Cool Features: FlowRider, a 40-foot-long wave pool for surfing and body-boarding. The ship also has the largest rock-climbing wall afloat, a boxing ring, an ice rink, and the H2O Zone, a huge water park where passengers can douse each other with water cannons

Something Special: Solarium, an adults-only area with whirlpools cantilevered off the top deck for sweeping views of the sea

Costa Cruises (courtesy Costa Concordia) [enlarge photo]

Splurge: Six- and eight-person family rooms come with bathtubs and curtained-off sleeping alcoves with bunk beds

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE: NOORDAM

Launch date: February

Passengers: 1,918

Itineraries: 10- or 11-night round-trip cruises from New York City to Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, and Barbados from fall through spring, as well as 10-night summer cruises out of Rome to Dubrovnik, Santorini, Monaco, and Barcelona

Cool Features: Culinary Arts Center, a state-of-the-art kitchen that'll welcome celebrity chefs and sommeliers for sailings; also, flat-panel TVs and DVD players in all staterooms

Something Special: The Loft, a teenagers-only lounge with karaoke, music videos on big-screen TVs, and Internet access

Splurge: The Pinnacle Bar sells 60 different wines from around the world, priced from $4.25 to $9.50 a glass

PRINCESS CRUISES: CROWN PRINCESS

Launch date: June