Carnival Cruise Line has had much to celebrate in 2016 with the launch of the 25th ship in its fleet, the Vista. We got an insider’s look at the brand new liner on one of its early voyages from Miami to check out the gizmos and gadgets that keep the ship afloat and the party going.

 The Carnival Vista was built in Italy, and after its completion in March of this year, it’s made its way from Europe to New York and down to the Port of Miami, where it currently sets sail with a variety of destinations. Cruise date options range from four days to eight days with a price range of $349 to $849 on average per person (taxes, fees and port expenses not included). We joined the five-day, sold out cruise embarking from the Port of Miami and traveling to Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and Grand Turk Island. The short trip was just long enough for us to test and enjoy every attraction aboard.

 Although most features on the ship come with no additional charge to guests, some entertainment costs extra. Tickets for the IMAX theater are $12.95 for adults, specialty dining ranges from $5 to $35 per person, and internet plans range from $5 to $25 per day. As usual, alcohol and soda cost money unless you have a beverage package, starting from $49.95 per day for alcohol and $6.50 per day for soda for adults.

Sure, the newest Holland America ship, Koningsdam, charts a new course in entertainment and dining.  

With its revolutionary Music Walk venues that keep passengers singing and dancing well into the night, and restaurants like the Culinary Arts Center, Sel de Mer and Tamarind that serve up foods to suit a wide variety of tastes, travelers will thoroughly enjoy this cruise ship. Your health and fitness regimen doesn't take a back seat on Koningsdam, either. I took a cruise on Koningsdam and found several ways the ship works for travelers who like to stay fit.

As a longtime avoider of mega cruise ships, I had a lot of assumptions going into my first large-ship cruise. It would be crowded, I thought. I would be incapacitated by seasickness. My only dining choices would be sub-par buffets. Realizing I was floating on a raft of preconceptions before even leaving port, I spoke with some fellow cruise-ship avoiders to develop a list of common reasons people don’t cruise. Once onboard, I set out to prove each of these cruise ship myths right or wrong. Here’s what I found.

In an industry first, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has launched U by Uniworld, a new brand aimed at river cruisers ages 18 to 40, which will feature vessels with a more contemporary look and feel, fewer inclusions and longer stays in each destination.

Uniworld will renovate two of its existing vessels, the River Baroness and River Ambassador, which launched in 1997 and 1999, respectively, after which they will be entirely dedicated to the U by Uniworld brand. Sales of U by Uniworld will start in March 2017 and the first sailings will begin in early 2018.

The 116-passenger sister ships, River Baroness and River Ambassador, are being transformed to have a more contemporary look and feel, featuring communal tables for dining, a new culinary program, cocktail mixologists and international DJs onboard.

Are you cruise line dedicated? Do you find yourself taking cruises on only one brand because that’s the brand you started with and are happy with the brand? Does the thought of straying and trying another cruise line scare you? Maybe just a little bit? Don’t worry… you’re not alone. Many people start out with a cruise line and find themselves, shall we say, infatuated with the cruise line. If it was their introduction to cruising, they will probably always have a very strong tie to the cruise line and even to a particular ship. Why would they ever want to try out another cruise line when they are so happy right where they are. Is cruise line dedication and sticking to one brand a good or bad idea?

I’ve mentioned “Velveeta syndrome” before on my blog and I’ll mention it again. If left to his own devices, my husband would eat exactly how he ate in college. Give him a brick of Velveeta, macaroni, and a microwave, and he’d be set for lunch and dinner for at least a week (hopefully more!). Let’s just say that he wasn’t always as adventurous as he is now. I introduced sushi, Indian food, and vegetarianism to him among other things, including cruising. Now he is the one to suggest something different when I sometimes fall into a rut.

But if you are madly in love with your current cruise line, why would you want to try a new one? Perhaps it makes you realize that there are other options besides the first one you chose. You might decide your first cruise line was a great introduction to cruising, but your tastes have advanced to something new. Or the new cruise line might only reaffirm your love for your original cruise line and why you should never stray again. If you never try another cruise line, how will you ever really know that your first is your one and only?

