I've been known to rant a bit about the experience of traveling on a large cruise ship -- basically, they strike me as floating shopping malls/theme parks, neither of which I'd ever choose to spend time on.

Even if I'm surrounded by open ocean, which I happen to adore.

But I put smaller ships in a different category, more like a communal yacht, so I was pleased to learn that Silversea, the small ship cruise ship line, plans to launch a new vessel on December 23rd. I was even more pleased when I found out that the new ship, the Silver Spirit, sports a fabulous Art Deco design, and, among its six restaurants, includes one that offers a slow food concept. Check out the gallery for some interior views.

The boat is all-suite, the suites are larger than any the line has offered to date, including two flatscreen televisions, a pillow menu, Carrera marble bathrooms, and a butler assigned to each suite. The maiden crossing from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale is sold out, but consider signing on for the 91-day inaugural cruise around the Americas departing January 21, 2010, which includes the Christening party and VIP tickets to Rio's Carnival.

Condé Nast Traveler has released its list of reader-selected best places to stay in the world on Concierge.com.

The magazine's 15th annual "Gold List" is "is your ultimate annotated guide to the world's finest properties and cruise lines, as elected by more than 32,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers."

You can browse by destination, type of award (e.g., service, food, location, cruise lines) or alphabetically, where you can see all on the list. Wondering how they were picked? Here's the methodology.

A few months back we saw that plans to turn the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship into a floating hotel in Dubai had been delayed. The owner, developer Nakheel had planned to moor it at the Palm Jumeirah development but now word has come that the ship may be on the move. The AP has an email from Nakheel saying that other ports have expressed interest in hosting the ship. Nakheel had purchased the ship for a reported $100 million and had plans to recreate the original decor and fittings of the ship from when she was launched in 1967 only with a modern day spin that included adding a 500-seat theater and building a massive spa complex. Those plans are are on hold as Nahkeel, which has developments across Dubai, is considering all offers and has applied to anchor the ship in Cape Town, South Africa.

The email said that the company is working "to ensure opportunities to experience QE2 in her current condition are maximized whilst ensuring her important heritage is at all times protected." This seems like more continued spin from Nakheel which has been hard hit by Dubai's real estate slump and tourism decline. The company has shelved a variety of projects including Donald Trump's planned hotel and has received some of the $10 billion in government bailout funds. There are also reports of widespread layoffs. The company has said before it has no plans to sell the ship. There is widespread speculation as to whether the company will be able to pay off $3.5 billion worth of debt coming due this year so it seems that they might be willing to sell the QE2 if they can find a buyer.

Cruise ship, the Nautica had a scare this week when the 30,000-ton luxury cruise ship outran pirates off the coast of Yemen. The Nautica, part of Oceania's cruise line, was in an area patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces when two small skiffs pulled aside and tried to intercept it. The ship sped up to its full speed of 23 knots or 27 mph. One of the small boats closed in and fired on the ship but it was able to pull away. While we've seen smaller passenger yachts targeted, the pirates haven't been known to go after the larger cruise ships before, keeping mainly to the bigger cargo vessels. The Nautica managed to escape without damage or injury to its 684 passengers and 400 crew.

The Magellan, which plans to be the world's largest private residential cruise ship has just gotten a bit bigger. They have announced twelve additional residences and a new amenity, a tennis court. The Magellan is now 860 feet and weighs an astounding 72,000 tons. The new residences include four one-bedroom condos and eight two-bedroom condos. The Magellan includes an indoor pool, greenhouse (shown here), resaurants, a spa, an observatory and a 450-seat live, satellite broadcast theatre. Private residences on The Magellan range in price from $1.875 million to $8 million for penthouses and from $134,000 for fractional ownership condos. The Magellan is set to be completed in 2009 and the ship is designed to run for 100 years. With the residential cruise ship market just beginning, the Magellan is clearly seeking to be the most extravagant option for those looking for life on the seas.

Though the construction of the behemoth Project Genesis cruise liner casts a slightly shadow on the glory of its launch, the current world's largest cruise ship is complete and the ship is en route to its new owners, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., in Florida. Freedom of the Seas can hold a total of 4,000 passengers - 1,000 more than its closest rival - and can entertain them with pools, an ice skating rink and the largest ship-bound rock climbing wall. To see all that the ship has to offer or to making bookings on one of its upcoming Caribbean cruises, take a look at its website, where you can take a virtual tour of the ship. The ship's first passenger voyage with Royal Caribbean is scheduled for June 4.

[Image The Star]

Where else would a ship named Paul Gauguin go but to French Polynesia. The ship, which is run by Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, has its home port in Tahiti and offers cruises around the idyllic islands. The ship sails from Papeete, Tahiti, every Saturday and meanders around the South Seas islands, visiting Raiatea, Tahaa, the "vanilla island," and spending a day at a barbecue feast on Motu Mahana. Two days are spent in Bora Bora and two full days in Moorea let guests explore Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay. The ship has ocean-view suites, many which have private balconies and there are three restaurants. A retractable water sports platform offers a place for kayaking, water skiing and windsurfing and there is also a shipboard scuba program. If  booked by March 31, per person fares on the April 29, May 6, 20, 27 and June 3 seven-night Society Island sojourns start at $1,995 per person.

[via Travel Video News]