Recently 10 new cruise ships were introduced.

1) NCL Norwegian Pearl (NCL)
NCL Norwegian Pearl was christened in December 2006, basically making her a new cruise ship for 2007. This ship is the third in the "Jewel class" of ships for NCL, joining her sisters the Norwegian Jewel and Pride of Hawaii in the NCL fleet.

She carries 2,380 passengers and is 93,000 GRT. The pearl is the first ship with a bowling alley, and is designed for NCL's "freestyle cruising", with a dozen restaurants.

In the winter the Pearl alternates 5 and 9-day cruises to the Caribbean and spends her summers in Alaska. The two seasons are linked by Panama Canal repositioning cruises.

2. Carnival Freedom (Carnival Cruise Lines)
The Carnival Freedom was launched in early March 2007 in Venice, Italy. The ship is the fifth "Conquest class" ships for Carnival, and will be joining the Conquest, Valor, Glory, and Liberty in the Carnival fleet. With 110,000 GRT and lodging 2,974 passengers, the Carnival Freedom is too large to pass through the Panama Canal.

The Freedom sails the Mediterranean in the spring, summer and in fall, before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean for the winter.

3. Royal Princess (Princess Cruises)
First launched in 2001 by Renaissance Cruises, the 710-passenger Royal Princess was the R8.

In April 2007, the new Royal Princess joins two other "R-class" ships sailing for Princess - the Tahitian Princess and the Pacific Princess. She sails new Mediterranean itineraries.