It may seem like the winter holidays are a long way off, but this is actually the perfect time to think ahead and start making your travel plans for that time of year.

One great option: any of the tours offered by American Queen Steamboat Company, which recently unveiled a selection of cruise specials for the 2016 Holidays/Christmas season.

The holidays tend to be a magical time of year anyway, but this is a great way to make them extra special. This is a unique and exciting way to experience the best of the Antebellum South while relaxing aboard the luxury and old-fashioned splendor of the American Queen cruise ship. You will feel like you are traveling as elite adventurers did in years gone by.

Swiss-based MSC Cruises — the largest privately owned cruise line and brand market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa — just announced details about its next-generation ship, MSC Meraviglia, which will debut in the Mediterranean on June 4, 2017.

The super ship offer plenty of innovations such as a 315 foot long indoor promenade with LED dome. Here are some other highlights:

It’s not your grandpa’s riverboat, no siree. Luxury travel company Crystal Cruises has revealed the latest wow factors of the first of seven super-elegant riverboats, the highly innovative Crystal Mozart.

The new ships, set to launch in spring and summer of 2017, is expected to set a new standard for luxury river cruising experiences. Crystal River Cruises' new river yachts will showcase stylish and elegant design, creative itineraries and experiences ashore, and unmatched genuine service, the cruise line says. 

Expanding on its Galapagos Islands product, Celebrity Cruises is launching new itineraries and expedition ships, upping the fleet to three. Joining the Celebrity Xpedition are the Celebrity Xploration and Celebrity Xperience in March 2017. The trio of ships will provide six itineraries to 15 islands and over 30 total ports.

In preparation, the eight-stateroom Celebrity Xploration catamaran and 24-cabin Celebrity Xperience yacht will each receive multi-million dollar refurbishments to bring them up to Celebrity Cruises standards. The Xploration features window or veranda accommodations, and both come outfitted with luxurious bedding, LCD televisions and high-speed internet connections. Fine dining will also be crafted by the line’s Michelin-starred chef, delivered by attentive service.

A couple of years ago, when you heard people say they were going on a cruise you would normally picture retirees in straw hats, sandals and brightly colored and flowered shirts.

Nowadays cruise travel passengers include the young, middle aged and, of course the retirees.

But what has changed? Well for beginners, cruise ship companies have made it very attractive for passengers, and the younger, hipper crowds are starting to realize that maybe it makes sense to go on a cruise, see several different countries in one trip and eat, drink and party to their heart's content.In addition to this, cruise companies have done extensive market research and turned out many new destinations, new activities, both on-ship and onshore, as well as created themed cruises, increased the length of cruise trips and are putting water slides, rock climbing and even bars operated with robotic tenders on new ships, all in an effort to facilitate the changing patterns of the cruise ships travel market.

Better start saving that vacation time: Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced a new 137-night Navigate the World cruise for 2018 on the luxe 490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator. 

Beginning and ending in Los Angeles, the 38,528-nautical-mile, five-continent voyage departs on January 18, 2018, and is focused on the southern hemisphere, with stops in 28 countries and 64 ports of call.

After a gala at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, the ship will sail for Hawaii, French Polynesia, American Samoa, and Fiji; hit several ports in Australia and New Zealand; and then head to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Next up are several stops in South Africa, followed by Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil in South America, and Aruba and Curacao in the Caribbean. Finally, the ship will make its way through the Panama Canal and up the Central American coast to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala before docking in L.A on May 25, 2018.

A visit to Seattle often means taking some time to enjoy Elliott Bay, Puget Sound, and the surrounding islands or peninsulas during a day trip. One of the easiest ways to do this is to hop onto one of the numerous ferries that operate in the region. You can walk onto any of them as a passenger, or take your vehicle for an interesting day trip, and spend less than $10 per person, it really is superb value for money. However, if you want to have more time to explore the local waterways of Seattle and take a pretty awesome vacation at the same time, then a cruise is definitely an option for you to consider.

There are quite a few tempting options out there when it comes to Seattle cruise departures, but some stand out more than others. These are our picks on the 5 best cruises to take from Seattle…

American Cruise Lines

Norwegian Cruise Line

Victoria Clipper

Princess Cruises

Holland America Line

Half Moon Cay is a slice of heaven just floating in the Caribbean. Half Moon Cay is one of the 700 islands that make up the archipelago of the Bahamas. Less than 100 miles from Nassau lies the private island Half Moon Cay, a tropical paradise for those cruising with Holland America Line. Our first taste of the Bahamas was with on our Holland America Line Eastern Caribbean cruise, which included a day at Half Moon Cay.

Holland America purchased the island in 1996 for a steal for only $6 million, and has since invested $15 million to create the private island paradise for passengers on the line’s Caribbean and Panama Canal sailings. Carnival ships sometimes visit as well, as Holland America is part of the Carnival Corp. The island wasn’t always called Half Moon Cay, for most of its existence the island was known as Little San Salvador Island.

We’ve all been there.

The trip is all set, but things aren’t fitting together quite as smoothly as one might like. Between this, that and the other thing with connecting flights, drive time to and from the airport and all sorts of life’s little hurdles, you’re left with hours — sometimes a full day — between getting to Florida and the departure time for that dream cruise. 

Don’t stress out or hole up in a boring hotel room. Instead, enjoy the best of what Cape Canaveral and the surrounding area has to offer. This is vacation! You’re supposed to have fun! Start now and do it in style.

After more than 18 months of hype and teaser photos and an inaugural positioning cruise, the Carnival Vista began a summer of European cruising with a 10-day tour beginning in Barcelona and ending in Spain.

One of the signature strengths of Carnival Cruise Line is its entertainment programs and Camp Oceans kids day camps, the best among family-oriented cruise lines in my humble opinion. The former specifically shines during sea days when boredom is near impossible with activities launching at least every half hour.

So my son and I wondered what would fill our time during the nine port days, an oddity for those used to the Caribbean sailings of the cruise line. Yes, we’d explore shore excursions in some and wander on our own in other ports. But the activities schedule is streamlined by about 80 percent during port days, so what would fill our time?

There's no better way to put your new marriage to the test than by hitting the high seas. And if you think a honeymoon cruise is only for the Hawaiian-shirt-and-crocs-clad crowd, you'd be surprised — there are a number of luxury lines with over-the-top staterooms, Michelin-star-worthy cuisine, world-class spas, and more. Not to mention a cruise itinerary can take you to the hottest cities in the Mediterranean, the sexiest deserted beaches in the Indian Ocean, or the farthest-reaching corners of Antarctica. Here, the top 10 Cruise Lines from our 2016 Honeymoon Awards.

Held in conjunction with the 62nd Sydney Film Festival, the Travelling Film Festival will see passengers enjoy a selection of New Zealand produced films while crossing the Tasman Sea during a 12-night roundtrip from Sydney to New Zealand.

If you're a film buff, this is something you'll want to look into. 

More about Princess Cruises:

https://cruiseable.com/cruise-line/princess-cruises