Every week I receive tons of information from the cruise lines about exciting new features coming aboard the world's best cruise ships. This week, I thought I'd share just a sampling of some of the cruise line news briefs with you. Did you know...

• Next June, Princess Cruises will debut a new circuit training program with unique outdoor exercise stations.
• Viking River Cruises has ordered two additional Viking Longships for 2013, bringing the total to 14 new ships over a two-year period.
• Ultra-luxe Crystal Cruises has unveiled a new "Magic Castle at Sea," with incredibly entertaining, intimate magic shows.
• Disney Cruise Line has announced it will begin sailings out of Miami later this year.
• Royal Caribbean International will be the first cruise line to deploy a new "freestyle" soda machine, with 125 different flavors of soda!

On another note, I always receive questions about cruising that are a little different than the usual.  Here are some examples of questions and answers that you may find interesting:

Q:  Can I order/reorder my cruise photos once I return home?
A:  At this time, cruise lines do not have this as an option.  With each new week bringing on an average of 2500 cruisers per ship, it is difficult to keep these photos.  One cruise line, Royal Caribbean, is in the process of adding photo ordering to its pre-cruise sales.  Also, many cruise lines now have the option to purchase a CD of all pictures taken. 

Q:  Do the cruise lines offer a loyalty card in the casinos?
A:  This is difficult as people cruise on several different ships, but those who sign up for the cruise line loyalty programs do generally receive coupons to use in the casino and loyalty points to build up and use during the cruise week itself.

Q:  Why do New Orleans and Galveston only offer cruise lines other than Carnival during the winter?
A:  Royal Caribbean generally offers cruises out of these ports between November and April.  The rest of the year their ships are operating in Europe.  They simply do not have enough ships to be in both places at the same time.  For a limited time, Disney and Princess cruise lines will also be offering cruises from these ports.

Q:  Why has the muster program offered on the cruise ships changed so drastically.
A:  In the past, guests were required to bring their life jackets to the muster with them, where they were shown how to and were instructed to put them.  The cruise lines do take muster very seriously, and all guests are provided with the location of their muster station and shown how to put on a life jacket.  The cruise lines are certainly tightening up these drills, especially since the unfortunate incident in Italy.

If you have questions, please let me know.  When you are ready to book that fabulous vacation for you and your friends/family, please contact me at mjackson@cruiseholidays.com and/or 210-858-6399.

Michelle