Key Aspects: Guests on many Carnival ships have noticed that 2026 collectible VIFP pins are not yet available. John Heald has explained that trouble with shipping has delayed the pins, but they are on the way. Guests can request updated pins if they have already sailed in 2026 but not received the correct pin. Experienced
Key Aspects: Scarlet Lady will be operating a different itinerary than planned for her December 12, 2026, sailing. Instead of the Mayan Sol itinerary, the Virgin Voyages’ ship will operate a Grand Turk & Bimini Beach Club sailing. The main change is that the ship will call to Grand Turk instead of Costa Maya. When
Key Aspects: The Port of Los Angeles is getting a brand new cruise terminal in the Outer Harbor. Carrix, Inc. and JLC Infrastructure will undertake this task as a joint venture. The existing World Cruise Center will also be redeveloped in the near future. The Port of Los Angeles is making plans to build a
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line is alerting guests sailing on Carnival Pride that the winter storm may impact their sailing. The impacted cruise is the ship’s January 25 departure from Baltimore, in the middle of a winter storm warning. There are no confirmed changes at this time, but guests should sign up for text alerts
Key Aspects: The Halifax Cruise Port is a seasonal port open from May to November that serves as a port of call on many Canada and New England, transatlantic, and repositioning cruises. Halifax’s port serves several different cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian, and Holland America. The port is close to several popular attractions,
Key Aspects: In a first for Carnival Cruise Line, one of its ships will call at North African ports in 2027. Carnival Sunshine will visit Tunisia and Morocco on Western Mediterranean voyages. The ship will also sail a special solar eclipse cruise in July 2027. For the first time in its history, Carnival Cruise Line
Key Aspects: The Miami Marathon will cause traffic congestion and delays near PortMiami on Sunday, January 25, 2026. Carnival Cruise Line has alerted guests on Carnival Celebration and Carnival Horizon to adjust for extra traffic. Other cruise lines are also in port that day and as many as 65,000 guests may be impacted. Carnival Cruise
Key Aspects: Norwegian Encore was unable to call at Costa Maya, Mexico, on January 21 due to port availability. Instead, the ship will turn its call to Great Stirrup Cay into an overnight visit starting on January 22. This is the first time NCL has ever hosted an overnight call at its private destination. A
Key Aspects: Previously, Amsterdam imposed limits on ship calls and made plans to relocate the cruise terminal. But now, the local government is making plans to ban ocean-faring cruise ships entirely by 2035. This is being done in an effort to mitigate overtourism and pollution in the city. After announcing limitations for cruise ships just
Key Aspects: Margaritaville at Sea announces an expanded lineup of bars, lounges, and music venues for its new ship, Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber. The lineup includes a mix of new concepts and returning venues. A Zac Brown-curated live music space will be the centerpiece. Guests sailing aboard Margaritaville at Sea’s new Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber will have no
Key Aspects: The Port of New Orleans welcomed more than one million cruise passengers in 2025. This is the ninth year in a row (disregarding the pandemic) that the port has hosted more than one million guests. More and larger ships homeported from the Big Easy will help the record-breaking trend continue in 2026 and
Key Aspects: MSC Cruises’ MSC Opera is set to deploy year-round to the Dominican Republic. The ship will begin sailing from La Romana in November 2026. The cruise line previously offered only seasonal voyages in the Southern Caribbean. MSC Cruises is gearing up to deploy its MSC Opera to the Southern Caribbean on a year-round
