All The Fun Is Getting There

The cruise industry rides a new wave of success

As she steamed across the Atlantic last week, the majestic white passenger liner evoked memories of such grand old ships as the Queen Mary and the Normandie. Yet this $200 million craft, built at a French shipyard during the past 21 months, is very much a space-age creation. Cantilevered from her single smokestack, 14 stories above the waterline, is a flying cocktail lounge. Inside the ship, an atrium five decks high forms a main lobby, complete with glass elevators and towering fountains. There is nothing modest about the new ship, from her name, Sovereign of the Seas, freshly painted in bright...

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