New Cruise Ships on the Horizon

Check out what new cruise ships we have to look forward to in 2012.

See which new ships are launching in 2012 by the major cruise lines. Mark your calendars. 2012 promises to be another great year for the cruise industry.

Will 2012 be the year of the Longship?

2012 The Year of the Longship. Photo Viking River Cruises.

• Viking River Cruises will launch four of their Longship-class-vessels in conjunction with Viking’s $250 million expansion program. Be on the lookout for a big splash late March 2012 when Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Odin, Viking Njord  take to the rivers.  Be on the lookout for the last two longships,Viking Embla and Viking Aegir, to debut during the Summer 2012.

Cruise line desserts, just in time for the holidays

You don’t have to wait until your next cruise before you indulge in your favorite cruise line dessert . We have come up with our two favorites, just in time for the holidays.

Apple Cranberry Tart

Apple Cranberry Tart. Photo from Viking River Cruises.

From our friends at Viking River Cruises, this dessert is perfect for the holidays.

Ingredients:

• One unbaked, room-temperature 9-inch tart shell
• One roll (about 7 ounces) almond paste
• One cup fresh cranberries
• Five medium-sized apples (preferably Macintosh), peeled and sliced to make approximately 5 cups
• A quarter cup sugar
• One teaspoon cinnamon
• A half cup uncooked oats
• A half cup all-purpose flour
• A half cup brown sugar
• Six tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold or frozen
• A quarter cup sliced almonds
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Flatten almond paste on a sheet of wax paper with a rolling pin, to form an 8-inch circle. Press almond circle into the bottom of the unbaked tart shell. In a bowl, combine cranberries, apples, sugar and a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour on top of almond circle, into tart shell. In a bowl, combine the remaining cinnamon, oats, flour and brown sugar. Cut butter into very small pieces and stir into cinnamon mixture until crumbs form. Spoon crumb mixture evenly over the top of the apple mixture. Bake 50-60 minutes. Sprinkle with sliced almonds during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Viking River Cruises has a vast collection of other recipees on their website, make sure to take a peek if you want some more inspiration.

Carnival Cruise Line’s  Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

Photo from Carnival Cruise Line Facebook page.

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 7 eggs, divided use
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Melt chocolate and butter; cool 10 minutes.
In separate bowl, mix four eggs with sugar. Whisk.
Add flour and whisk.
Add remaining three eggs.
Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture.
Pour in individual ramekins.
Bake until just done, about 15-20 minutes (interior will be melting).

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Cruise Chat with Viking River Cruises

Welcome Viking River Cruises into the Cruise Chat Spotlight – Tues. June 14th, 2011.

Looking for Recap?

With 19 ships in the fleet, Viking River Cruises knows a thing or two about river cruising. Speaking from first-hand experience, I can say that floating along the rivers of Europe is an excellent way to immerse one’s self in culture and history, while enjoying the luxuries of a cruise.

Prize Patrol:

At the close of June 14th’s #CruiseChat, Viking River Cruises will be doing a giveaway! Make sure to tweet them with @VikingRiver in your tweet, with the correct answer to the trivia question. They will announce the winner from a random drawing on June 15, 2011.

Find out more by reading the recap.

Viking River Cruises

With 19 ships in the fleet, Viking River Cruises knows a thing or two about river cruising.

Recap

754 tweets generated 2,998,118 impressions, reaching an audience of 226,758 followers within the past 24 hours. Generated Tue Jun 14 2011 12:05:11 GMT-0700 (PDT)

Top 10 by number of impressions

1. cruisebuzz: 752,367
2. only398: 585,603
3. traveldesigned: 393,298
4. jkheaton: 263,664
5. vikingriver: 143,282
6. halcruises: 137,556
7. rickgriffin: 119,228
8. shipsandtrips: 85,635
9. cruisebart: 60,354
10. cruisesforless: 43,155

Top 10 by number of tweets

1. cruisebuzz: 77
2. vikingriver: 62
3. traveldesigned: 58
4. vikingagents: 41
5. only398: 41
6. jkheaton: 36
7. cruisesforless: 35
8. shipsandtrips: 33
9. carevacations: 32
10. cruisecoaches: 28

Top 10 by number of followers

1. rickgriffin: 29,807
2. only398: 14,283
3. luxuryprgal: 13,049
4. mcmedia: 12,792
5. cruisebuzz: 9,771
6. luxurycruiseco: 9,090
7. cruiselaw: 8,436
8. halcruises: 7,642
9. jkheaton: 7,324
10. familyfoodie: 6,985

Questions

• Q1 How important is a tour guide’s role in the #cruise experience?
• Q2 What is your favorite European landmark?
• Q3 Music, art, vineyards, food, history — with all Europe is famous for, what part of the culture do you most enjoy?
• Q4 Packing for international travel can be somewhat of a science. What is 1 ‘must-have’ item for a European river #cruise adventure?
• Q5 What experts do you turn to for cruising advice?
• Q6 Which @VikingRiver European itinerary do you most want to try? http://ow.ly/58P0H

Fun Answers

Viking River Cruises

Looking for recap? Click here.

With 19 ships in the fleet, Viking River Cruises knows a thing or two about river cruising. Speaking from first-hand experience, I can say that floating along the rivers of Europe is an excellent way to immerse one’s self in culture and history, while enjoying the luxuries of a cruise.

Prize Patrol:

At the close of June 14th’s #CruiseChat, Viking River Cruises will be doing a giveaway! Make sure to tweet them with @VikingRiver in your tweet, with the correct answer to the trivia question. They will announce the winner from a random drawing on June 15, 2011.

Viking River Cruises: European Destination Sensation!

River cruising is, quite simply, the best way to travel through many of the world’s most fascinating places. Comfortable and convenient, it offers a greater variety of destinations than you could encounter any other way—and lets you get in-depth exposure to the culture and history of each region. Both experienced and first-time travelers have discovered the joys of river cruising, making it the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry.

Viking River Cruises operates the world’s largest and best fleet of deluxe vessels built specifically for river travel. With extensive background in European river cruising, we are the most knowledgeable company in the business.

When you travel with Viking you can expect:

• Elegant, comfortable ships
• Spacious accommodations
• Gourmet cuisine
• Consistently excellent service
• Expert planning and execution
• Cultural enrichment
• Great travel value

Click here for past topics and recaps