Key Aspects: Norwegian Cruise Line has officially unveiled Great Tides Waterpark with a ribbon-cutting event and exclusive preview at Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas. Great Tides Waterpark will officially open to cruise guests on September 4, 2026, when Norwegian Luna visits. The nearly 6-acre waterpark features 19 waterslides, an over 800-foot Wandering River, cliff
Key Aspects: MSC Poesia will not visit Endicott Arm for her last three cruises of the Alaska season due to “seasonal operational considerations.” Instead of the scenic cruising, the ship will arrive in Juneau six hours ahead of schedule for an extended visit. No other port visits on MSC Poesia’s September 14 Alaska sailing is
Key Aspects: Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley has chosen Dolly as the name for the Chief Dog Officer on the upcoming Hero of the Seas. Dolly was not originally one of the finalist names but was added to the selection following the singer’s passing. Hero of the Seas is scheduled to debut in August 2027
Key Aspects: Captain Gennaro Arma has announced he is leaving Princess Cruises after 28 years with the cruise line. He has not announced a final departure date or what comes next, though he did not characterize his departure as a full retirement. Arma became widely known as captain of Diamond Princess during its COVID-19 quarantine
Key Aspects: Serenade of the Seas‘ August 30, 2026 departure is now completely cancelled and guests must debark the ship in Vancouver. While guests did board the ship on August 30, the vessel remained in Vancouver for repairs with the hope of a shortened itinerary. All guests will now receive a full refund and a
Key Aspects: A September 5 sailing on Carnival Encounter will no longer visit Cairns due to shallow channel depths. Airlie Beach will move forward a day to September 8 in place of Cairns, with a newly added Townsville call on September 9. The ship will return to Brisbane one hour later than scheduled and Cairns
Key Aspects: MSC Seashore will be leaving Port Canaveral 30 minutes earlier than scheduled on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The cruise line has alerted guests to the change and everyone must arrive at the terminal for check-in no later than 2:30 p.m. No other changes to the ship’s 7-night Western Caribbean and Bahamas itinerary have
Key Aspects: Carnival Breeze hit and scraped along the corner of the pier in Cozumel while docking on Monday morning, August 31, 2026. Video and photos posted online show scraped paint damage on the ship’s starboard hull, but no injuries have been reported. The ship departed Cozumel as planned and appears to be continuing her
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line has revealed the dated, ship-specific designs for the Carnival Rewards Diamond and Platinum pins. Guests at those status levels can pick up the appropriate pin from the onboard photo gallery for sailings beginning September 1, 2026 and later. Pins for Gold status guests have been discontinued with the Carnival Rewards
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line’s new Carnival Rewards program begins Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Guests need to be aware of stars, points, and milestone rewards as they move forward with the new spend-based program. Glitches have been reported in the days before the new program launches following a planned website outage. Carnival Cruise Line’s new
Key Aspects: Norwegian Cruise Line is alerting guests to three recent cases of Legionnaires’ disease involving guests who sailed aboard Norwegian Prima in May and July 2026. All testing for the Legionella bacteria onboard has been negative thus far and the cruise line is working with the CDC. It is not known whether the guests
Key Aspects: An HM Coastguard helicopter airlifted a guest from Carnival Legend on the morning of Saturday, August 29, 2026. The ship was traveling in the English Channel at the time of the medical emergency and diverted slightly to meet the helicopter. No delay has been reported for Carnival Legend returning to Dover for debarkation
