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, New Jersey) in 2007, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and that number is expected to increase in 2008.

Since 9 / 11 the number of ships and passengers increased to the point that opened the berthing facilities at Red Hook, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey. Today every major cruise line has several ships in the port of New York stations for trips ranging from a holiday cruise to a 100-day circumnavigation of the globe.

Four cruise lines (Cunard Line, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line) have year round service from New York. Itineraries range from a holiday cruise to a 99-day full circumnavigation of the globe. Cunard Line Queen Mary 2 continues the tradition of regular transatlantic service between New York and Southampton.

Selections of the best ships and itineraries for 2008/09:

Cruise Lines BETTER AND VESSELS

The New York Star: Queen Mary 2. Ballroom dancing to a live orchestra, high tea perfectly served, scholarly guest lecturers, a dog kennel and the ultimate in comfort and keep the British maritime heritage alive and well.

Best ships for families, the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. A great pleasure because of its small climbing wall, roller skating and adolescents deprived of the club, Explorer of the Seas is hugely popular with cruisers of all ages.

Top luxury ship: Crystal Symphony (Crystal Cruises) with the highest levels of food and service, penthouse suites with private butler shipboard enrichment programs, Crystal Symphony steals the show in the luxury cruise.

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

For best ships quiet People: Norwegian Cruise Line. This cruise line's most popular "Freestyle Cruising" program means you can choose to dine in restaurants, where and with whom you want. And no Tuxdor necessary.

Best Food on board Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess. Princess offers the only option open seating dining or traditional two seating dining and a Lido restaurant that serves great food 24 hours a day.

BEST ITINERARIES OF 2008/09

Caribbean: (Princess) Caribbean Princess sails on nine-day Eastern Caribbean voyages round-trip from Brooklyn to Bermuda, Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas

Bermuda: (Royal Caribbean NCL and Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas sails on six-day Bermuda from Cape Liberty Cruise (Bayonne), New Jersey and Norwegian Cruise Line 'Norwegian Dawn makes seven days from Manhattan Bermuda travel

Canada / New England: (Princess) Princess's Sea Princess sails on ten-night cruises between Brooklyn and Quebec City (with an overnight stay aboard the ship). Ports of call are Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown

Europe: Six night transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton aboard the Queen Mary 2

Short Cruise: August 29, 2008 three-night cruise to nowhere aboard Holland America's new Eurodam sailing from Manhattan.

Best Long Cruise: Sea Princess' 14 days in Iceland and Greenland voyage from Southampton, UK, to Brooklyn Aug. 30, 2008. Bergen, Norway, the Shetland Islands, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Iceland; nanortalik, Greenland, St. Johns, Nova Scotia.

World Cruises: Queen Victoria sails from New York to Barcelona in a 99-day World Cruise departing January 10, 2009. The 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 who has covered the cruise industry for 15 years, is editor in chief of Cruise New York (http://www.cruisingfromnewyork.com) Visit this new website for reviews of all ships Sail New York, 2008/09 itineraries, cruise deals, in-depth information about ports of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne), NJ.