Cruise News

Today on Cruise News: Weather forced the cancellation of Oceania Cruises' Vista call at the Port of Corner Brook, removing the final scheduled ship visit of a cruise season the port called its longest on record. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, up to 10,151 cruise passengers are expected on Sunday as Costa Smeralda, MSC World Europa and P&O Cruises' Ventura are due to dock, part of an October schedule listing 23 cruise ships. And in the British Virgin Islands, Opposition Leader Marlon Penn is proposing a dedicated water production plant and storage facility at the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park...

Today on Cruise News: A Department of Homeland Security operation has removed more than 120 crew members from cruise ships at Boston's Flynn Cruiseport with one criminal prosecution, a Norwegian Jewel crew member charged with transportation of child sexual abuse material, while a federal prosecutor said a large share of the Boston detainees had no such material on their devices and were removed based on earlier tips. JetBlue Vacations and Virgin Voyages' adults-only Do Not Disturb package, pairing charter flights from New York with a four-night Brilliant Lady sailing in March 2027, sold out within days of bookings opening. And Holland America...

Today on Cruise News: Virgin Voyages has cancelled all three Mexican Riviera calls on Brilliant Lady's October 17 departure from Los Angeles because of Hurricane Trudy, sending the ship to San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada instead, the fourth consecutive Los Angeles sailing disrupted by tropical weather. AAA projects a record 22.4 million U.S. residents will take ocean cruises in 2027, up 3.6% from 2026, with the Caribbean accounting for 71% of passenger volume and Miami leading the port rankings. And Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are sailing from San Diego this fall after Disney's first two-ship Alaska season, with Disney Magic departing November 6 on...

Today on Cruise News: Riviera Travel River Cruises' new Vacation Guarantee promises to process a full refund within seven days when significant itinerary changes are required before departure and guests choose to cancel; they can instead accept the revised trip with a goodwill gesture or postpone the same vacation to the following year at the original year's price. Cunard has announced 93 voyages sailing between October 2028 and May 2029, including Queen Mary 2's 500th transatlantic crossing, which passengers can join in Liverpool, the first Liverpool embarkation on the transatlantic program since 2015, and Queen Elizabeth's 115-night World Voyage from Southampton on January 23, 2029. And...

Today on Cruise News: Emerald Princess received a failing draft score of 78 out of 100 after an October 16 CDC Vessel Sanitation Program inspection in Long Beach, California, where 86 is needed to pass. Inspectors cited food-temperature controls, storage and cross-contamination risks, dirty utensils and a chlorine-monitoring failure, and the CDC has asked for a corrective-action statement. PortMiami is introducing new traffic measures for a 2026-27 season with 81 days of seven to 10 ships in port, including a Carnival Cruise Line pilot offering free Miami International Airport transfers for Carnival Celebration passengers on selected dates. And Uniworld Boutique River Cruises plans to add S...

Today on Cruise News: Margaritaville at Sea's 2027 Annual Cruise Membership is on sale for $2,499 for two adults through November 3, covering unlimited eligible sailings of up to seven nights, but members can book only within 30 days of departure and hold one active reservation at a time. Viking named seven new river ships in an Amsterdam ceremony on October 15, honoring travel advisors and industry executives as godparents, with the ships assigned to the Rhine, Main, Danube, Seine and Nile. Costa Cruises outlined six themed itineraries for winter 2026-27 across the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Caribbean, pairing port calls with its Sea Destinations...

Today on Cruise News: MSC Virtuosa is finishing its summer season from Southampton ahead of a 25-night repositioning cruise to Santos departing November 7, 2026, where it will begin a Brazilian winter programme before spending the 2027 and 2028 European summers in the Western Mediterranean. Star Princess has completed its first year with Princess Cruises after carrying approximately 90,000 guests in its inaugural Alaska season, and is returning to Port Everglades for a second Florida winter with four- to seven-night voyages to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Tallinn-based LTH Baas completed interior refurbishment projects covering 111 staterooms on five Royal Caribbean Group ships, including Ovation of...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean will base Freedom of the Seas in Southampton from May to October 2028, a second consecutive summer from the UK port, with sailings to the Norwegian fjords and calls at Copenhagen, Bilbao, Le Havre and Lisbon. Holland America Line has unveiled Bar 1873, a two-level atrium lounge built around a three-meter illuminated tulip sculpture, which will debut aboard Oosterdam during its Holland America Evolution refurbishment. In Vancouver, two new shore-power stations at Canada Place will bring the terminal's total to five, after a record 2026 season of approximately 1.4 million passenger visits and 358 cruise calls. Read today's stories...

