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.

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.

Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) has been talking a lot about its newest ship, the Epic. Don’t look for the ship to set sail until about a year from now (May 2010), but the company is already taking reservations. And in case you want to reserve the Owner’s Suite–the poshest accommodations onboard–here’s a shot. It’s not the whole suite, it’s just the part with the best view.

Actually, all of the NCL staterooms have a “New Wave” design with curved walls. And if you’re one of those luxury lovers, you can book one of the 60 suites and villas on two private decks (a “ship within a ship”).

The Epic is going to be a very large ship–it is designed to accommodate 4,200 passengers. It’s got some cool new amenities, including an ice bar. Ice bars have been popular for a while, particularly in Scaninavia. They’re facilities made entirely of ice. Here’s a look at the Epic’s ice bar. It’s one of 18 bars on board.

By the way, the Epic is set to sail year-round in the Eastern and Western Caribbean, home port in Miami.

Used to be that Celebrity Cruise Lines sailed in Europe in the summer and the Caribbean in the winter. Starting in the 2010-11 season (now available for sale), Celebrity has extended its Caribbean season to be year-round.

This matches what some other cruise lines are doing. The Caribbean remains one of the most popular routes.

Starting in May 2010 (next year), Celebrity Century is going to stay in the Caribbean all year round. Century recently got a $55 million makeover in the form of a major refurbishment. It’s a relatively small ship (1814 passengers) with state-of-the-art upgrades.

The Caribbean offerings are mainly four-day or five-day tours that port at places like the Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, the Bahams, Roatan (Hondurus) and Jamaica.

The Christmas 2010 cruise on the Century will be a first for Celebrity as it calls on Falmouth, Jamaica (new for them). The New Year 2010-11 cruise on the Century will be a one-time only three-port line-up of Key West, CocoCay, and Nassau.

Among the upgrades: an ice bar. This is the first ice bar on a cruise ship and should make a nice chilly contrast to the hot Caribbean sun.

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.