Here's a South America cruise travel log of our voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus, Brazil on the luxury ship the Seven Seas Mariner. We crossed the Caribbean, porting at St. Barts, Dominica, and Barbados before making our first call in South America at infamous Devil's Island. The Seven Seas Mariner then turned west, and we cruised up the exotic Amazon River for 900 miles to Manaus. It was an exciting voyage, and the mighty Amazon River is as impressive as I dreamed it would be.

Seven Seas Mariner on the Amazon at Parintins, Brazil (c) Linda Garrison

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River cruise line AmaWaterways has added two new ships to its European fleet this spring--the MS AmaVerde, a sister ship to the MS AmaBella, will sail the Danube, Main, and Rhine Rivers in Europe; and the MS AmaKatarina will sail a Russian Waterways voyage on the Volga-Baltic Waterway between St. Petersburg and Moscow.

This fall, AmaWaterways will add a third new ship, the 124-passenger MS AmaLotus, on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. The ship will join the MS La Marguerite in offering the line's 7-night Mekong cruises from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

• More on the AmaVerde
• More on the AmaKatarina

For more information about AmaWaterways, go to www.AmaWaterways.com or call 800-626-0126.

MS AmaVerde Stateroom Courtesy of AmaWaterways

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The Emerald Princess is a beautiful mega-cruise ship, launched in April 2007.

The 113,561-ton ship carries 3,070 passengers and 1,225 crew. She looks much like her sister ship the Ruby Princess, which was launched in 2008.

I cruised on the Emerald Princess and loved the ship and its Mediterranean itinerary. This ten-page article describes some of the common areas of the Emerald Princess--the lounges, spa, fitness center, pool areas, and piazza.
Emerald Princess Cruise Ship - Tour of the Common Areas on the Emerald Princess

Emerald Princess Photo (c) Linda Garrison

72 photos of the common areas of the Emerald Princess

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The Celebrity Eclipse was launched just last April, and she is Celebrity's youngest ship until July 2011 when the Celebrity Silhouette makes her debut. I did a two-night preview cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse soon after she reached her winter home base of Miami, and am happy to say that she is as beautiful and entertaining as her other sister ships, the Celebrity Solstice and Equinox.

Although the new ship is almost identical to her sister ships, she does have a few small differences. Some of the carpet, wall covering, and furniture colors are different, as is the magnificent artwork and the the look of the Sky Lounge and Cellar Masters. The grand staircase in the main lobby is curved rather than straight, but the ship still has a tree in the elevator lobby. One nice change is that the AquaSpa and fitness center have different entrances. The most obvious differences are two additions -- (1) the iLounge and (2) an innovative new restaurant, Qsine, in the space occupied by the Asian restaurant, Silk Harvest, on the two earlier Solstice-class ships.

Let's take a tour of the Celebrity Eclipse.

Celebrity Eclipse Photo Galleries

• Celebrity Eclipse Outdoor Decks and Exteriors
• Celebrity Eclipse Interiors
• Celebrity Eclipse Dining Venues
• Celebrity Eclipse Cabins
• Celebrity Eclipse Lounges and Bars

Celebrity Eclipse Library (c) Linda Garrison

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