Pearl Seas Cruises is Building New Ships

Pearl Seas Cruises announced last week that it signed contracts to build two luxury passenger ships, which will carry 165 and 210 passengers respectively.

The 165-passenger ship, expected to begin service by July 2008, will begin with cruises in the Canadian maritime provinces, Newfoundland and New England, followed later in the year with itineraries in the Caribbean.

Destinations for the second ship, slated to begin service by June 2009, have not been decided on yet, says Laura Oncea, assistant to the president of the company.

Oncea says within the next year, Pearl Seas Cruises may also announce that it will build a third vessel, which may be followed by a fourth.

"We anticipate that we will continue to build new ships," Oncea says. "It's been pretty aggressive, which is impressive, shows that the company is strong."

The two new ships will have 240-square-foot suites with private balconies and large picture windows. Every stateroom will have a flat-screen satellite TV, DVD player and Internet access.

Pearl Seas Cruises, an offshore affiliate of American Cruise Lines, Inc., signed the contracts with Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax, Nova Scotia. For more information, call 203-453-4211 or visit www.pearlseascruises.com.