* Holland America has announced that its next new ship, the Eurodam, will make a ten-day inaugural voyage from Rotterdam July 5, 2008 visiting Norwegian fjords and Scottish highlands.  A three-day preview cruise from Rotterdam to Copenhagen is scheduled Aug. 29, 2008 before the ship repositions to New York to commence its season of New England/Canada voyages.   The 2,104-passenger Signature-class ship will have an extra deck and three alternative restaurants.

*  Carnival Cruise Lines  The line’s 2009 European season will feature two of its newest 110,000-ton ships – Carnival Liberty, which will operate 12-day Northern European and Mediterranean cruises, and Carnival Freedom, sailing 12-day departures to the Mediterranean. Carnival Liberty’s 12-day Northern Europe cruises will operate round-trip from London (Dover) from May 9 – Aug. 25, 2009.  Featured ports on these voyages include Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia (two-day call); Tallin, Estonia; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  From May through October, Carnival Freedom will sail on 12-day “Mediterranean and Greece” and “Grand Mediterranean” voyages.

* Crystal Cruises reports that two new Nobu restaurants will open aboard Crystal Symphony.  Silk Road and The Sushi Bar will debut during a trans-Pacific cruise March 3, 2008.  The culinary chef opened his first restaurant in 2003 aboard Crystal Serenity.

* Passengers sailing on a Princess cruise over the holidays can celebrate daily “snow flurries” in ships’ strums.  The innovative snow-making process creates falling flakes that vanish on contact, letting passengers enjoy the romance of a winter snowfall without the need to bundle up.

* The Cayman Islands says it’s economy is impacted by a 30% decline in cruise passengers, resulting in some businesses closing.  In November, 2006, 70 cruise ships stopped in Cayman whereas 53 visited November, 2007.