In 2008, 906,000 Germans took a cruise vacation. That’s nearly a million cruisers. And even with the economic downturn, analysts are predicted an 11% upsurge in 2009. Accommodating this burgeoning new market is the TUI Cruise Fleet, which just partnered with Royal Caribbean to launch its first ship. It’s called Mein Schiff which, even if your German is rusty, you should still be able to deciper (”My Ship”). By the way, the ship got its name in a naming contest.

After the inaugural cruise, Mein Schiff will sail the Baltic in the summer of 2009 and then reposition to the Caribbean for the winter, with a home port in the Dominican Republic.

In 2010-2011, Mein Schiff will offer Nordic Seas itiniaries (including Iceland) as well as Eastern and Western Mediterranean including the Rock of Gibralter, Canary Islands, and Morocco.

Mein Schiff accommodates 1,914 passengers and was formerly the Celebrity Galaxy of the Celebrity Cruise line. The ship got a complete makeover and is completely tailored to meet the tastes and expectations of a mainly German clientele.

What’s one of the hottest new cruise markets on earth? Brazil. In 2001, Brazil had about 70,000 cruisers, but in 2008, they logged 500,000–a spectacular growth rate that has caused the cruise industry to sit up and take notice.

“Today, Brazil is one of the largest cruise markets in the world, with more than 15 dedicated ships from leading global cruise brands based in the region for the peak winter months,” stated Michael Bayley of Royal Caribbean. RC is particularly tuned into the Brazilian growth in that Ricardo Amaral, the managing director for RC in Brazil, has just been named president of Abremar. Abremar is the Brazilian associatio of cruise lines.

So what does that mean for the average global cruise passenger? Brazil is working on developing more cruise ports so it may show up more as a destination. In addition, Brazilian cruise lines are going to take on increasing prominence.  Abremar currently represents 15 companies, including Costa Cruises, RC, and a variety of travel agencies.

RC has Brazilian ports on the docket for this season (2009-2010) for Vision of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is kicking off the 2010-11 winter and spring season. This involves seven ships and a total of over 30 different itineraries and 28 ports. Here’s the run-down, ship by ship.

Enchantment of the Seas ports at Baltimore and will alternate three itineraries: 9 nights to the Bahamas, 12 nights to the Southern Caribbean and seasonal voyages to Panama.

Grandeur of the Seas has a new Western Caribbean itinerary including Colombia, Montego Bay (pictured), Grand Cayman, and Hondorus.

Jewel of the Seas is going to relocate to Port Everglades, Florida as its new homeport (down from Boston) and will then offer a 10-night and 11-night “Ultimate Caribbean & Panama” voyages.

Adventure of the Seas has been in Europe but is returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and offers two 7-night Southern Caribbean voyages. If you’re interested in Christmas cruises, consider this ship which is touring Grenada and Tortola on December 19 and St. Kitts on December 26 sailings.

Serenade of the Sea also ports in San Juan and it continues its regular 7-day Southern Caribbean itineraries.  The way these schedules are set up, you can now set sail on RC out of Puerto Rico on either Saturday or Sunday.

We’re very happy here in Texas to welcome Voyager of the Seas back to Galveston in November 2010 and throughout 2011. It’s offering two 7-night Western Caribbean itineraries. In 2011, the Voyager is going to call on Falmouth in Jamaica instead of Montego Bay on trips that include Jamaica.

Explorer of the Seas is going to continue offering 5 to 14 night sailings from Cape Liberty. In case you’ve never heard of Cape Liberty (and that includes me), it’s somewhere in the New York City area. Look for Southern Caribbean tours of 12 or 14 nights, including some special 2010-2011 holiday tours.

For more info on these tours or to book your tours now (early bookers can sometimes nab great deals) .. visit the RC website.

Dubailand and RC forge a deal to promote tourism to Dubai and offer cruise passengers on RC an unprecedented opportunity to tour Dubai.

Dubailand is the world’s largest tourism, leisure, and entetainment destination, consisting of an autodrome, an outlet mall (in a place called “Outlet City”), The Global Village, Al Sahra Desert Resort and Sports City (which includes a premier golf course, golf school, and cricket stadium). Although still in phase 1, Dubailand already gets about 8 million visits a year. Plans are to expand Dubailand in the future to include even more leisure, sports, and entertainment options.

From January to April 2010, RC will introduce seven-night sailings on the Brilliance of the Seas, departing from Dubai. Cruise short excursions will showcase Dubailand attractions. Guests will also have the opportunity to extend their cruise with packages to stay in Dubai.