Today on Cruise News: a 44-year-old passenger from Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas was rescued alive in the Ionian Sea off Greece on October 10 after about 20 hours in the water, found when the containership MSC Rossella III spotted the flashing light on her lifebuoy; the search led the ship to cancel its Naples call. Carnival will remove Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa from Australia in March 2028, keeping Carnival Splendor year-round in Sydney and Carnival Encounter in Brisbane, as a longer-term coastal-trading framework is still being developed. And Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas opened Dominica's 2026-27 cruise season at...

Today on Cruise News: Costa Cruises is offering €100 in refundable onboard credit after Costa Favolosa cancelled calls at Leknes and Bodo on its Norwegian voyage because of forecast strong winds and rough seas, but only for two guests per stateroom, with a maximum of €200 per cabin; the revised route turns Trondheim into a 26-hour overnight stay and adds Kristiansand. Vancouver closed a record 2026 cruise season with about 1.4 million passenger visits and 358 ship calls at Canada Place, where a shore-power expansion due by 2027 will add two connection stations and is expected to enable about 90 additional ship connections a year. And TUI Crui...

Today on Cruise News: A swarm of bees was removed from the Deck 15 pool area of Royal Caribbean International's Utopia of the Seas in Port Canaveral on October 12, as passengers boarded a four-night Bahamas sailing, with no guests reported stung and no departure delay reported. Oriental Land Co. has named its first Japan-based Disney cruise ship Disney Imagination, a Wish-class vessel for about 4,000 passengers that will launch Disney Cruise Line Japan with service from Tokyo scheduled for spring 2029. And Princess Cruises is discussing plans to seasonally homeport a ship in Melbourne in 2028-29, after Crown Princess opened Victoria's 2026-27 cruise...

Today on Cruise News: A passenger who went overboard from Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas in the Ionian Sea was recovered alive after approximately 20 hours in the water, after the containership MSC Rossella III spotted a flashing light on her lifebuoy; the search led to the cancellation of the ship's final call at Naples. Disney Cruise Line is testing cruise-only Key to the World wristbands in place of shipboard cards on Disney Treasure's October 10 departure from Port Canaveral, with the bands due back when the ship returns to Florida on October 17. And Princess Cruises will resume Amazon River cruising...

Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is applying its pricing reset to selected 2027 departures and sailings open for 2028, offering more competitive prices earlier in the booking cycle after a second quarter in which net yield declined 2.6%. Meyer Werft has floated the first of three gigablocks for Disney Believe, the fourth and final Wish-class ship, whose maiden voyage is scheduled for December 18, 2027, from Port Everglades. And AIDA is adding interior, oceanview and balcony cabins to AIDAperla and AIDAprima in their Evolution refits, along with new dining venues, bars and family spaces, though it has not said how many cabins...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean Group and MSC Cruises are set to receive preferential berth access at Naha Port for up to 250 days a year over a period of up to 30 years, tied to a new turnaround terminal at Shinminato Wharf targeted to open in March 2028. Port Samana at Arroyo Barril on the Dominican Republic's Samana Peninsula is scheduled to begin operations on November 24, 2026, with MSC Opera as its first caller. And Tauranga expects more than 200,000 cruise passengers and crew during a 79-call season opened by Celebrity Edge, as Mount Maunganui businesses look to the arrivals to help them...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean has opened bookings for its 2028 Alaska season, with Voyager, Ovation, Anthem and Serenade of the Seas sailing seven-night cruises from Seattle, Seward and Vancouver, and Seward passengers using a new terminal developed by Royal Caribbean Group and the Alaska Railroad. Four Seasons I's seven-night fares start at $31,000, yet breakfast is the only included meal, while Orient Express's 110-passenger Corinthian offers three-day voyages from $19,500 on an all-inclusive basis. And Travelmarvel has opened U.S. bookings for its 2028/29 Egypt, Jordan and Morocco programme, with Nile cruises aboard the 124-passenger Travelmarvel Sirius and an optional two-night hotel...

Today on Cruise News: PortMiami has announced a 16-ship arrival lineup spanning 12 cruise brands for the 2026-27 season, opening with Ponant Explorations' L'Austral and Explora III in October 2026 and closing with Royal Caribbean's Hero of the Seas in August 2027; the port handled 8,564,151 cruise passengers in fiscal 2025. China's Ministry of Transport has named Xiamen, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as the next trial cities for cruises to nowhere, though official guidance does not set out a comprehensive nationwide passenger and immigration framework for these voyages. And Antarctica21's Magellan Discoverer, which pairs diesel engines with battery storage, is nearing completion in Chile ahead...

