European Cruise round up

The European cruise market is really booming, and cruise lines are responding with more itineraries and more ships based permanently in the region. Celebrity Cruises recently announced that a second Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Equinox, will debut in Southampton this year, and Princess Cruises has made plans to replace its 2,000 passenger Sea Princess with its 2,600 passenger Grand Princess on summer departures visiting the Mediterranean. The big cruise news, of course is that Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas, which will set sail on its maiden season from Southampton late this spring – after a massive launch party for which you can win tickets - is going to homeport in Southampton in 2009,; and Norwegian Cruise Line will be homeporting Norwegian Jade in Europe for the whole year round for the first time in the company's 41-year history.