Let's sea — Cruise industry adds ships, ports and itineraries in 2007

Cruising in 2007 will likely be more about steady expansion — more ships, more ports, more passengers, more excursions — than about flashy benchmarks. With the exception of a few high-profile ship debuts, it should be a quiet year — provided, of course, that Celebrity can keep its motors running, Royal Caribbean can keep passengers from falling off, Norwegian can keep staff from jumping off, Princess can keep its ships upright and Carnival can keep the norovirus bug at bay.

Here's what cruisers can expect in the new year:

• Rising tide: Having sailed the Caribbean into almost total submission, the big cruise lines have discovered in recent years there's a whole other world out there with untapped pockets of disposable income. Even more ships are tying up in Europe this year: Several lines, including Carnival, Costa Cruise Line and Princess, are launching their newest ships in the Mediterranean and the Aegean for a season or two — once the fate of threadbare ships of a certain age. (Carnival credited some of its record 2006 on its Euro fleet expansion.)

Even Disney Cruise Line is venturing beyond North America this summer, offering 10- and 11-day voyages out of Barcelona on Magic. The parent company, no doubt, is hoping to redeem itself for Euro Disney.

Costa and Royal Caribbean will base ships (Costa Marina and Rhapsody of the Seas, respectively) in eastern Asia for itineraries from Singapore to Shanghai, although Royal Caribbean says the move is as much to cultivate interest among foreign passengers as it is to bring North Americans abroad. Most of Rhapsody's trips, starting in December, will be less than a week, including a five-night voyage with stops in China, South Korea and Japan. Not all voyages will be marketed in the United States.

More ships also are porting this year in Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney; Goa and Mumbai, India; and South America (Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia and Valparaiso). Apparently, Chile is the new Alaska, with more fjords and glaciers but fewer voter-mandated passenger taxes.

Lastly, through April, Costa is cashing in on the current white-hot popularity of Dubai by homeporting Costa Classica there for a seven-day schedule that includes Muscat in Oman; Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. It's a pretty far cry from the Jamaica-Cayman-Cozumel circuit. Fares start around $1,000 per person.

• Island-hopping issue: After launching a new U.S.-flagged ship in Hawaii each of the past three years, Norwegian Cruise Line has settled into tweaking the fleet.