Cruise News

Metropolitan, the cruise line's Sail & Sustain cocktail bar, has been moved from mid-ship to the aft of Deck 7 on Norwegian Aqua. The venue will feature a distinct new design inspired by New York City's art deco and mid-century architecture, as well as a grand piano and a small entertainment space for live music. Some passengers booked on itineraries in the region, however, are making alternate plans. “The safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority and as there was no viable alternative itinerary, the Company has regrettably had to cancel the voyages.

Carnival Mardi Gras Crew Honored for Rescuing 16 People at Sea

The cruise line revealed new food and beverage venue details ahead of the Prima Plus-class ship's arrival in 2025. Itinerary changes as a result of the conflict are also being felt in other geographic areas, too. Passengers aboard Norwegian Epic were notified that their November itinerary would drop ports in Israel – but also the Greek ports of Rhodes and Patmos.

Disney Cruise Ships: Newest to Oldest

The announcement of the ship order came as a surprise to cruise watchers, who believed Utopia of the Seas would likely be the line’s final Oasis-class ship. The line already has introduced its newest class, Icon, with the launch in January of the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, now the world’s largest ship. It’s time for another cruise news update from Cruise Hive, your best bet to keep up with all of the major cruise developments you need to know about. To welcome the ship, Norwegian Cruise Line hosted executives, media (including Cruise Critic), partners and travel agents on a short preview sailing in celebration of the newest ship in the fleet. The ship is scheduled to homeport in Port Canaveral, New York and Miami during its inaugural season. One of Norwegian Aqua's culinary highlights will be Sukhothai, Norwegian Cruise Line's first-ever Thai restaurant.

Carnival Cruise Line shuts down illegal on-board activity - TheStreet

Carnival Cruise Line shuts down illegal on-board activity.

Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:12:47 GMT [source]

Norwegian Cruise Line Unveils New Culinary Experiences on Aqua

Weigand joined the line as entertainment staff in 2015 and became a cruise director in 2018. She has served aboard several ships, including Carnival Spirit, Carnival Dream, and Carnival Sunrise, among others. Royal Caribbean opened for sale a slew of 2025 and 2026 cruises to the Caribbean and Canada/New England from a wide choice of ports. Bookings for voyages onboard seven ships opened to Crown & Anchor Society members on February 14, 2024 and to the general public a day later. In what's been a busy week of cruise news, we're got all the major stories, including new ship orders from cruise giants, cancellations and angry guests.

With the conflict continuing to escalate – and the increased possibility it could spread beyond the borders of Israel and the Gaza Strip – cruisers are starting to wonder what may become of their cruises to the region in the coming months. “We were on tour of Galilee region at Jordan River when we were all recalled to the ship,” writes CNSJ on Cruise Critic’s Holland America Line message boards. Three days in Holy Land has become three hours…obviously this is beyond HALs control.

Set to be located on the ship's 17th deck, the new venue will feature staple dishes from the Southeast Asian country, such as Thai Cashew Chicken, Salt and Pepper Prawns and Thai Grilled Steak Salad. Affected departures include Celestyal's "Three Continents" voyages sailing aboard Celestyal Journey on October 21, 28; November 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2023. Royal Caribbean has canceled the entire Middle East season aboard its Rhapsody of the Seas, which is now being used for humanitarian aid in the region since it was previously operating sailings out of Haifa. Excel-class enthusiasts will be watching to see what unique features the new-build will offer. The newest in the class, Carnival Jubilee, introduced new “zones,” including Currents and The Shores, inspired by ocean and beach, and a Grand Central atrium, among others.

Anticipated transits of the Suez Canal later in 2024 and into 2025 are not affected at this time. The affected ships, which include Costa Cruises' Costa Toscana and Costa Deliziosa; Princess Cruises' Island Princess; and AIDA Cruises' AIDAbella, AIDAblu, and AIDAprima, along with P&O Cruises' Arcadia. Once in the Mediterranean, the ship will stop in Barcelona, Malta's Valletta, and Santorini before arriving in Athens (Piraeus).

"The ship was originally scheduled to sail in the Middle East. We’ve postponed our launch in that region to begin in November 2024,” said Windstar Cruises President Christopher Prelog. Windstar Cruises, which was to deploy its Star Legend on its first series of Middle East voyages next month from Dubai, sent a note to passengers on October 16 advising them that their cruises had been canceled. Cruise lines had initially canceled ports of call in Israel like Ashdod and Haifa following the attack on Israel by Hamas in early October. Now, with the conflict showing no signs of resolving, some cruise lines have begun making sweeping changes to current and upcoming deployments in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf. Each brand is offering affected cruisers a variety of compensation options, depending on the circumstances and whether their voyages are already underway.

For the second time, Princess Cruises has cancelled the inaugural cruise of its new ship, Sun Princess, due to the need for additional technical work to be completed. The 175,000-gross-ton vessel was officially delivered to the line by the Fincantieri shipyard on February 14, 2024. Boston will be the seasonal homeport for summer sailings to Canada aboard Brilliance of the Seas, while Baltimore will continue to host Vision of the Seas on a year-round basis.

The 3,571-passenger ship is also set to feature enhanced and redesigned venues that previously debuted on the cruise line's Prima Class vessels. The Commodore Room, one of Norwegian Aqua's main complimentary dining rooms, has been reimagined to feature a rustic aesthetic inspired by the venue's seafaring name. In the beverage department, Norwegian Aqua will see the debut of Swirl Wine Bar, a contemporary wine bar that will be located on Deck 6 between Whiskey Bar and the hibachi-style restaurant Hasuki.

In an abundance of caution, we have adjusted select itineraries of Silver Moon, Silver Spirit, and Silver Whisper. We are notifying guests and travel advisors of changes directly,” the cruise line said in a statement shared with Cruise Critic. The ship was originally scheduled to sail from Dubai to Athens on March 13, but will now circumnavigate Africa. British line Marella Cruises is the latest in a string of cruise lines to adjust itineraries amid the ongoing Red Sea conflict and crisis in the Middle East. Next week the cruise industry meets for its biggest conference of the year and will discuss the trends shaping cruising.

Dozens of Bolivian passengers from an MSC cruise ship are being deported back to their home country after officials in S... Cunard Line took delivery today, April 19, from Fincantieri on its first new cruise ship built for the storied brand in... After several years sailing for Silversea Cruises, the Silver Explorer was withdrawn from the company’s fleet in November. The 2003-built cruise ship is now set to undergo a refit before entering service for Celestyal in the Eastern Mediterranean as the Celestyal Discovery. Acquired by the company, the former Costa Atlantica is set to be renamed Margaritaville at Sea Islander for cruises out of Tampa. The new ship launched in the spring, enticing travelers with a two-story sundeck, expanded rooftop garden and French chef Daniel Boulud's first restaurant at sea.