Indian Ocean to Caribbean ...

LUXURY AMID GERMAN ATMOSPHERE: Peter Deilmann Cruises' five-star MS Deutschland begins 2006 cruising to Indian Ocean islands and southern Africa, ending the year in the Caribbean. Port calls for the 513-passenger luxury liner are within the Arabian Peninsula, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Western Europe, Norwegian Fjords, British Isles, Baltic and North Seas, South Atlantic and Caribbean. A quartet of Canary Islands (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria) and three ports in Morocco (Tangier, Casablanca and Agadir) highlight the 10-night sailing from Palma de Mallorca to Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Nov. 10-20. A seven-night South Atlantic crossing from Tenerife to Barbados brings the nine-deck Deutschland with Art Deco décor and three restaurants to the Caribbean for roundtrips from Bridgetown to Martinique, Antigua, Tortola, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Venezuela and Grenada, Nov. 28-Dec. 12. Fares start at $3,090 per person. For details, call (800) 348-8287. Check out Metroguide.com’s cruise port guide at http://www.portofcallguide.com/

AIDAblu Set For Fleet Transfer

IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Look for AIDA Cruises AIDAblu cruise ship to shift on over to the Ocean Village brand in spring 2007. Transfer by corporate parent Carnival Corporation & plc follows recent orders for three new 68,500-ton cruise ships for the German brand to be delivered in spring '07, '08, and '09. So Princess Cruises Regal Princess, originally set for transfer to Ocean Village, now will remain within the Princess fleet. Because the AIDAblu and Ocean Village’s current vessel are sister ships, each designed for informal, contemporary cruise experiences, minimal fuss will be required for AIDAblu's conversion to reflect Ocean Village’s product. Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia. Together, these brands operate 79 ships with more than 137,000 lower berths with 12 new ships set for delivery between next January and April '09. Check out Metroguide.com’s cruise port guide at http://www.portofcallguide.com/