seas will mark the conclusion of the Voyager Class series.

December welcomes two more megaliners. Carnival Cruise Lines' 110,000-grt/ 2,976-passenger Carnival Conquest represents an elongated version of the company's highly successful Destiny Class. Carnival's biggest "Fun Ship" yet, the Carnival Conquest will take up residence in New Orleans year-round on December 1, sailing every Sunday on seven-day cruises to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Playa del Carmen/ Cozumel. Two more 110,000-grt sisters are scheduled for delivery in 2003 and 2004.

Pulling up the rear this year is Norwegian Cruise Line's 91,000-grt/2,200-passenger Norwegian Dawn, sister to last year's Norwegian Star. Built to fully realize the possibilities of "Freestyle Cruising," the Norwegian Dawn will offer a multiplicity of restaurants, so, according to the line, passengers never have to eat in the same restaurant twice during the course of their cruise. The ship will sail seven-day Eastern Caribbean roundtrips from Miami.