Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has revealed the new cabin designs to be used on its new ships set to come into service over the next three years.

The cabins, unveiled June 21, are described as “modern boutique hotel meets the sea” and are built on the experience of Norwegian over the past ten years — during which time it has launched ten new ships.

The two new vessels, currently codenamed Project Breakaway, are scheduled for delivery in April 2013 and April 2014, and can carry around 4,000 passengers.

Luxury cruise line the Yachts of Seabourn has launched its latest liner at a glittering ceremony in Barcelona.

The new Seabourn Quest was christened June 20 by Blythe Danner in Barcelona, ahead of its maiden voyage to Athens.

It marks the end of a significant period of expansion for top-end line Seabourn, which has raised the number of ships it operates from three to six ships in two years.

Royal Caribbean is to become the latest cruise line to add single cabins to its ships, according to reports from the US.

USA Today reports that the cruise line, which operates the world’s largest passenger vessels, will install its first single cabins on Radiance of the Seas, which is currently undergoing renovation in Canada.

Radiance of the Seas, which can carry 2,114 passengers, is seeing the addition of 15 new cabins, three of which will be single cabins on the inside of the ship.

Hollywood star Blythe Danner is the be the godmother of the Seabourn Quest, the exclusive cruise line announced this week.

Danner, the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow, has had a string of film hits including Meet the Parents, Woody Allen’s Alice and Sylvia and is an accomplished Broadway actress, earning a Tony Award for her performance in Butterflies Are Free.

Now, her name will headline the christening of the Seabourn Quest, set to take place June 20 in Barcelona ahead of the ship’s 14-day maiden voyage to Athens, Greece.

Gulf tourism authorities are lobbying for a new visa which could significantly reduce the cost of cruises in the Middle East, a cruise tourism hotspot which is rapidly growing in popularity.

At the moment, some passengers aboard gulf cruises are forced to apply for a visa for every port stop they wish to take, at a cost of up to $50 per stop.

For tourists from places such as Russia and China, this can add as much as $600 onto the cost of a cruise for a family of four, participants at this week’s Cruise Seminar at the Arabian Travel Market calculated.

As guests on board cruise lines around the world prepare to toast the royal wedding April 29, Carnival Cruise lines has bucked the trend by announcing that it will be toasting its new ship, the Carnival Magic.

Guests on board all 100 of Carnival’s ships — some 227,000 in total — will be offered a complimentary champagne toast at dinner April 29, to recognize the delivery of the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic.

Fiercely royal Cunard (itself Carnival-owned), for its part, released photos April 27 of its flagship Queen Mary 2 being loaded with Veuve Clicquot champagne and commemorative wedding cakes ahead of its “Royal Wedding Celebrations at Sea.”