Though shipbuilding is no longer conducted at the feverish pitch of several years ago, new vessels continue to slip into the water at shipyards abroad.

Perhaps the biggest news comes from Seabourn Cruise Line, which has not introduced a new ship in 10 years. The line now plans to launch a pair of sleek 450-passenger vessels in 2009 and 2010. The yachtlike ships will be built in Genoa, Italy, at the maritime yards of T. Mariotti S.p.A.

Holland America Line will welcome the 2,044-passenger Eurodam to its fleet in summer of 2008 from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has recruited Aker Yards of St. Nazaire, France, for two new third-generation "Freestyle Cruising" liners, customized for the line's signature fleet of floating food courts; in the wings: NCL also will order a third ship, bringing the line's total outlay for new vessels to $2.8 billion.

And Princess Cruises currently has under construction at Fincantieri the 113,000-ton Emerald Princess, sister ship to Crown Princess. It is slated for launch in June 2007. Emerald will be Princess' first ship to begin life cruising from Civitavecchia, the seaport city south of Rome.

Blueprints for these maiden vessels offer a glimpse of what's new to cruising's seascape.

Long considered a leader in luxury travel, Seabourn touts increasing demand as the rationale for more than doubling its current 634-passenger capacity on its trio of existing ships by adding the two new 32,000-gross-registered-ton vessels.

According to Pamela Conover, Seabourn's president and CEO, each of the new ships "will be three times larger (than those currently in the fleet), but only carry twice the guests. But everything is being designed on a yachtlike scale, so that Seabourn guests walking on board will feel right at home," including maintaining the line's prized nearly one-to-one passenger-to-staff ratio.

The larger real estate, Conover explains, will allow for "some very large suites. With more space, we can offer more variety on board. There will be attractive alternative dining venues to complement (the line's) open-seating" policy, in which passengers choose when and where to dine.

Deck, pool and spa areas also will be augmented.

A truly revolutionary change for Seabourn, however, will be the balconies. A notable disadvantage in the luxury market, Seabourn's current fleet of vessels — the 10,000-ton Pride, Spirit and Legend — lack them. Some years back, the line attempted to rectify this deficiency to some degree by retrofitting its existing ships with little Juliet-like juttings that at least permitted passengers to open doors that face the sea. With the new ships, however, each with 225 luxury suites, 90 percent of the accommodations will have bona-fide balconies.

The new ships also will be faster and, according to Conover, allow Seabourn to enhance the line's itineraries. "We will, for instance, be able to mount a real world cruise," she notes.

Holland America's Eurodam will introduce the company's next class of liners and the largest ever constructed for the premium brand.

While the line playfully refers to its ships as "the whole dam fleet," it seems unfazed by the moniker Eurodam, which, to some, might sound dismissive of an entire continent's monetary system. It's anything but.

With an estimated cost of $450 million, the 86,000-ton "Signature-Class" vessel will be the largest ever built for Holland America. The 2,044-passenger ship will add 63 staterooms above that of current "Vista-Class" ships. Of these, 47 will have balconies and 10 will introduce a new style of accommodations with wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor panoramic windows. In all, 86 percent of Eurodam's cabins will have views of the sea.

With the added acreage on its 11-passenger decks, Eurodam's design incorporates a topside 144-seat Pan-Asian restaurant and a 50-seat lounge with expansive views of the ocean and Lido pool. Other innovations include an Explorer's Lounge Bar, a new specialty Italian restaurant adjacent to the Lido, luxury jewelry boutiques, a new atrium bar area, and an enhanced and reconfigured show lounge with theater-style seating.

Eurodam also will feature the latest state-of-the-art navigation and safety systems.

The line also holds an option for a second Signature Class vessel for delivery in spring 2010.

Aside from the debut next month of Norwegian's new Pearl, the line has quite a bit more up its maritime sleeve: Two ships, totaling 12,600 new passenger berths, are scheduled for delivery in 2009 and 2010, with an optional third sister ship in 2011.

NCL President and CEO Colin Veitch says the additions will bring the line "one step closer to our vision of introducing the new third generation of Freestyle Cruising ships, and to satisfying our goal of having the youngest, most modern fleet in the industry by 2010."