Today on Cruise News: Margaritaville at Sea has opened bookings for its 2028 season, including the line's first visits to Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama, on eight-night cruises from Tampa aboard Islander, while Beachcomber, being converted from Costa Fortuna, is scheduled to start Galveston service in October 2027. Holland America Line has opened bookings for its May–October 2028 Canada and New England season aboard Volendam and Zuiderdam, bringing Zuiderdam to the region for the first time following its Evolution refurbishment. Former Strictly Come Dancing professionals Michelle Tsiakkas and Vincent Simone will give the first public performance of their new show...

Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line has brought Norwegian Aura's debut forward by 19 days to May 2, adding a 10-day opening sailing from Trieste to Piraeus and a nine-day return voyage, while the advertised May 21, 2027 maiden voyage still goes ahead. Carnival Freedom resumed service from Barcelona after a 35-day dry dock in Marseille that gave it a new, lower whale tail funnel and an expanded casino, and Carnival has opened the ship's 2028-29 season from Norfolk, Virginia. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has announced 39 sailings for January through July 2028, including a 19-night voyage from Liverpool aboard Borealis that marks its first...

Today on Cruise News: Disney Cruise Line opens general bookings for Disney Believe on October 19, ahead of the 4,000-passenger ship's maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on December 18, 2027, with what Disney describes as the world's first stage adaptation of "Encanto" and a new "Frozen" dining experience among its new venues. Carnival Radiance is back in service in Long Beach after a 15-day dry dock in Victoria, British Columbia, with updated guest areas and Carnival's new "From Sea to Shining Sea" bow crest. And MSC Cruises has unveiled six stage productions for MSC World Asia, four of them new...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean warned guests aboard Oasis of the Seas that toilets in affected areas would be unavailable during two two-hour maintenance periods on September 30 while the ship was docked in Nassau, after an identical notice during a July 29 call there. Carnival is already half booked for 2027, with occupancy and pricing at record levels for this stage of the booking cycle, and its Celebration Key destination on Grand Bahama received almost 2.5 million guests in its first year. Royal Caribbean Group, which removed 977 metric tons of sargassum from Mahahual's reef lagoon in five months, is adding a third...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean has canceled Oasis of the Seas' September 29 call at Port Canaveral after a nor'easter delayed the ship's return to Cape Liberty by 10 hours, replacing the Florida visit with a sea day and moving the Nassau call three hours earlier. U.S. Customs and Border Protection removed six crew members from Norwegian Breakaway following a September 20 enforcement action in Boston under Operation Tidal Wave. And Norwegian Jade is crossing the Pacific to Yokohama for its first Japan and South Korea season since 2019, with nine- to 14-night cruises from Yokohama, Tokyo and Incheon through late November...

Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has withdrawn from evaluating Daniel's Head, an 18-acre site in Bermuda's Sandys Parish, as a day-tourism destination, though its planned Bermuda calls, including five Norwegian ships at Royal Naval Dockyard in 2027, are unaffected. P&O Cruises' Aurora is underway on a 24-night Grand Mediterranean voyage from Southampton with calls in southern Europe, Egypt and Tunisia, ahead of a 75-night America and Caribbean Discovery cruise in early 2027. And Disney Dream made its first call at Funchal, Madeira, during a 13-night transatlantic repositioning from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, with Disney Wish due in Madeira...

Today on Cruise News: Hurricane Polo, classified as a Category 5 storm, forces Royal Caribbean to drop Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas from Navigator of the Seas' September 25 Mexican Riviera sailing from Los Angeles, adding Puerto Vallarta instead, while Carnival Panorama's Long Beach departure also changes course. Then, Santa Cruz de Tenerife prepares for 23 cruise calls in October, with MSC Virtuosa helping bring up to 9,334 passengers on October 10 alone. And Ambassador Cruise Line launches a UK and French TV campaign built with AI and CGI from existing footage, avoiding film shoots aboard its busy ships. Visit CruiseNews.io for the full...

Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean has settled the federal lawsuit over the death of Michael Virgil aboard Navigator of the Seas in December 2024, with the payment going to his son and the amount undisclosed, while the coroner's findings on the shipboard restraint remain central to the safety questions. Royal Caribbean Group has agreed to pay roughly $3 billion for half of Sandals Resorts International in an equal joint venture with the Stewart family, raising questions about control, financing costs and what cruise passengers can expect. And Windstar Cruises has opened bookings for its summer 2028 Europe season, with 348 itinerary combinations across...

