Norwegian Cruise Line currently sends five of its ships on Alaska cruises — Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Spirit — and the best of the bunch is going to depend on what kind of experience you’re hoping for and what matters most to you when cruising. Overall, while yes, the brand may not have a
Key Aspects: Celestyal Cruises has cancelled the next two sailings of Celestyal Discovery, due to the Iran war. The line’s two ships, Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey, are in Dubai and Doha, respectively. Both ships were operating Arabian Gulf itineraries when the conflict began. As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to escalate, engulfing the
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line is now rolling out a dinner Express Dining service across the fleet. The program will be available onboard all Carnival ships by the end of May. Express Dining menus are slightly abbreviated but do not sacrifice quality or deliciousness. With so much to do onboard a cruise ship, guests are
Key Aspects: Florida has passed Senate Bill 302, which will hinder plans for a new cruise port in Tampa. The new legislation protects the waters surrounding the proposed site, which could block necessary dredging and construction. Public opposition also continues to grow, with a petition against the port nearing 20,000 signatures. Another hurdle is blocking
Key Aspects: Princess Cruises is raising onboard food and beverage service charges from 18% to 20%. The change is being implemented fleetwide in early March 2026, though not on the same day for every ship. The service charge increase follows the recent Medallion shipping increase as well. Princess Cruises is quietly raising a non-refundable, non-optional
Key Aspects: P&O Cruises will require the final payment 120 days before departure for new bookings. The affected sailings begin December 1, 2026, and onward. Existing reservations and bookings remain under the current 90-day payment policy. Planning a cruise with P&O Cruises more than a year out will soon come with a new timeline for
Key Aspects: Port Canaveral has begun vertical construction on a new parking garage at Cruise Terminal 6. The new garage will add more than 3,500 parking spaces to the busy homeport. Estimated completion of the new garage is expected to be in fall 2026. Every cruise guest who has driven to one of the world’s
Key Aspects: One guest wants thousands of cruisers to change White Night because of her granddaughter’s wedding. She is not getting the response she might have hoped for and could have sabotaged her own intent. Cruise ship entitlement requests can quickly get out of control with unreasonable demands. All cruise guests are familiar with onboard
Key Aspects: Platinum VIFP benefits have been removed from Carnival Miracle‘s March 14, 2026 sailing. Guests will no longer get several priority benefits, but the perks seem to be preserved for Diamond level guests. Carnival Cruise Line’s VIFP program will end on August 31, 2026 and Carnival Rewards begins September 1. Just a few days
Key Aspects: Virgin Voyages will be operating its 2026 New York sailings out of Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. Manhattan’s Pier 90 is currently closed to cruise ships due to infrastructure upgrades, creating capacity limitations in the port. Valiant Lady’s April, September, and October itineraries will be affected by this change. Virgin Voyages’ cruises out of
Key Aspects: AROYA Cruises has officially cancelled all future sailings in the Persian Gulf for the remainder of the current season. All guests have been able to safely disembark from the brand’s only ship, Aroya, in Dubai. However, the 3,362-guest vessel will remain in Dubai until further notice. Another cruise line has scrapped its season
Key Aspects: Norwegian Epic will no longer visit Cozumel on its January 10, 2027 departure. The other ports on the 7-night sailing are also rearranged and have had their times adjusted. Cruise lines can and do change itineraries for many reasons, and can do so at any time. When travelers pick a cruise itinerary, the
