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This November, the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas, will welcome 5,400 passengers for the first time from Port Everglades. The two-floor, 240,000 square foot Terminal 18, specially constructed for the vessel and opening November 6, will be the largest single ship terminal in the world and will allow passengers to transition from curbside to ship in as little as 15 minutes. Independent analysis indicates that by the fifth year of RCI's 10-year agreement with the port, over 8,000 new jobs will be created, generating $356.5 million in personal income and $32.8 million in state and local taxes. With the home porting of Oasis of the Seas, followed by Royal Caribbean's equally grand Allure of the Seas slated to set sail in 2010, along with nearly a dozen other new ships, Port Everglades is destined to compete for a top spot among North American cruise ports.

Residents along the East Coast will have plenty of opportunity to see Queen Mary 2, the largest liner in the world, as she progresses north from Flamborough Head to the Tyne on Friday 16 October as part of her celebratory 'lap-of-honour' around the British Isles to mark her fifth birthday. Queen Mary 2 is flagship of Cunard Line, owner of the most famous ocean liners in the world and the youngest fleet in the world. Cunard Line celebrates the 170th Anniversary of its founding in 2009 - so this is a double celebration for the company and its flagship. She will be passing specific points on the coast at the following times: Flamborough Head, 1330 hours Scarborough, 1445 hours Whitby, 1500 hours Hartlepool, 1615 hours Sunderland, 1700 hours Tynemouth, 1730 hours The voyage commemorates the introduction into service of Queen Mary 2 five years ago in January 2004. Still the largest, longest, tallest, widest, most expensive ocean liner ever built and, since the retirement of QE2, the fastest passenger ship in the world. Queen Mary 2 entered service just four days after being named by Her Majesty The Queen during the most spectacular naming ceremony Southampton, her home port, had ever seen. Since that historic entry into service Queen Mary 2 has sailed almost 750,000 nautical miles, completed over 120 Atlantic crossings (the route for which she was specifically built, the first passenger ship to be built for that trade in 35 years), and made calls to 115 ports in 45 countries.

With the debut of the new 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, Carnival also introduced the line's first outdoor laser shows that combine the latest in laser technology with rock music to provide guests a unique and exciting nighttime entertainment option. Pictured here, the 15-minute nighttime laser shows- the first ever for a North America–based cruise ship- features choreographed lasers projecting brilliant aerial patterns of blue, red and green set to music by popular artists such as Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. The line's largest ship, Carnival Dream is completing a series of Mediterranean voyages and will then reposition to New York for a pair of eight-day cruises to Florida and The Bahamas. Carnival Dream launches year-round seven-day Caribbean service from Port Canaveral Dec. 12.

Eight-year-old Hailee Steberger of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., is the winner of Carnival Cruise Lines' "Virtual Book of Dreams" contest, earning the opportunity to serve as the official godchild of the expansive water park aboard the new Carnival Dream. At 130,000 tons, Carnival Dream is the line's newest and largest ship and will make its U.S. debut in November. Hailee and her family will travel to New York next month to christen the Carnival Dream's spectacular WaterWorks aqua park, which features the longest water slide on a cruise ship. The family will also receive a free cruise. The contest invited children ages seven to 12 to share their awesome dreams with a short essay and hand-drawn illustration via a special web site, www.carnivalbookofdreams.com. Five finalists were selected and then voted on by the public. Hailee's entry, entitled "Wake Me When We Leave," received the most votes. Carnival Cruise Lines donated $1 per vote to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for a total contribution of $25,000. St. Jude is one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases. "Hailee's winning entry was certainly creative and we're delighted that she will be the official godchild of the magnificent water park aboard the new Carnival Dream," said Jim Berra, Carnival's chief marketing officer. "Equally important, we were able to support St. Jude and raise funds to help some very special children and their families," he added.

