Key Aspects: Princess Cruises is delaying Grand Princess’ departure from San Juan to allow additional time for passengers affected by flight cancellations. The delay has the ship spending the night in Puerto Rico, then proceeding directly to St. Kitts. Affected guests will miss a call in St. Thomas and receive a prorated refund. What was supposed to
Key Aspects: Virgin Voyages rerouted Valiant Lady’s 7-night Caribbean sailing, replacing planned stops in Aruba and Curaçao. The January 3, 2026, voyage will now visit Barbados and St. Lucia instead. The change comes amidst travel disruptions across the Caribbean following an attack on Venezuela by the US government. After a surprise US military attack in Venezuela
Key Aspects: A federal appeals court blocked Hawaii from enforcing a new climate-related tax on cruise ship passengers. The tax would have imposed an 11 percent levy on prorated cruise fares, with counties authorized to raise the total to 14 percent. State officials say the pause is temporary, while Cruise Lines International Association will continue
Key Aspects: The FAA temporarily restricted US flights, including Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean. It’s due to the US military attack in Venezuela that took place on January 3. Cruise passengers were unable to fly home, while others on suspended flights missed embarkation. Cruise passengers traveling across the Caribbean woke up to
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line will be returning to the old safety briefing format for an upcoming sailing onboard Carnival Miracle. Meanwhile, guests of Carnival Radiance and Carnival Firenze have been warned of limited parking at the Long Beach Cruise Port. Finally, future passengers of Carnival Venezia are being reminded about the policies for sailing
Welcome to 2026 and this week’s recap of the major cruise developments, all covered by Cruise Hive. Highlights in this edition include stories about the first cruise ship to dock at Great Stirrup Cay’s brand new pier, Port Canaveral again winning the title of Best US Cruise Homeport, and how one teenager learned a life
Key Aspects: Intense winds interrupted a performance by DJ Alok onboard MSC Preziosa. The ship also briefly tilted in the storm, which was scary for some guests. The cruise ship was quickly righted, and no significant damage or injuries were reported. DJ Alok’s New Year’s Show onboard MSC Preziosa blew guests away, but not for
Key Aspects: A 76-year-old American woman was evacuated from a cruise ship off the Mexican Pacific coast after an onboard injury. The rescue happened on January 1, 2026, during a 17-night Panama Canal repositioning cruise. Mexican naval rescue crews transferred the injured guest from Viking Sky to a nearby hospital. The New Year got off to a
Key Aspects: Royal Caribbean Group will launch its Points Choice rewards program on January 30, 2026. The new program allows guests to apply loyalty points to any of its three brands. A points table shows the exchange rates between the brands. As promised, Royal Caribbean Group has revealed details of its new Points Choice rewards
Key Aspects: The search for a guest overboard from Nieuw Statendam on January 1, 2026 has been suspended. Updates confirm the guest is a 77-year-old woman and the overboard was likely deliberate. Nieuw Statendam has resumed sailing but cancelled her January 2 port visit to Key West due to the delay. The US Coast Guard
Key Aspects: Princess Cruises celebrated the new year with a Star Princess float in the Rose Parade. The float celebrated the debut of the new ship and her inaugural Alaska season. The impressive display featured over 300,000 flowers and other natural materials. Princess Cruises rang in the New Year with a special float in the
Key Aspects: A Carnival guest was caught with illegal videos on his cellphone while disembarking from Mardi Gras. The video depicts adults participating in sexual acts with dogs. He was arrested days later on 15 different counts related to animal abuse. One recent guest of Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras is beginning the new year
