Photos: Costa Diadema Construction Begins

Fincantieri laid the first block of Costa Diadema (Italian for "tiara") at their Marghera yard on December 10. The ship, when delivered on October 2014, at 132,500 grt, will be the largest flying the the Italian flag.

This interior block measures 15 by 29 meters and weighs 504 tons, 

and this one will form part of the keel. Here it it being lowered onto the blocks

on which the ship will rest until the drydock is flooded and the ship is

floated up.

Costa Diadema's interior has again been designed by Joe Farcus.

The atrium is shown above.

The ship's main restaurant will be located aft for spectacular sea views (above).

The ship will also have a premium/specialty restaurant (above). Details will be available later.

Norwegian Unveils Hull Art for Norwegian Getaway

Norwegian Cruise Line chose well-known Miami artist LEBO (David Le Batard) to create the hull art for Norwegian Getaway. The ship will be based in Miami, and the line wanted the artwork to have a Miami connection.

Norwegian Getaway will debut in Miami on February 1, 2014.

Princess Reveals Swanky New Royal Princess Sanctuary

Ever since debuting aboard Crown Princess, the Sanctuary has become one of Princess' signature features. When Royal Princess debuts in June 2013, it will have a Sanctuary which has evolved from the original concept into a quite elegant new facility as shown in the video. Together with the adjacent Retreat Pool, it is an area for complete relaxation of adults only.

Norwegian Getaway Construction Begins

Construction began on Norwegian Getaway on Tuesday (October 30, 2012) at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg (Germany) when a crane lowered the first 530-ton block of the ship's keel into the yard's massive covered dry dock. It will be the first of 73 blocks that comprise the 146,600-gross registered ton vessel.

The crane lowered the block onto a "lucky coin" (below) that was struck for the occasion.

Norwegian Getaway will enter service on February 1, 2014 and be home ported at Miami.

Let's Go to a Party!

In this video, Princess' VP of Entertainment, Martin Hall, talks about the Ultimate Deck Party aboard the new Royal Princess, and how it will make use of the special features of the top decks.

(Even if you're not interested in the deck party, the video has some stunning animation of Royal Princess at sea.)