Welcome to a boom year in new cruise ships—and cruising to new destinations.

Twelve new liners will debut this year, and the newest ship, the Silversea Cruises Silver Muse, has just launched.

The luxury cruise ship, carrying just under 600 passengers, starts its itineraries in Monaco and then cruises the Mediterranean this summer.

But the real competition is in the area of luxury expedition ships—smaller vessels that pamper passengers in once-forbidden or tough-to-visit locales.

This includes places like the Russian Far East, Bangladesh, the Arctic Circle, The Galapagos, and river cruises on the Amazon in Brazil, the Chobe River in Botswana, and the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar.

There have never been more choices for passengers than this year, with cruise ships calling on more than 1,000 different ports.

For more information about cruise travel, check out:

• How River Cruises are Growing Around the World
• New Cruise Ships Launching This Year
• What Happens When Cruises are Rerouted?

Keep reading for more travel tips.