Inside cabins will never be the same again. First we had Royal Caribbean International's inside balcony cabins on Oasis of the Seas that look out over Central Park, then Norwegian Cruise Line's budget studios on Norwegian Epic that have a window onto the corridor.
Then at a special unveiling in New York on Thursday I learnt that the inside cabins on Disney Cruise Line's new ship, Disney Dream, will have virtual portholes, with a view of the sea streamed in from cameras on the outside of the ship so passengers really can see the waves as they happen (not quite sure if that's a bonus when it's bumpy but the porthole can be turned off).
And then every so often, a Disney character will appear on the water. This is Steamboat Willy chugging along.
It's a great idea and should help to sell inside staterooms, but enough to persuade balcony lovers to trade down, as I overheard one journalist at the event suggest? I don't think so.
I always thought a roller coaster of some sort would be among the innovations on Oasis of the Seas. I was wrong, and now Disney has beaten Royal to it with the AquaDuck, which looks great fun - a water slide-cum-roller coaster the length of two football pitches that drops and climbs, all powered by water.
And then there is this little guy. He's called Crush and is in the Disney film Finding Nemo. There's one of these "magic theatres" in each of the kids' clubs, where the children can "talk" to the turtle. And it's not every day you can say you have done that.
But this is Disney after all.
Jane Archer
