Porthole....

THE RIGHT STUFF

Despite what you might read or see on TV -- SHIP SINKS IN ANTARCTICA! PASSENGER GOES OVERBOARD! PIRATES ATTACK! -- cruise lines get lots of things right. From environmental stewardship to creative cuisine and more, cruise lines innovations are keeping the earth greener and attracting record numbers of passengers.

Let’s Eat

Sure, there's still the midnight buffet, but cuisine at sea is more creative and varied than ever before, thanks to celebrity chefs, specialty dining rooms, enhanced wine programs, cooking classes, flexible dining styles, better in-cabin dining, and more. From Holland America Line’s Culinary Arts Center to the wine and cheese sommeliers onboard Crystal Cruises ships, lines are redefining dining at sea. Bon appetit!

Adults-Only, Please

It’s ironic that kid-friendly Disney Cruise Line was the leader when it came to giving adults some serious space. Disney’s adults-only havens on board and on their private island, Castaway Cay, have been a big hit. The privacy trend is apparent as well at Princess Cruises (“Sanctuary” areas), Carnival Cruise Lines (“Serenity” areas), Holland America (Half Moon Cay and the popular adults-only café), as more lines are coming up with grown-up amenities.

More Than Shuffleboard

Today’s passengers have an incredible variety of enrichment programs to enhance cruises of any length. Computer classes, culinary demonstrations, cultural lectures, behind-the-scenes tours, and more are growing in popularity among cruisers wo are looking for just a little something more. From learning a foreign language with Crystal to throwing a pot on Princess, you can come away from your cruise with new skills and interests.

Show Boats

Cruise-ship productions these days rival what you'd pay a fortune to see on Broadway or in London's West End. State-of-the-art theaters, top-name entertainers and other innovations make multimillion-dollar productions better than ever.

ShoreEx Excellence

From adventurous scuba diving with Princess’s New Waves program to whale-spotting Zodiac adventures with Cruise West, shore excursions encompass a lot more than crowded city overviews. You can zip through a forest canopy, play with a penguin or search for ghosts in a haunted castle.

Techno Tops

Perhaps no area in cruise ship travel has changed as rapidly as technology. Although passengers love cruises that can take them away from it all, they still want their cell phone service (Carnival‘s been a leader here), fast internet connection (preferably bow-to-stern Wi-Fi, served with a latte), and informative cruise line Web sites (think popular bloggers like Carnival’s John Heald). Today’s modern ships are also outfitted with all the latest high-tech gear to make sailing the seven seas safer than ever.

To Your Health

Fitness fanatics used to have to do sit-ups in their staterooms or laps around the deck. Today’s huge onboard fitness centers, along with a wider variety of classes, from hardcore aerobics to peaceful yoga sessions, mean there are no more excuses for those extra pounds on debarkation day. Increased emphasis in this area has also led to larger and more luxurious spas with more treatment options (Costa Cruises even has spa cabins). Just say -- spa-ahhh!

Ports (and Sea Days) of Pleasure

Going on a cruise no longer means just hopping on a ship heading to the Caribbean. Though the tropics still have lots of pleasurable (and popular) ports of call, the entire world is now on the radar. The entire world is now on the radar. Cruise lines are heading much further afield: Antarctica, the Galapagos, Greenland, Eastern Europe, China, and many other more exotic destinations. Celebrity Cruise’s new brand, Azamara Cruises, was designed to appeal to the experienced cruiser looking to sail to out-of-the-way places. Cruise West and Hurtigruten also lead the way to unique (often icy) ports of pleasure. There’s even some flexibility with traditional and exotic itineraries, thanks to “Personalized Voyages” at Silversea Cruises.

In addition, sea days are better than ever, thanks to trans-Atlantic cruises on Cunard Line's modern ocean liners, creative theme cruises (MSC Cruises is a theme cruise leader), and world cruises (Holland America is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary of world cruises this year). Next thing we know, some line will open bookings for cruises to the moon--making for lots of sea (or it that sky?) days!

Green Cruising

Cruise lines have taken many steps to decrease the environmental “footprint” of their ships, passengers, and crew while at sea and even during port calls. From huge recycling programs onboard to working with shore excursion operators in minimizing passenger impact on shore, programs are in place to please Mother Nature. Consider:

*Holland America’s award-winning recycling program (with an environmental officer on board each ship)

* Royal Caribbean’s Ocean Fund (providing grants to an array of marine conservation institutions and other non-profits to support research, education, and technology development)

*Costa’s work with the World Wildlife Fund (protecting three of the world’s most endangered marine ecosystems: the Mediterranean, the Greater Antilles, and northeastern Brazil)

*Carnival’s work with Reef Check (and the work of several lines with the Reef Ball Foundation to protect and restore fragile coral reefs

*Industry-wide "green" ship design and building

*Environmental protection and reporting procedures (including Carnival Corporation lines having a dedicated email address for passengers and crew to report)

*The new Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center near Key West‘s cruise ship pier.

Privacy, Please

When it comes to different ports of call around the world, perhaps none are more unique than the so-called “private islands” that many cruise lines have developed over the years. These pleasingly private oasis have become a very popular addition to itineraries (mainly in the Caribbean), with passengers enjoying their “own” beach, activities (from parasailing to oceanside cabana massages), dining, and much more.

The concept of private island experiences actually began with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) back in the late-1970s. The innovative line’s initial and continued success with Great Stirrup Cay led to the development of many more options. Major players like Princess, Holland America, Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Regent Seven Seas all joined the private island party, much to the delight of many cruise ship passengers--and the bottom-lines of cruise lines.

Never Leave That Cabin

Tiny cabins with bare-bones amenities are for those who join the Navy--today’s cruisers expect (and receive) the keys (or key cards) to cabins that are better than ever. Entire bedding systems (that you can buy from Carnival and other lines for your home “cabin”), flat-screen TVs, DVD players, stereo systems, top-of-the-line bath products, and incredibly comfy robes are all possibilities in today’s cabins (or should we say more luxurious-sounding stateroom?). Of course, more square footage and balconies are also very popular options, whatever you call them.