Infinity, Summit, Mercury, Zenith

Celebrity Cruises has created a fleet of ships with few if any rivals in its price range. Unique interior designs, expansive spas, memorable two-story dining rooms, beautiful atriums, millions of dollars worth of art, spacious cabins, award-winning food service . . .

From all indications, Celebrity's new Millennium class promises the company's stalwart fans their best ship ever. New innovations aboard the Infinity, Summit and Millennium include a glass elevator looking directly out to sea (a first - and designed in such a way as not to kill off the more weak-hearted guests) and two of the largest penthouse suites ever offered . . . more like small villas than big rooms - there's even a baby grand piano in the living room.

Horizon and Zenith, which predate Celebrity's Century-class ships, may be a bit older, but the cruise line has repeatedly refurbished these vessels and kept them fully up to snuff. Here you'll find the same high-end style of all Celebrity ships, the same award-winning food service, but with a distinctive character of its own and less emphasis on the high-tech cyber-trappings of later offerings. During recent upgrades, both ships have been equipped with Celebrity's now-standard "Michael's Club" cigar rooms, where longtime smokers as well as those who've merely succumbed to the faddishness of it all may gather nightly.