Cruise News

Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has withdrawn from evaluating Daniel's Head, an 18-acre site in Bermuda's Sandys Parish, as a day-tourism destination, though its planned Bermuda calls, including five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 in May 2027. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.

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 stories and free email alerts.

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 five ships, a Circumnavigate Ireland itinerary, Monaco Grand Prix sailings and the return of its Mystery Cruises from Athens.

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 up for free email alerts.

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 of the 124-passenger Travelmarvel Sirius, which departed Luxor for Aswan with Egyptology-qualified tour directors leading shore excursions and 2028 departures now open to American travelers.

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 from Italian winery Rivetto after 12 months stored 34 metres beneath the Arctic Ocean off Kirkenes, with the Arctic Barolo to be served exclusively aboard its 10 Norwegian coast ships.

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 at the 2026-27 newbuild pipeline, led by MSC World Asia, which will be named in Le Havre on Nov. 28 before its Dec. 4 debut from Barcelona, alongside the hydrogen-powered Viking Libra and Regent's Seven Seas Prestige.

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 Isotta Fraschini Motori will be capable of producing up to six megawatts for zero exhaust-emission operation during portions of a sailing.