Today on Cruise News: Australian gambler Mark Timothy Grant has won an appeal allowing his $22,000 compensation claim against Royal Caribbean over five casino-reward cruises to proceed before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, while the cruise line's card-counting allegations remain unresolved. Carnival Cruise Line is holding full, in-person muster drills on five ships departing September 26-28 from Long Beach, Miami, Port Canaveral and Norfolk, involving more than 18,700 passengers. And in Nagoya, Asian Games organizers blamed incomplete delegation paperwork for boarding delays on the Costa Serena, which is housing more than 4,000 athletes and officials during the Games.

Carnival Encounter cuts its overnight Cairns call to a single day and adds Townsville as Ports North accelerates dredging in Trinity Inlet, making it the third Carnival itinerary affected by Cairns channel depths in September. Nicko Cruises adds a €10 per person, per night fuel surcharge to every segment of Vasco da Gama's 193-day 2026-27 world cruise, an extra €1,930 per person for full-voyage guests. And Meyer Werft floats out the first of three gigablocks for Disney Believe, the fourth Wish-class ship, which remains on schedule to join Disney Cruise Line's fleet in late 2027. Visit CruiseNews.io to see today's stories and sign...

Royal Caribbean has named retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson godmother of Legend of the Seas, with the naming ceremony set for Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale ahead of the ship's first Caribbean season. Aroya Cruises is adding Alexandria as a second embarkation gateway and its first 14-night voyages to an expanded 2026-27 Mediterranean program from Galataport Istanbul, which expects a 188% passenger increase. And the Isles of Scilly wrapped its 2026 cruise season with all 46 scheduled calls operating and 19,000 passengers tendered ashore without a single weather cancellation.

Silversea has delayed Silver Moon's departure from Tokyo by two days as Typhoon Dujuan approaches Japan, dropping the ship's Hiroshima call, cutting Osaka from an overnight stay to a day call and moving Kochi back by one day on the 14-night voyage. Busan is courting more overnight cruise calls with what the city describes as South Korea's first round-the-clock cruise-terminal operating system, after six overnight calls so far this year including the residence ship The World, with Azamara Pursuit scheduled to become the seventh. And Travelmarvel has returned to Nile River cruising after about a decade with the maiden voyage...

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas turned back to Nassau to evacuate two critically ill passengers, including a 7-year-old child, delaying its return to Cape Liberty in Bayonne by about eight hours, cancelling the next sailing's Port Canaveral call, and triggering flight reimbursements and onboard credit for guests. San Diego has opened its busiest cruise season in more than 15 years, with 183 scheduled calls and more than 700,000 passengers expected, led by a new 47-call Royal Caribbean homeport program and a Disney Cruise Line agreement that adds Disney Magic alongside Disney Wonder through at least 2031. And Hurtigruten has recovered 1,002 bottles of Barolo...

NOAA Fisheries is assessing the death of an endangered fin whale found on the bow of Norwegian Joy as the ship approached Sitka, Alaska, on Sept. 17, delaying the port call by about three hours. It is the second time since June that a cruise ship has arrived at an Alaska port with a dead fin whale on its bow. We also cover the seven Royal Caribbean ships, from Grandeur of the Seas to Icon of the Seas, that earned perfect 100-point scores in 2026 CDC Vessel Sanitation Program inspections, and what those scores do and don't tell you. Then a look...

Oceania Cruises' Riviera left Haines, Alaska, without docking after strong winds repeatedly pushed the 1,250-passenger ship out of position during berthing attempts, and anchoring was ruled out over the risk of a dragging anchor near the town's wastewater outfall and an undersea electrical cable. Oceania has also opened 12 segments of Oceania Aurelia's inaugural 180-day Around the World voyage for booking, offering 10- to 19-day portions of a January 2028 departure from Miami that together span six continents. And Fincantieri floated out Viking Astrea at its Ancona shipyard in Italy, Viking's second hydrogen-powered ocean ship, whose polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells from...

Fuel surcharge clauses are back in focus for passengers sailing from Port Canaveral, where Carnival Cruise Line retains contractual authority to add up to $9 per person per day and Royal Caribbean up to $12, including on some fully paid bookings, while Disney Cruise Line's published U.S. terms show no active supplement. In Alaska, the Alaska State Fire Marshal's Office has declared the dock at Whittier's Chugach Glacier Gateway Cruise Terminal a total loss after a Sept. 14 fire; no injuries were reported, Norwegian Jade shifted its embarkation across the water, and the Oct. 3 commissioning of the USS Ted Stevens moved to...

