This post was submitted by Martin Westphal.

This post was submitted by Martin Westphal.

The Norwegian Spirit is an interesting ship. It started its life as the SuperStar Leo from Star Cruises in 1999 serving the Asian market.

However, in 2004, a NCL ship called the Pride of America partially sank during construction in Germany. This set off a chain reaction of NCL ships being needed for other planned routes, and finally they were one ship short.

Star Cruises, the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, refitted the SuperStar Leo and renamed it the Norwegian Spirit.

Photo by purpleslog

One interesting thing about the Norwegian Spirit is that they left the Asian influences for the most part. The decor throughout the ship is Chinese-influenced and there is even a mah-jongg room. Many of the restaurants are Asian influenced too.

Photo by purpleslog

The Norwegian Spirit was built in 1999 and is 76,800 tonnes.

She carries 1966 passengers and is 879 feet in length.

As of the end of 2008, the Norwegian Spirit cruises from New Orleans, Boston, and Quebec City, mostly along the East Coast and Caribbean.

Have you been on the Norwegian Spirit or any other NCL ship? Leave a comment and let us know how you liked it!

Click here for more information on Norwegian Spirit and to check out upcoming sailings.

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This post was submitted by Edward Radonic.

Hi dude, got some more pics to come, i am cruising on Black Diamond, passed Cape Canaveral and got a few pics of the Monarach of the seas, with Black Diamond in the fore ground, then a few more in Nassua Bahamas as I sailed by the Disney ship.

Ed Radonic

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This post was submitted by Edward Radonic.

I don’t normally post about ships that are still in construction, but I came across this cool (though not terribly high quality) footage of what looks to be a very cool ship, the MS Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean.

The Oasis of the Seas will be launching in late 2009 and is currently under construction in Turku, Finland.

The ship will be 1,181 feet in length and 220,000 (!!!!) gross tonnes. It is estimated to cost 1.2 billion USD to build.
She will hold 5,400 passengers and have 2,700 staterooms.
The Oasis of the Seas is going to have a pretty innovative concept. It will be divided into “neighborhoods”:

• Boardwalk
• Royal Promenade
• Central Park (!)
• Spa and Fitness Center
• Pool and Sports Zone
• Entertainment Place
• Youth Zone

I am really interested to see how they will pull off the Central Park one.

I’ll definitely be watching out for this and updating once it sails in late 2009. Does anyone here already have bookings on her?

Click here for more information on Oasis of the Seas and to check out upcoming sailings.

The Celebrity Constellation is a Millennium Class ship, and is in fact one of the flagships in the Celebrity fleet (I didn’t know you can have two flagships but there you go).

The Constellation was built in St. Nazaire, France in 2002.

The ship gets rave reviews for its decor, and the atrium is extremely impressive.

She definitely gets around. In the Summer the Constellation travels around Europe with a focus particularly on the Scandinavian countries. In the Winter it is across the pond and she does the Caribbean route, where these pictures are from, including some cool shots from St. Thomas.

The Celebrity Constellation holds 2034 passengers and weighs 91,000 gross tonnes. She is 965 feet in length.

If you’ve been on the Constellation or any other Celebrity ship, leave us a comment and let us know how you liked it.

In Costa Rica:

Photo by gailf548

Photo by gailf548

St. Thomas now:

Photo by Ed Radonic of Black Diamond

Photo by Ed Radonic of Black Diamond

Click here for more information on Celebrity Constellation and to check out upcoming sailings.

Photo by Corgi5623

The Freedom’s maiden voyage was in March 2007.

In the summer she sails out of Rome to the Mediterranean and Greek Isles. Here is a video from Rhodes:

The Carnival Freedom is 110,000 gross tinnes and 952 feet in length, so not a small ship by any means. It has a guest capacity of 2974 and has 1487 staterooms.

One feature of the Freedom is a giant LED screen near the Lido deck. Here is a shot of that:

Photo by MNgilen

One last tidbit about the Carnival Freedom.. her “godmother” is former supermodel Kathy Ireland. Not entirely sure what a ship’s godmother does but there you go.

If you’ve been on the Carnival Freedom or any other Carnival ship leave a comment and let us know what you thought.

Click here for more information on Carnival Freedom and to check out upcoming sailings.

The first leg of their journey was from Toronto to New York City, and now they are on the second leg of their journey, having just reached Florida from New York.

While leaving New York, they took this great picture of the Crystal Symphony docked in Manhattan.

Photo by Ed Radonic

They just finished enduring a 36 hour tropical storm, so it will be interesting to see what else they get up to. Make sure you check out Ed’s blog.

The Crystal Symphony was launched in 1995 and is 51,044 tonnes and 781 feet in length. It has a passenger capacity of 940.

The ship recently went through a $23 million refurbishment and has a Feng Shui-inspired spa (wonder what that means?), a 360 degree teak promenade deck, and a cool Sunday jazz brunch.

One thing about Crystal is they do assigned seating and tablemates, so that may or may not be an issue for you. It also has fairly limited kids facilities, so I wouldn’t confuse it with a Disney ship.

The Symphony has quite a range, sailing in Mexico/the Caribbean, then heading over to the Mediterranean, then around Scandinavia/Russia, then back to North America.

Here’s another shot of the Crystal Symphony in Montreal.

Photo by eragon

Have you been on the Crystal Symphony or another Crystal Cruise? Leave a comment and let us know how it was!

Click here for more information on Crystal Symphony and to check out upcoming sailings.

Photo by flickrized

The Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are the two ships of the Disney Cruise Lines fleet. Disney actually started doing cruises on an older ship from the Premier Cruises fleet. It was a huge success and Disney commissioned 2 new ships. That’s a pretty incredible investment!

The two ships are very similar, but I will focus on the Magic here.

The Disney Magic’s maiden voyage was in July 1998, from Port Canaveral Florida. It was built in Italy, and the bow and stern were built 100 miles from each other. The two sections were (obviously) welded together later.

It’s 83,000 gross tonnes and 964 feet in length. It has a capacity of 2,400 passengers and 945 crew.

While the Disney Cruises appeal to all ages, obviously it is a bit more geared to the younger set. If you are someone that doesn’t like kids, the Magic is not for you. Another thing to note is that there is no casino onboard. Most people don’t miss it because there is so much to do, but its something to be aware of for sure.

In 2008 and 2009 the Disney Magic sails out of Port Canaveral and does Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries. If you want to do the Caribbean on the Magic though you’d better act fast. In 2010 it is heading back to Europe and doing the Mediterranean and Northern Europe (!). So if you want to go to Rome, Florence, Nice, Malta, Tunis, Oslo, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, or others the Disney way, now’s your chance.

Here are some pics and a cool video at the end.

Photo by Soprano For Now

Photo by Bob Owen

Anchored at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico:

Photo by sanctumsolitude

Here is a cool video. In 2007 the Disney Magic was based out of Barcelona doing the Mediterranean. Let’s just say it arrived in style!

Have you been on the Disney Magic or another Disney Cruise? Leave a comment and let us know how it was!

Click here for more information on Disney Magic and to check out upcoming sailings.