Passengers aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic experienced a chaotic afternoon on May 30, 2025, when the ship broke free from its moorings while docked in Catania, Italy. The incident occurred just after 1 p.m. local time as guests were reboarding the vessel following a port stop in the Sicilian city. Videos and eyewitness reports indicate that
Cruise lines with private islands in The Bahamas will soon face tighter tax scrutiny as the government rolls out new compliance measures aimed at increasing revenue. Prime Minister Philip Davis KC unveiled a new initiative on May 28, 2025, as part of the 2025-2026 Budget, calling the move essential to ensuring “fairness and equity.” The
Passengers eager to set sail with Carnival Cruise Line in late 2026 and early 2027 may want to double check their itineraries. The cruise line has made a series of updates affecting four ships: Carnival Valor, Mardi Gras, Carnival Spirit, and Carnival Glory. The adjustments include destination swaps, new port arrival times, and in a few cases, reversing the
Mein Schiff Flow, the second ship in TUI Cruises’ InTUItion-class, celebrated a milestone with the May 30, 2025 float-out from her construction bay at an Italian shipyard. The 4,000-guest ship is being built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone location, where a launching ceremony was held to mark the first time the ship’s hull touched water. The float-out
Carnival Cruise Line is back with some more itinerary changes – but don’t worry, no popular ports of call have been removed or replaced. Instead, Carnival has changed the departure times on embarkation day for select sailings across eight different cruise ships – including Carnival Liberty, Carnival Venezia, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Dream, Carnival
On May 29, 2025, Holland America Line announced an exciting new lineup of cruises that will be taking place during a solar eclipse, allowing passengers to be in the line of totality on August 2, 2027. “The excitement around viewing a total solar eclipse the past few years has been palpable, and we jumped at
As Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the unofficial start to summer, the cruise season is in full swing. And so, too, is the start of hurricane season. Following the holiday weekend, a storm system in the eastern Pacific Ocean has been gathering strength, with Tropical Storm Alvin becoming the first named storm of the 2025
Cruise passengers hoping to use Royal Caribbean’s app to manage their next cruise instead found themselves the unwitting participants in a tech testing spree. Beginning the morning of May 29, 2025, mobile users started receiving a series of repeated push notifications from the Royal Caribbean app, all reading some variation of the “test segment.” None
It’s been more than a decade since the fifth and final ship in Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice class entered service, and now the line is set to invest $250 million to renovate all of the vessels in the series. First up will be Celebrity Solstice, the first ship in the class that debuted in 2008. Several
Passengers who recently sailed aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas are being notified that a fellow guest has been diagnosed with Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. The cruise line issued a letter alerting guests and outlining steps taken in response. “Your health and safety are always our top priority, and we are reaching out
If you’re going to break the rules, be prepared to face the consequences. And if you’re hoping to avoid the consequences, then definitely don’t post about what you did on social media. Likely thanks to a popular social media post, Carnival has caught and cracked down on a recent guest, named Courtney Murley, who allegedly
Skagway, Alaska, has officially enacted a new sales tax policy on land tours and shore excursions – and the cruise lines don’t like it one bit. Cruise companies have long been exempted from including commission fees in the taxes on Skagway shore excursions that are sold by the cruise lines. For context, the commission fees
