New York Cruises - Best Ships & Itineraries of 2008 - 2009 By Anne L. Campbell

More than one million people sailed from New York three ports (Manhattan, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ) in 2007, according to New York City Economic Development Corporation, and the number expected to increase in 2008.

Since 9 / 11 the number of ships and passengers increased to the point BERTHING additional facilities that have opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey. Today every major cruise line has several ships that home port in New York for extended seasons of travel from one day cruise to the 100 +-day circumnavigation of the world.

Four cruise lines (Cunard Line, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line) have year-round service from New York. Travel from one-day party cruises to 99-day full circumnavigation of the world. Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 continues the tradition of regularly scheduled transatlantic service between New York and Southampton.

Picks for the Best Ship of 2008/09 and Schedule of Events:

BEST CRUISE Lines and ships

The New York Star: Queen Mary 2. Ballroom dance to live orchestra, high tea perfectly served, scholarly guest lecturers, a dog kennel and all the creature comfort in maintaining the UK and maritime heritage with a good life.

Ships for Families: Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. A big kid pleaser due to her rock climbing wall, roller blading, ice-skating and private teen club, Explorer of the Seas is hugely popular with cruisers of all ages.

Top Luxury Ship: Crystal Symphony (Crystal Cruises) Boasting top-level food and service, penthouse suites with private butlers and onboard enrichment programs, Crystal Symphony steal the show power of luxury.

Best Itineraries: Princess Cruises' Caribbean and Canada / New England cruises from Brooklyn.

Ship To answer Laid back-People: Norwegian Cruise Line. This cruise line popular "Freestyle Cruising" program means you can choose to dine in the restaurant many times and with who you are. And, no tuxes required.

Best Onboard Dining Program: Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess. Princess offers a choice of one seat open a restaurant or a traditional two seating dining plus Lido Restaurant that serves great food 24 hours per day.

BEST OF trip 2008/09

Caribbean: (Princess) Caribbean Princess on the screen nine days Eastern Caribbean round trip from Brooklyn to Bermuda, Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas

Bermuda: (Royal Caribbean & NCL Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Sea on the screen in six days Bermuda cruises from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), NJ, and Norwegian Cruise Line 'Norwegian Dawn makes seven-day trip from Manhattan Bermuda

Canada / New England: (Princess) Princess's Sea Princess on the screen ten night cruises between Brooklyn and Quebec City (overnight stay aboard the ship). Port calls are Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown

Europe: The six night transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton aboard Queen Mary 2

Short Cruise: Aug. 29, 2008 to three-night cruise aboard the Holland America brand new Eurodam sailing from Manhattan.

Best Long Cruise: Sea Princess' 14 day Iceland & Greenland voyage from Southampton, Uk, to Brooklyn Aug. 30, 2008. Bergen, Norway; Shetland Islands, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Iceland; Nanortalik, Greenland; St Johns, Nova Scotia.

World Cruise: Queen Victoria's service from New York to Barcelona on the 99-day World Cruise departing Jan 10, 2009. Ship visits Curacao; Guatemala; Cabo San Lucas, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, India, Dubai, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece; rome; Barcelona.

Copyright Anne Campbell, 2008

Anne Campbell, a journalist has been covering the cruise industry for 15 years, is editor-in-chief of Cruising From New York (http://www.cruisingfromnewyork.com) Visit this new website to review all ships sailing from New York, 2008 / 09 travel, cruise deals, in-depth information about the port Manhattan, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne) NJ.