This is RC’s launch of “our first Arabian dedicated season,” according to Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of RC.  In case you don’t know much about Dubai, the city is home to the world’s tallest building (see night-time shot below) in a striking modern style, but remains committed (and is a showplace) of more traditional Middle Eastern architecture as well.

Dubai is in the midst of a building boom. In fact, it’s been estimated that one quarter of the world’s cranes can be found in this one city. But while there is a frenzy of high-rise construction and traffic, the city offers marinas and peaceful retreats. According to Mohammed Al Habbai, senior VP of Dubailand, the deal with RC will offer cruise passengers opportunity to get to know Dubai.  “As one of the premier global destinations, Dubailand is privileged to enter into this partnership with one of the globe’s leading cruise line operators,” Mr. Al Habbai commented.

Casinos on cruise ships are nothing new. Royal Caribbean cruise passengers on tours of four days or more in 2009 can participate in the Royal Poker Tour. The poker kitty includes cash prizes and a free cruise. The pool is expected to be around $100,000.

If slot machines are more your speed, passengers in 2009 can join in the Club Royale Slot Tournaments for cash awards from $6,000 to $15,000. Slot tournaments will be on selected voyages starting with the May 30, 2009 Grandeur of the Seas five-day journey to the Bahamas (sailing from Norfolk, Virginia).

Other voyages can be found on the website and include trips to the Bahamas, Canada and New England, and several Caribbean trips. The top 100 players have the option of joining the invitational 2009 Master Tournaments on August 15, 2998 (Liberty of the Seas, out of Miami, Eastern Caribbean).

If blackjack is your game, the blackjack masters tournmanets are May 9 and October 24 aboard the Liberty of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean, out of Miami).

Qualified players can get onboard comps, will receive RC’s Casino Royale newsletter with updates on the tournaments, and may get some special offers for casino-type tours. More specifics are at the company website (royalcaribbean.com), just search out Club Royale. 

Royal Caribbean is debuting a brand-new ship, named Allure of the Seas, with its maiden voyage December 12, 2010. It’s the sister of Oasis of the Seas, and they hold a couple of records, the most notable of which is size. These will be the biggest cruise ships on the waters.

Allure will be based at Port Everglades, which is near Fort Lauderdale, which for people not to up on Florida geography, is near Miami. It’s at the southern tip of the Floridian peninsula, but on the Atlantic side. The vessels will do the classic 7-day East or West Caribbean voyage. If you go east, you can expect to call on St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Nassau and the Bahamas. If you prefer est, you’ll visit Jamaica, Cozumel, and Labadee, which is a privately owned beach/theme park area in the north of Haiti. The image here is Montego Bay, Jamaica, one of the world’s best-known and best-loved beaches.

As for size, these ships are expected to accommodate 5,400 guests. There are many large cruise ships that accommodate barely half that number.

Allure and Oasis aregoing to be done according to RC’s new “neighborhoods” theme which means that guests can visit seven different areas of the ship with different eateries, entertainment options, and decor.

The ships also feature something called “Central Park,” which is a football-size garden in the center of the ship that (get this) opens up to the sky. This is a “park-within-a-ship.” A moving bar called the “Rising Tide” will slowly elevate into the park.

Royal Caribbean has just announced its 2010-11 season for Caribbean destinations of its five Caribbean-based ships. The voyages run from 5 to 9 days and include 24 itineraries, 25 ports of call, 243 sailings. Vessels depart from Port Canaveral and Miami on Florida’s Atlantic coast or Puerto Rico.

The Caribbean will be toured by Serenade of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, and Allure of the Seas. Freedom and Liberty (doing an East/West Caribbean voyage) have an ice rink, a boxing ring, a FlowRider surf simulator, and oftern high-rollers a chance to book the four-bathroom super-sized stateroom known as the Presidential Family Suite.  Allure and Oasis were built on RC’s new “neighborhood concept” which has seven themed zones in the ship for different eating and entertainment options. They have an amphitheater entertainment venus (for synchronized swimming productions and high-dive exhibitions) and a zip-line on the ship.

Seranade of the Seas is sailing out of Puerto Rico and offers two different 7-day itinaries (no port of call repeated) so cruisers can combine both into a 14-day cruise or just do one leg or the other.

Ports of call include Curacao, Aruba, Dominica, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maarten, and St. Croix. Shore excursions run the gamut of snorkeling, zip-lining, touring Mayan ruins, all-terrain vehicle jungle tours, and lots of beaches. RC owns a beach area in northern Haiti called Labadee which offers visitors not only a private beach experience but also access to a new roller coaster in th epark area.