As part of her Autumn Colours voyage, which features calls through the New England and Canada coasts, Cunard's Queen Victoria made her inaugural visits to the Canadian ports of Halifax on Friday, 2 October, and Québec City on Sunday, 4 October. The ship will call on St. John's, Newfoundland, before returning to Southampton on October 12. Queen Victoria's first-ever voyage to Canada holds special significance, as it is the homeland of the line's founder, Sir Samuel Cunard, who was born in Halifax in 1787. Cunard established the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company in 1839 to carry the Royal Mail between England and North America. In 1840, he inaugurated the first timetabled steamship service across the Atlantic Ocean, with a route from Liverpool to Halifax and then Boston. "Cunard prides itself on honouring its history and legacy, so it was a great privilege for me to bring Queen Victoria, Cunard's newest queen, across the Atlantic and present her to the homeland of our company's founder," said the ship's Master, Captain Ian McNaught. "Our calls to Halifax and Québec continue Cunard's tradition of providing guests with legendary voyages and historic ports of call and we appreciate the welcoming reception we received in each city." Upon arrival to Halifax, Queen Victoria toured the harbour, providing grand viewing opportunities for the city's residents. As she docked, she was welcomed by the famed 78th Highlanders Pipe Band, a performance group from the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association. A number of dignitaries attended the onboard events commemorating Queen Victoria's arrival, including Percy Paris, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage for Nova Scotia; David Hendsbee, Deputy Mayor, Halifax Regional Municipality; Robert Brooks, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture & Heritage; John Langley, Cunard Steamship Society; Margaret Wittingham-Lamont, Mission to Seafarers; Mark MacDonald, Chair, Halifax Port Authority; Karen Oldfield, President and CEO, Halifax Port Authority; and David Danskin, Halifax Citadel National Site. To honour Queen Victoria's maiden call to Halifax, the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association performed a musical number composed especially for the occasion. To celebrate Queen Victoria's arrival into Québec City, the Port of Québec hosted a charity lunch onboard, benefiting the local Fondation des Hôpitaux de Enfant-Jésus-Saint-Sacrement. Onboard to welcome the liner into the city were Ross Gaudrealt, President and CEO, Port of Québec; Martin Lachance, Director, Leisure and Medias, Québec Tourism Office; and James Murphy, General Manager, Ramsey Greig & Co. Limited. The celebration continued into today, as Queen Victoria docked overnight in the Port of Québec.

Princess is aiming squarely at the family market with a new cruisetour of Alaska that includes everything from a jetboat ride to panning for gold. Dubbed the Family Fun Cruisetour, the 12-night trip combines seven nights traveling on a Princess ship with five nights staying in Princess-owned hotels while visiting Denali National Park and Fairbanks, Alaska. In addition to unusual family-focused activities, the trip is notable in its pricing structure. The line is offering a 25% discount for every member of a family sharing a cabin on a ship. Families that sign up for the itinerary will spend one night at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, two nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and two nights at Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Among the features of the tour Princess is touting as family-focused: -- Daily breakfast, even on the land portion of the trip. -- Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail service, with lunch, to get families from their ship to their wilderness lodge. -- A Three Rivers Jetboat Tour to take families from Talkeetna to the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge -- an alternative to taking a motorcoach that includes stops along the river to view historic encampments and learn about the native wildlife. -- A visit to Arctic Blast, an attraction that simulates the cold of an Alaska winter. -- A visit to the Music of Denali Dinner Theater for a musical comedy that tells the legend of the first expedition to the summit of Mt. McKinley. -- A special narrated bus tour of Denali National Park called the Experience Alaska with Alaska Geographic Tour. The outing, which includes an enhanced view of the Denali ecosystem and current research taking place, takes families 15 miles into the park to a river valley for a walk to the historic Savage River Camp. -- A "Denali Sourdough Expedition Breakfast" with a mountain climber who is an expert on Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park. -- A ticket to the Riverboat Cruise and El Dorado Goldmine Tour, which includes a trip on an authentic sternwheeler for a narrated cruise along the Chena River and a chance to gold pan at the El Dorado Gold Mine. Fares for the Alaska Family Cruisetour start at $1,743 per person for the first and second berths, and $1,191 per person for third and fourth berth passengers.

Welcome back.

Say what you will about Americans, but they do tip well, and that's been a boon to the cruise industry as it has grown up in North America. For years cruise lines have relied on hefty tips from American customers to provide the bulk of their workers' incomes. But what do you do when you start branching out to other cultures that don't tip quite as much if at all? That's the problem facing Royal Caribbean as it expands rapidly in England. UK-based industry watcher Travel Weekly says the line's managing director for the UK and Ireland, Robin Shaw, told a cruise forum in Barcelona Thursday that the company is rethinking its tipping system because the British won't tip. The news outlet quotes Shaw as saying it has become a "significant issue" for Royal Caribbean as the number of British customers at the line surges. In the last few years Royal Caribbean has based one of its largest ships, the 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas, in Southampton, England for the summers, and next year the ship will begin sailing out of the port year-round. Royal Caribbean's sister line, Celebrity Cruises, also is dedicating a ship to the English market starting next summer. Unlike some lines, Royal Caribbean doesn't automatically add tips onto customer bills, instead relying on customers to present cabin stewards and table waiters with gratuities at the end of voyages. "The British don't tip and that is a challenge for us," Travel Weekly quotes Shaw as saying.

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