Carnival Cruise Lines has added a number of new shore excursions, ranging from canopy and railway excursions to kayaking and safari expeditions, to its 2006 Alaska season. With the new tours, more than 100 shore excursions are available in conjunction with Carnival Spirit´s seven-day Glacier Bay and Glacier Route cruises that sail northbound from Vancouver or southbound from Whittier/Anchorage from May 10 to September 13, 2006.

This summer, travelers who combine any two consecutive Northern Europe cruise vacations aboard Discovery can enjoy free air, city sightseeing and added savings. As part of the combination cruise promotion, passengers receive free air transportation from select East Coast cities, a complimentary full-day sightseeing tour in Cambridge, England, and an additional five percent discount. Vacationers not from the East can also save with low air add-on fares of just $99 from the Central U.S. and $199 from the West Coast.

Cunard Line will give passengers on the Queen Mary 2 a full refund of the cruise fare between New York or Fort Lauderdale and Rio de Janeiro after the ship, which has been slowed by propulsion problems, cut three calls from its itinerary. Originally, the line had offered a 50 percent refund to passengers. One of the QM2´s four propulsion pods was damaged on January 17 as it struck the ship channel during an attempt to depart Fort Lauderdale. The ship, which is on a cruise around South America, left Fort Lauderdale two days late and missed calls in St. Kitts, Barbados and Salvador, Brazil.

In a bid to explore the possibilities of cooperation in the area of cruise shipping, India and the Bahamas have decided to enter into a memorandum of understanding in this regard. The decision was taken at a meeting between Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu and the visiting Foreign Affairs and Public Service Minster of the Bahamas, Frederick Mitchell, here yesterday.

Passengers interested in Northern California departures can now take advantage of an extended season of Mexican Riviera voyages as Princess Cruises has added 12 additional sailings of this popular itinerary to Dawn Princess´ 2006-2007 schedule. These 11-day roundtrip San Francisco cruises call at Mazatlan, Acapulco, Ixtapa/ Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. A full-day and evening call in Acapulco highlight the itinerary, providing an opportunity to experience more of this resort city´s dynamic energy and enjoy the port´s nightlife.

Silversea Cruises rolls out its 2007 worldwide schedule. Highlights Include a record number of 350 destinations, with 29 new ports and the line´s first-ever world cruise In 2007, ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises is offering its most diverse collection of worldwide itineraries with a record number of 350 destinations featured on 137 different itineraries ranging from six to 126 days. Calling in nearly 120 countries, the line´s four award-winning, all-suite ships will visit 29 new ports in an exciting year of firsts, including the company´s long-anticipated first World Cruise to completely circle the globe.