Today's brief covers three stories. Royal Caribbean laid the keel for its fifth Icon-class ship, NB-1408, at the Meyer Turku yard in Finland on September 14; the roughly 250,000-gross-ton vessel is scheduled to enter service in 2028. Celebrity Cruises completed the float out of Celebrity Compass on September 9, its first river ship, a 172-guest vessel with 86 staterooms that will debut on the Danube in August 2027 sailing between Budapest, Hungary and Vilshofen, Germany. And Cody Gray, 34, of Maitland, Florida, was arrested at PortMiami and charged with felony sexual battery and a misdemeanor count of giving alcohol to a minor; he pleaded not guilty...

Margaritaville at Sea Islander makes its first call at Willemstad, Curacao, arriving September 10 on a 10-night Southern and Western Caribbean sailing from Port Tampa Bay after the line reversed the voyage's Aruba and Curacao port days. Windstar Cruises takes its Destination Discovery Events fleetwide for 2027, adding evening programs in Livorno, Dubrovnik and London across all eight yachts and 165 sailings, with Star Pride calling at the Tower of London and the new 224-guest Star Explorer joining the fleet. And Celebrity Summit marks 25 years with Celebrity Cruises, from its 2001 delivery at Chantiers de l'Atlantique and first sailing out of Port Everglades through...

MSC Cruises' MSC World Asia has completed final sea trials off western France ahead of delivery by Chantiers de l'Atlantique on November 25, 2026. The 216,638-gross-ton ship measures 333.3 metres and carries up to 6,764 passengers in 2,614 cabins, with a naming ceremony set for Le Havre on November 28 and a first passenger sailing from Barcelona on December 4. In Florida, Marco Island City Council approved three Rose Marina requests on September 10, 2026, clearing a 200-seat waterfront restaurant, expanded parking and reconfigured docks, with the new dock plan limiting the marina to three buses and 150 passengers at a time. Opponents raised traffic and environmental concerns over Factory...

Norwegian Cruise Line has closed all public hot tubs and private balcony whirlpools aboard Norwegian Prima after three Legionnaires' disease diagnoses involving passengers on May and July 2026 sailings, with water testing underway across showers, faucets and hot tubs, all results negative so far, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention involved; NCL says it has not been confirmed whether the exposure occurred on the ship or elsewhere, and Caribbean itineraries from Port Canaveral continue unchanged. Carnival Cruise Line replaced self-muster with full in-person muster drills on Carnival Magic's September 13 departure from Miami and Carnival Paradise's September 14 departure from Tampa...

Royal Caribbean is pushing for growth in Türkiye as Icon-class hardware reshapes its Mediterranean deployment: Legend of the Seas, at roughly 250,000 gross tons and 5,610 guests at double occupancy, began sailing July 4, 2026 and stays in the Mediterranean for 2027, while Odyssey of the Seas moves to the Eastern Mediterranean and Hero of the Seas debuts from Miami in August 2027. Costa Cruises will homeport the 3,000-guest Costa Pacifica in Istanbul for 28 seven-night sailings starting April 18, 2027, reserving 2,800 cabins for the Turkish market and calling at Izmir, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens and Volos, with Crete and Rhodes replacing Izmir and Volos from late May. And V...

JetBlue's travel subsidiary Paisly has added Viking, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises to JetBlue Vacations, bringing river itineraries to the platform for the first time and letting travelers earn JetBlue TrueBlue points while remaining eligible for cruise-line rewards, with Paisly set to power MileagePlus Travel cruises in 2027. In Western New York, longtime firefighters Dawn and John Gauthier are organizing the Valor Voyage Firefighter Cruise, a five-night sailing aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas departing March 4, 2028, with calls at Belize City and Puerto Costa Maya and two sea days of leadership, tactics and mental health sessions; a portion...

Today's Cruise News covers three stories from across the industry. Minnesota pastor Stephen Junker, 58, died Sept. 4 after suffering a severe spinal cord injury in a pool aboard Sun Princess off Italy in August, where he had traveled for his son's onboard wedding; he underwent emergency spinal surgery in Naples before his family arranged his return to Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Explorations by Norwegian's Regatta departed Civitavecchia, Italy, on Sept. 1 for a 371-day world cruise billed as the world's longest, scheduled to visit 220 ports in 62 countries across six continents, with 24 regional segments also on sale. And MSC Cruises unveiled five new...

Princess Cruises has removed Princess Cays from published itineraries for six ships beginning in November 2026, ending 34 years of scheduled calls at the Eleuthera beach destination since 1992; the October 17, 2026 departure of Regal Princess is the last published Princess itinerary to include it, Sun Princess and Caribbean Princess are among the vessels being redirected, and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and Celebration Key are among the replacement destinations, with prepaid excursions, cabanas and beach rentals automatically canceled and refunded. Royal Caribbean International's Hero of the Seas completed its float-out at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland on September 4, with crews filling the dock...