�In 2000, the industry added 11 percent more berths to its fleet,� says James G. Godsman, president of CLIA, the marketing organization for the North American cruise industry. �Naturally, the question asked was �Will the industry be able to generate enough passengers to fill these new ships?� The answer has been a resounding �yes�. Through the Third Quarter 2000, the passenger growth was nearly 16 percent.�

Godsman predicts that when the final 2000 figures are in, U.S. cruise lines will have hosted some 6.9 million guests.

The new ships of 2001 will produce another 11 percent increase in berths for the industry.

New Ships Offer Personalized Cruising

The new ships making their debut seem designed to prove the point that no dream is left unfulfilled on a cruise vacation. A romantic dinner for two, a high-spirited volleyball game, a chance to learn how to surf the Internet, a new restaurant to visit each day of a cruise ... even the opportunity to begin married life with a wedding on board. All these dreams and more can be satisfied in the 2001 array of new ships, which includes:

• Carnival Cruise Lines� 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit, first in a new series, features a wedding chapel, reservations supper club and wrap-around outdoor promenade.
• Eighty percent of the staterooms in Celebrity Cruises� newest Millennium-class vessels, Infinity and Summit, 91,000 tons each, offer ocean views.
• First European Cruises� 1,500-passenger European Vision features a choice of restaurants, 132 suites with balconies, rock climbing wall and Internet cafe.
• Norwegian Cruise Line�s Norwegian Sun, a 1,936-passenger sister ship to Norwegian Sky, and the ultra-modern, 76,000-ton Norwegian Leo (formerly SuperStar Leo).
• Princess Cruises� Golden Princess, sister ship to 2,600-guest Grand Princess, features a wedding chapel and wedding-at-sea program, current pool and two special restaurants.
• Radisson Seven Seas Cruises� all balcony-suite ship, the 700-guest Seven Seas Mariner, is home to the first permanent Le Cordon Bleu restaurant-at-sea, �Signatures.�
• Royal Caribbean International�s Radiance of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas, with the latter featuring an ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall and Adventure Ocean children�s program.
• Royal Olympic Cruises� 836-guest Olympic Explorer features the �Mirrors in Time� lecture series with art historians, artists and architectural experts.
• Silversea Cruises� Silver Whisper, sister vessel to the 382-guest Silver Shadow, offers a Bloomberg Professional Services computer terminal to check stocks and financial news.

Other lines are focusing their efforts on an all-out push for new and exciting ports, itineraries and special offerings, among them:

• American Cruise Lines� Historic Antebellum South Cruise, which showcases homes, gardens, museums and wildlife in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
• American Hawaii Cruises� new home port, Kahului, Maui, plus expanded wedding packages featuring scenic island locations (waterfalls, volcanoes and cliffs) for the vow exchange.
• Costa Cruises a new alternative-dining venue, the Ristorante Club Atlantica, featuring Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi, plus an Internet cafe.
• Crystal Cruises� expanded Africa program; new itineraries include a 24-day voyage from Rome to Cape Town, via the Suez Canal and Red Sea, and a 22-day sailing up Africa�s west coast to Lisbon.
• Cunard Line�s exclusive �Patron�s Preview,� offering guests of Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia the chance to book sailings for Queen Mary 2�s inaugural season (late 2003) 30 days before the public.
• Disney Cruise Line raises the curtain on two original nighttime stage shows, �C�est Magique� and the drama of �Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?� aboard Disney Magic.
• Holland America Line�s �Sock Hop� aboard the Westerdam in the Caribbean, plus seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises on the Maasdam, and 10-day southern Caribbean cruises on the Volendam and Zaandam.
• Mediterranean Shipping Cruises� new port calls in Patmos, Mykonos and Kalamata, home to many historic sites. On Patmos, passengers visit the cave where St. John the Evangelist is believed to have written the Book of Revelations.
• Norwegian Coastal Voyage Inc./Bergen Line Services introduces a 15-day �Discover Norway� program and two theme cruises, �Norwegian Culture and Traditions� and �Norwegian Food Traditions.�
• Orient Lines� �Mediterranean & Morocco� cruise-tour from Italy to Portugal combines Riviera resorts with exotic Tangier and Casablanca.
• Regal Cruises� two Mexican itineraries, Mayan Adventure and Mexico and Mayan Riviera, both from Port Manatee to Progreso and Cozumel. The latter adds Costa Maya, Mexico�s newest port.
• Seabourn Cruise Line has enhanced its all-suite vessels with the addition of French balconies: narrow Riviera-style balconies accessible
• by full-length sliding glass doors.

Windstar Cruises begins its inaugural New Zealand season in December with voyages from Christchurch or Auckland and port calls on the north and south islands of New Zealand.