Crystal Cruises makes another move in its sea of changes

After a dozen years carry elite passengers in style around the Mediterranean, Western Europe and the Black Sea, Crystal Cruises is moving Crystal Serenity to North America. The repositioning will take place in 2017 following her “Southern Celebración” World Cruise round-trip from Miami. From there she will sail along the east and west coasts, through Alaska, New England and Eastern Canada, as well as the eastern seaboard into the Caribbean.

Cruising with all-inclusive Regent Seven Seas Cruises is a very comfortable, social experience. You get the luxury of space to hang out sans crowds, lots of perks and fancy accouterments, but it's all on a pleasingly subtle scale — as we learned on a recent cruise in the Mediterranean on the all-suite, all-veranda 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner.

Guests sailing on Windstar Cruises' Costa Rica & Panama Canal itineraries have a new way to celebrate: The Canal Celebration, a deck side festival, invites guests to experience the sights and sounds of the Panama Canal while enjoying amenities and activities that highlight the Panamanian culture.

New for 2015 and 2016, Windstar guests can enjoy a nighttime passage through the Panama Canal, during which lights illuminate the inner workings of the waterway, during the Canal Celebration. As the ship approaches the first locks in the early evening, a speaker from the Panama Port Authority comes on board to introduce guests to the complex lock system.

As the yacht navigates the passage, guests can drink local beverages, beers, and cocktails from a mobile drink cart while listening to local festive music from various regions around the country.

In the evening, guests can dine on a custom-made Panamanian menu, curated by Windstar’s Executive Chef Michael Sabourin. Upon completion of the passage, guests find in their stateroom a certification of The Order of the Ditch, a Navy tradition that recognizes “sailors” who have passed through the Panama Canal.

Add Def Leppard to the list of rock bands hitting the high seas.

The English group will headline a four-night music cruise that kicks off in Miami on Jan. 21, 2016. The sailing will take place on MSC Cruises' 3,502-passenger MSC Divina.

Hysteria on the High Seas, as the voyage is called, is being billed as a "fantasy camp" for Def Leppard fans and will feature around-the-clock entertainment by Def Leppard as well as more than a dozen other performers including Tom Keifer; Eric Martin (Mr. Big); Ritchie Kotzen; and Kip Winger.

It’s not uncommon to book a family cruise one year or more in advance and given the incredible experiences children can have, like learning to juggle, exploring medieval history and creating ocean murals, you’d be wise to book well in advance in order to snap up the best staterooms.

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Royal Caribbean’s Adventure Ocean program for kids has long been a favorite, enabling children ages three to 11 to participate in scavenger hunts, dig for fossils and conduct science experiments on-board the ship.

Carnival’s new Carnival Freedom provides children with various opportunities for on-board learning, including Camp Ocean, a sea-themed camp for kids ages two to 11.

Not only does Norwegian Cruise Line offer Splash Academy (for kids) and Entourage (for teens), but the at-sea Cirque du Jour circus school couldn’t be more popular.

Disney Cruise Line is offering cruises along the coast of Norway on the Disney Magic ... giving families the opportunity to explore fjords, cobblestone streets, local flavors and medieval history.

Princess Cruises' on-board Junior Ranger program educates children about the local environment and wildlife as the ship makes its way through Alaska’s Inner Passage. On cruises to most

Paul Gaugin Cruises offers an Ambassadors of the Environment youth program for kids ages nine to 17, which offers children first-hand opportunities to explore coral reefs, volcanic islands and marine life.

There’s nothing quite like a cruise to help you unwind. The scented ocean breeze, calming open water and the chance to see several destinations in one holiday, they all have a unique appeal and a cruise can make it a reality. If you have never cruised before then some aspects can seem a little daunting, but here are five things to help you on your way and to keep in mind before you embark on your first holiday at sea.

Looks like Crystal Cruises is serious about being a player in the river cruise market.

The luxury line on Monday said it would have five river vessels in Europe by 2017 -- three more than originally announced just three months ago.

The line also said it would begin river cruise operations in Europe in 2016 -- a year ahead of schedule.

Citing strong interest from consumers and travel agents since the July announcement that it would get into river cruising, Crystal said it has ordered four newly built river ships instead of two for delivery in 2017 from the German shipyard Lloyd Werft.

I'll be sailing Nov. 17-27 on Viking's first ocean ship, Viking Star, to an all-star lineup of ports: Istanbul, Athens, Santorini, Dubrovnik and Pula, Croatia, Kotor, Montenegro, and Venice. Should be a blast, and I'll be posting updates on Cruiseable.

Meantime, it's been a busy summer and fall for the cruise correspondents and travel writers on the Cruiseable team. Take a look:

• Jessica Hartmann is on Crystal Serenity in the Mediterranean right now, calling on Nice, Monte Carlo, the South of France and Italian Riviera. Not bad. 
• Patti Pietschmann is on an Amazon cruise aboard Seabourn Quest right now and has been posting to our ILoveCruiseShips Facebook page. 
• Gary Bembridge will be writing about his recent arctic cruise aboard Silver Explorer and is on a P&O cruise right now. 
• Curator/team member Walter Christen is heading next week to Cozumel and Belize aboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas.
• New team member Gemma Price has sailed on Windstar's Star Breeze, the Paul Gauguin, Silver Spirit (to Italy, Croatia and the neighborhood), an Aqua Expeditions Peruvian Amazon cruise, Belmond's Road to Mandalay, a National Geographic Endeavour sailing to the Galapagos and  Emeraude/Paradise Cruises/Halong Bay Ginger cruises to Halong Bay, Vietnam.
• Don Bucolo just wrote about his cruise on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. And Don will be cruising away in 2016, starting with Norwegian Escape in January and Anthem of the Seas in April. 
• Danielle Fear, Cruise Miss,  has been posting away on our ILoveCruiseShips Facebook page after each of her recent cruises on Crystal, MSC Cruises and a few British lines. 
• Cruise ambassador Robin Lampert is just back from a Princess Cruises cruise to Halifax & St. John aboard Regal Princess.
• And writer Roberta Sandler will be aboard Norwegian Escape for Cruiseable writing about one of the new ship's first sailings on Nov. 9.

If you'll be sailing soon, drop us a line, maybe we can meet up!

A new line of science-themed cruises lets passengers stargaze from the open ocean, a unique location far away from city lights.

Princes Cruises and Discovery Channel have created a line of science-themed cruises called "Discovery at Sea." The excursions feature activities like diving with sharks, spending time with exotic wildlife, looking at auroras and stargazing.

Viewing the night sky from a location far away from city lights can be a magical experience, but it usually requires traveling to very remote locations (which, for some people, is part of the fun). But stargazing on a cruise ship is unique, because the vessel can travel to locations completely devoid of light pollution, and yet viewers are never more than a few steps away from the ship's accommodations

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is less than two weeks away from her arrival in the New York City area and many  fans are excited to check out what this brand new ship offers.

Royal Caribbean has packed Anthem of the Seas with innovations, activities and technology that all contribute to give guests that "WOW" factor the company is well known for.

There is a lot of exciting options onboard and in anticipation of Anthem of the Seas' arrival, we are counting down the top five coolest features onboard.