THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF 'QUANTUM'

It isn't hard to find the "Wow" in Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas. But behind all that "wow" are nuts and bolts -- lots and lots of them. Let's take a peek behind the ship-building scenes:

'BRITTANIA' WILL REFLECT THE VERY BEST

Contributed by Brian Wilson
UK Correspondent - Cruising Squared

Brittania (CAD Drawing)

The British Cruise Market has seen substantial growth in recent years and P&O have just laid the keel of their new liner – Britannia that will represent the best of the best for P&O Cruises.

Britannia will reflect the very best features from P&O’s current fleet, combining design, quality and innovation to create P&O’s best ship to date and will become the largest ship ever built exclusively for the British cruise market. It is certain to provoke excitement with a fantastic range of signature P&O Cruises features.

Whether you’re a “Brit” or not, Britannia will be one of the “must go to” ships in the future. Her base will be Southampton in the summer and the Caribbean in winter. 

Britannia’s maiden voyage will be in March 2015. In her first year, she will visit 57 ports in 31 countries, travelling some 90,000 miles

Here are some basic facts – the “stats” and “things to do”

'ESCAPE' HULL ART UNVEILED

Norwegian Escape hull art (Norwegian)

News continues to flow from the Cruise Shipping Show in Miami this week. Here's the latest release from Norwegian:

"Norwegian Cruise Line announced [Wednesday] that Guy Harvey, widely recognized as the world’s finest marine wildlife artist and champion of ocean conservation, has been named to design the signature hull artwork of the line’s largest ship to date, Norwegian Escape, scheduled to debut in October 2015. At an event this morning at Cruise Shipping Miami, the artist revealed his custom design for Norwegian Escape’s hull, which features an underwater scene of marine wildlife. Norwegian’s newest ship is Harvey’s largest canvas to date, at 1065 feet in length, with his artwork spanning from the hull to the aft featuring two undersea scenes that blend seamlessly.

"Though recognized most recently for his floor-to-ceiling murals at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport and at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, Harvey is best known for his dynamic gamefish T-shirt designs. His original paintings have sold for tens of thousands of dollars and today, reproductions of his art, often seen on magazine and catalog covers, are offered as limited edition prints and can be found on a wide variety of clothing and gift items. Harvey maintains his art studio in Grand Cayman, where he lives with his wife and two children.

• "Also at Cruise Shipping Miami, Norwegian announced that Norwegian Escape will homeport year-round in Miami and sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary starting November 14, 2015; visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas. At approximately 163,000 gross tons and 4,200 passenger berths, Norwegian Escape will join the fleet in October 2015."

STAYING SAFE AT SEA

There is one part of every cruise that no one really looks forward to -- the muster drill. While we may not enjoy it, we still know it's an important part of staying safe at sea. But when it comes to safety, that's only a small slice of the safety measures the cruise lines enact. That's the topic of this week's video from Royal Caribbean:

10 HOTELS WITH STUNNING VIEWS

Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (TripAdvisor)

TripAdvisor's latest is "10 hotels with stunning views." They are located in places from Finland to Chile to Kuala Lumpur. Even if you can't hop a jet and try one for yourself, it doesn't hurt to daydream a little, right? Happy weekend, all! -- Gerry

PROOF THAT CRUISE SHIPS ARE BIG

Yes, we know cruise ships are big, but there's nothing like a photo to really put their size in perspective. Here's just that, courtesy of Cunard. Aside to the captain -- watch that first step! -- Gerry

"On Sunday (March 2), Cunard captured dramatic photographs of Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2, standing beneath the flagship’s soaring hull a mile off the coast of Bali during the ship's World Cruise in her 10th anniversary year. The amazing images by James Morgan show Captain Oprey surveying the scene from the top of Queen Mary 2's bulbous bow, an underwater projection that minimizes the creation of bow waves around the waterline when the ship is under way. Two safety craft were standing by during the photo shoot, but Captain Oprey remained sure-footed throughout."

CARNIVAL LEGEND BACK WITH NEW FEATURES

Credit: Carnival

Here's news from Carnival about the innovations and changes on Carnival Legend, which sails from Tampa:

"Carnival Legend recently returned to service from Tampa with a variety of new and exciting innovations, including a WaterWorks aqua park featuring the exhilarating Green Thunder water attraction, as well as a Twister slide, a children’s spray park and more.

"Also new is the tropics-inspired RedFrog Pub, a full-service sushi restaurant called Bonsai Sushi, the Cherry on Top confections and novelty shop, and two new entertainment options, Playlist Productions and Hasbro, The Game Show, all of which were added during a multi-million-dollar makeover in Freeport, The Bahamas.

"New features on Carnival Legend include:

STAYING FIT AT SEA

A lot of cruisers take full advantage of the fitness centers aboard cruise ships, like the one in the video below from Royal Caribbean. Full disclosure here -- we aren't among them. But because we get our exercise walking from the deck chairs to the bar, there's more machines available for you! Take a look:

A NEW KIND OF CRUISE SHIP FROM BRANSON?

Here's an intriguing little tidbit from the news this morning: Sir Richard Branson, the British business mogul who has launched scores of "Virgin branded" businesses, from music and mobile to airlines and consumer space travel, has his eye on entering the cruise industry, according to this report from Middle East news agency AMEinfo. They quote Branson: “We are looking at a very different kind of cruise company. We’re trying to create the kind of cruise ship that would be attractive to the kind of people who would never consider a cruise at the moment." Sir Richard, tell us more ... 

'QUANTUM' TO FEATURE 'MAMMA MIA'

The Great White Way is becoming the Great Wavy Way as more Broadway shows find their way to cruise ships. Royal Caribbean, a leader in that regard, continues that trend, bringing "Mamma Mia" to its newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, launching later this year. Who can resist those infectious Abba songs? Not us! Watch this week's video and you'll be humming along in no time.

THE TOP 10 ISLANDS IN THE WORLD

Credit: TripAdvisor

What's the number one island in the world? According to the millions of reviewers on TripAdvisor, that honor goes to Ambergris Caye, in the Belize Cayes. The popular travel website is out with its 2014 Travelers Choice picks for the top island destinations. We're pleased to see Florida landed number four with Marco Island. The entire list is great for daydreaming on a start-the-week Monday. -- Gerry

ENTER CELEBRITY'S WORLD TOUR CONTEST

Celebrity has a fun contest going to win three cruise vacations. It's to help kick off their World Tour 2015/2016 --"hitting every continent on the planet—and this time around, we’ll be visiting 261 ports of call in 72 countries." You can register now for a chance to win a 7-night cruise for two to Europe, a 7-night cruise for two to Alaska, Bermuda or the Caribbean (winner's choice), or the grand prize—a 14-night cruise for two to Asia. When you register, you can spin a globe and get destination details, or find out if you are an instant winner. To enter, go here. Good luck! -- Gerry