This summer, Adventures by Disney-- the guided tour arm of the Disney Company-- dipped its toe in the growing river cruising market, offering a Danube River cruise itinerary in partnership with AMAWaterways.

River cruising has traditionally catered to a more mature consumer but the new 170 passenger AMAViola sold-out for the limited Adventures by Disney summer sailings.

Now, Adventures by Disney returns to the Danube for two holiday cruises this December. There are plenty of family friendly things on board-– from twinkling lights and dangling baubles, to spiced gingerbread cookies and spiked eggnog, to carols and music.

You'll also get to visit historic and renowned old-world European Christmas markets during the trip.

Travelers with an appetite for global flavors will enjoy the introduction of Oceania Cruises’ new evening Tapas Menus. Offered each evening in the Terrace Café, the new menus comprise a distinct and different array of destination-inspired flavors. Guests can choose from an ever-changing selection of crostini, fruit- and vegetable-based salads, rolls, fresh fish, and seafood tapas, crudités and other small dishes artfully presented in tasting spoons and verrines. With more than five-dozen dishes included in the 14 new menus, bon vivants will enjoy spending a relaxing evening in the Terrace Café, sharing small plates, toasting the day’s memories, engaging in sparkling conversation and sharing the breathtaking vistas all around. The Tapas dishes are available every evening of the cruise, in addition to the Terrace Café’s amazing assortment of starters, soups, salads, main courses, carving station, and desserts. “Cuisine and the overall dining experience are such integral parts of the Oceania Cruises’ culture and the fabric of the destinations we visit. We are always looking to provide our guests with unexpected moments of surprise and delight,” stated Bob Binder, president and chief executive office of Oceania Cruises.

Top destinations for cruise travels are usually the Caribbean and the Mediterranean routes, where you can relax on white beaches or be enchanted by the beauties of the great ancient empires. But there is something magical that awaits you if you choose the right route and decide to sail to the Poles. The spectacle of the Northern Lights is a truly extraordinary experience which happens in one of the most fascinating and uncontaminated places in the world, the North Pole. On the other side of the planet, Antarctica offers off-the-beaten-track sceneries and alternative adventures. Hence, a cruise to the Polar regions offers you new exciting experiences, they’re much less exploited destinations and you’ll have the opportunity to follow the paths of the greatest explorers of the past.

Sometimes, a good cruise is like a visit from an old friend. That’s the case for me this week as I cruise aboard Holland America Line’s gracious 1,916-guest Westerdam to the splendid Mexican Riviera on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

I’ve been cruising to the Mexican Riviera for over a decade now. I’ve also been sailing with Holland America for the past eleven years, having amassed two-star Mariner status with the line long before I’d ever begun writing about cruising and cruise ships as a career. Both line and destination have changed in the intervening years. Fortunately, that change has been for the better.

A decade ago, the Mexican Riviera was overloaded with cruise ships. It wasn’t uncommon to have three – sometimes four – ships calling on Puerto Vallarta on a single day. Prices were low, the weather was hot, and for many cruisers on the West Coast, a voyage to the Mexican Riviera was one of the most cost-effective cruises they could take.

Stretching ahead, as far as the eye could see, was a desolate expanse of volcanic rock, broken only by a plume of white smoke rising from a crater into the cloudy sky.All was quiet, all was calm. Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire who reputedly resides in the crater of the Kilauea volcano, was obviously (and a little disappointingly) at peace that day.The Hawaiian Islands are famously volcanic, their lush terrain a by-product of the mercurial elements that have made this tropical archipelago one of the most geologically volatile places on earth. On the Big Island – where our ship Grand Princess was moored during a 14-night cruise of the islands – such tempestuous outpourings are confined to the 500-square-mile Volcanoes National Park, one of their top attractions.

It’s full steam ahead to Cuba for two of the world’s major cruise companies.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises, both Miami-based, signed agreements Wednesday with the Cuban government just minutes apart to take passenger ships to the island nation.

All three of Norwegian’s lines — Norwegian Cruise Line, premium line Oceania Cruises and luxury line Regent Seven Seas — and two Royal Caribbean brands — Royal Caribbean International and high-end line Azamara Club Cruises — will sail from the U.S. to Cuba in the near future, the companies said.