The holiday season is the ideal time to surprise your family with an unforgettable experience to enjoy in the new year. AAA Travel's Lisa Anciaux came on New Day to discuss the incredible tropical destinations available on several different luxurious cruise lines.
"There are some new things that are happening," said Anciaux. "We've got some new ships, and new developments on some of the islands that are pretty exciting."
One example is the brand-new ship that debuted just a week and a half ago--the new Celebrity Edge ship.
"It's an innovative ship," said Anciaux. "This is the one that was designed by Nate Berkus, the interior designer. It's got new features...veranda balconies that will open up so that the veranda becomes the cabin. It's sailing the Caribbean right now."
Another option is the Royal Caribbean cruise, which includes exploring a recently expanded private island.
"All of the cruise lines who sail in the Caribbean have their own private island," Anciaux explained. "It's kind of that beach day, that fun in the sun day. So, Royal Caribbean has Cococay. It's been open for a long time, but half of the island was undeveloped, and they've just started making this part of the island which is going to open in the spring. It has one of the largest slides in North America and one of the largest freshwater pools in the Bahamas. It's going to have bungalows over the water...you just go there and have a lot of fun. "
Symphony of the Seas is a new ship, which is one of the largest around.
"They've got the aqua park, they do diving shows in that pool down at the bottom, you can learn how to surf," said Anciaux. "There's a ten-foot abyss slide that drops you ten feet down, everyone seems to like that. To me, this is one of the perfect ships--and her sister ships--for that family vacation."
Holland America has a new cruise ship coming out at the end of January--the Nieuw Statendam.
"Oprah Winfrey is going to be the godmother, she's going to christen the ship," said Anciaux.
The ship has a two-story stage area with 270 degree LED screens, Anciaux said. The cruise line has connected with BBC Earth so that presentations set to music can be shown. Jazz, classical and rock music are just a few genres that will be played live on board.
Anciaux shared that there are great Hawaiian vacation packages available as well as non-stop flights to most islands.
Another holiday gift idea is the gift of a AAA membership.
"For under a hundred dollars, you can buy someone peace of mind," said Anciaux.
This segment is brought to you by AAA Washington. Watch KING 5's New Day Northwest 11:00 weekdays and streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.