CruiseLineFans: More Americans Choosing Home Port Cruises Than Ever Before

LONDON, April 15, 2011 - With more American travellers opting to visit Europe by cruise ship,
there has never been a better time for cruisers to explore the home-ports
around the US, say CruiseLineFans.

There's been a distinct rise in US travellers interested in visiting
Europe in the last year, and the cruise industry is busy moving vessels to
Australia to meet an increased demand. However, with 24 North American ports
and increased competition amongst cruise retailers, home port cruise
vacations are a great alternative to flying to a distant embarkation port, as
they have become easier to get to and even cheaper to enjoy, say
CruiseLineFans (www.cruiselinefans.com/hc/).

Galveston:

Located on a barrier island off the south eastern Texas coast line,
Galveston is a unique spot to visit, let alone being the jumping off point
for thousands cruise vacationers. We highly recommend flying in to George W.
Bush International Airport a day early and staying an extra day following a
cruise to enjoy all that this unique embarkation point has to offer cruise
vacationers.

One thing to keep in mind when cruising from Galveston is the 70-mile
trip from IAH Airport. There are several reputable limo and car services that
run this route regularly for cruise passengers at an approximate rate of $100
(per person/roundtrip).

Recently, the port of Galveston received some exciting news - Disney
Cruise Lines announced that the Disney Magic (
disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/magic/) starts home
porting out of Galveston in September 2012. Adding to the list of cruise
lines placing ships in the reach of millions of Texas based and Gulf Coast
cruisers are Princess Cruises (Crown Princess - 2012) and Carnival Cruise
Lines (Magic -May 2011).

Baltimore:

Baltimore represents another great embarkation point for many cruise
passengers looking to save on airfare and cruise close to home. In 2010, the
port of Baltimore saw the largest increase in ships of any US port. In 2011,
Baltimore will host 112 cruises and 230,000 cruise passengers.

Celebrity, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are all major cruise lines
sailing out of this Mid-Atlantic terminal. Royal Caribbean (
www.cruiselinefans.com/hc/cruiseline/royal-caribbean-cruises) recently
added a series of Bermuda and New England itineraries leaving from Baltimore.

Jacksonville:

Recently, the Jacksonville Port Authority or JaxPort welcomed its 1
millionth passenger. Emily Wilt and her family were in from Arkansas to board
the Carnival Fascination (
www.cruiselinefans.com/hc/cruise-ships/516/carnival-fascination). The
Fascination has been using Jacksonville as a US homeport since 2003. It's as
yet unknown if JaxPort will greet its two millionth passenger, as the cruise
terminal used by the Fascination is really a cargo terminal, the shipping
company Hanjin has a contract with the city to build a brand new cargo
facility. Local, state, and cruise terminal officials along with Mayport and
Jacksonville residents are currently determining the fate of this cruise
embarkation point convenient to so many Southeast US resident.

Boston:

CruisePort Boston's Black Falcon Cruise Terminal recently underwent a $11
million renovation and the terminal sees over 300,000 passengers pass through
its doors each year. The April to October cruise season in Boston plays host
to more than 100 ship visits - with vessels sailing up the New England and
Canadian coastlines for glimpses of spectacular Fall foliage.

East Coast residents, especially those in New England can avoid busy
ultra-metropolitan areas such as New York and board cruises bound for Canada,
the Caribbean and Bermuda. International visitors may also want to consider
Logan International Airport and CruisePort Boston's Black Falcon Terminal as
an embarkation for ease of travel and shorter flights from Heathrow and other
continental European airports.

About CruiseLineFans:

CruiseLineFans is the fastest growing, friendliest and most informative
cruise travel forum on the Web. CruiseLineFans plays host to forums dedicated
to this discussion of popular cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival,
Norwegian and many others. Images galleries, polls, roll calls, special
cruise deals, cruise and ship reviews, as well as off topic discussion are
also available. The forum boasts in excess of 27,000 members, over 45,000
threads, and 1.6 million posts.

Contact Information: Anna Gardener, CruiseLineFans.com, DMC Cruise Limited, 20-28a Hatton Wall, London, EC1N 8JH, United Kingdom, Tel: +44(0)207-440-6967, Email: anna.gardner at dealchecker.co.uk