Yeah, you read that right, nerds: The next starship Enterprise (registry code NCC-1701-F). Well, not the Enterprise itself, but an Odyssey-class Federation cruiser, the same model as the Enterprise-F. Players who show up at Star Trek Online's 2nd Anniversary celebration, an event running from today through February 6th, can undertake a special mission that will reward them with the ship. Klingon faction players can do a similar mission to score a Bortas-class battlecruiser, a ship that, from the screenshot below, looks a heck of a lot like the Terran battlecruiser of Starcraft.
Veteran players need not worry about seeing newbs running around in super-starships, though, as the virtual gift boxes that contain the ships cannot be opened until the character that received them reaches Vice Admiral rank (level 50). There you go, new players. It's a goal for you to phaser your way towards!
Fun fact: Data commands the U.S.S. Enterprise-F in Star Trek Online's alternate future timeline!
Season 5 Dev Diary #12 [Star Trek Online]
Contest:
9:30 PM on 02.02.2012 | 
Original timeline Romulus gets wiped by a supernova.
New alt timline, Nero goes back in time and destroys Vulcan.
Because, you know, that whole supernova thing was clearly Spock's fault.
To Nero it was, and to be fair, Spock did mess up.
Anyway, you're right, kind of. From what I recall this is set during the same time as when the time-travel that sets off the new timeline takes place, so it's kind of a prequel to the new timeline but taking place in the ol-- You know what, I don't care. It's an MMO, canon doesn't mean much. You're right.
I did scratch my head at Data's return, but then I remember they left an opportunity wide open at the end of Nemesis for his revival.
Also, is Data remade from B4?
As for this game, I really want to give it a go just to experience a Galaxy, Intrepid, Sovereign, and now Odyssey class starships.
I named mine U.S.S. Fannybadger.
Star Trek Online takes place in the "prime" universe. Aka the universe all of the shows and movies prior to the reboot take place in (AKA: Every TV series and all Star Trek movies from the original up to Star Trek Nemesis). This universe isnt affected at all by the events of the most recent movie... meaning Vulcan still exists and is fine, however Romulus is a giant pile of space dust now.
It's a continuation of the original universe after Spock and Nero vanish into the black hole anomaly that sends those two characters into the past/alternate reality that births the new Trek movie we saw in 2009.
The reason Data is around again is basically a retcon for his shitty death in Star Trek Nemesis. There's a shorthand explanation that LaForge and some Federation scientists were able to dig into B4's positronic network and reactivate Data (since Data copied his memory into B4 before the end of Nemesis). This essentially overwrote B4 and brought back Data, and since Picard stepped down from commanding the Enterprise to become the new Ambassador to Vulcan (remember when he mind-melded with Spock's father?) that allowed Data to be promoted.