Cruise News Roundup: Lawsuits, Protests, Groundings, and a Brand New Lunch Menu
It’s been a chaotic week on the water. A ship is stuck on a reef near a famous movie island, Norwegian Cruise Line settled a drowning lawsuit days before trial, and Virgin Voyages sent guests to Canada instead of Bermuda.
We’ve also got coverage on fishermen blocking cruise ships, Alaska changes spreading to a fourth line, and fried chicken. Let’s get into it.
Valiant Lady Trades Bermuda for a Canadian Snowstorm
Nobody books a Virgin Voyages sailing from New York expecting to end up in Canada. But that’s exactly what happened to guests boarding Valiant Lady on April 6.
Just three days before embarkation, the cruise line sent an email. The call to Bermuda was out and the visit to Saint John, New Brunswick was in, which is roughly 900 miles further north.
The reason was safety. Forecasted winds at Kings Wharf would have made docking the 110,000-gross-ton ship genuinely dangerous. Hard to argue with that.
The temperature gap, though. Bermuda was expecting highs around 70°F. Saint John? Around 40°F, with possible snow the night before arrival.
Virgin Voyages offered $100 in onboard credit for the change. Some guests took it well, but one Reddit commenter said they’d never visited Canada before and planned to embrace it. Others felt $100 didn’t come close to cutting it. Guests who wanted out could take a future cruise credit, but a full cash refund was not on the table.
Fiji Princess Runs Aground Near the Cast Away Island
Of all the places to end up stuck on a reef, Monuriki Island in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands is a memorable one. It’s the island Tom Hanks was stranded on in the 2000 film Cast Away.
Blue Lagoon Cruises’ Fiji Princess struck a reef nearby in the early hours of April 4, while on a 7-night itinerary. The cruise line said conditions were calm at anchor. Then a sudden squall dragged the ship onto the reef.
All 30 passengers were evacuated the following morning without injury, along with 17 non-essential crew members.
The damage was serious. Authorities confirmed structural damage to the rear of the vessel and the steering area, and the ship began taking on water. Around 5,300 gallons of diesel were onboard. No damage to the fuel tanks was found, and crews moved quickly to pump fuel off as a precaution.
Rough seas linked to nearby Tropical Cyclone Vaianu have slowed salvage efforts. The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji said it simply wasn’t safe to put equipment in the water. Some crew members are staying aboard the ship’s sister vessel nearby while the work continues.
Holland America Raises Gratuities. Did You Notice?
No press release. No announcement. Guests just started spotting it on their bookings.
Holland America Line has increased its daily crew appreciation charge by $1 per person for all sailings from June 1, 2026 onwards. Standard staterooms are now $18 per person, per day. Suites are $20.
Holland America Cruise Ship in Fort Lauderdale (Photo Credit: Darryl Brooks)
Restaurant and beverage service charges are also going up, from 18% to 20%. Those can’t be adjusted or removed.
Holland America is part of the same Carnival Corporation family as Carnival Cruise Line, which introduced its own $1 per day increase earlier in April. These things tend to move through the group in waves.
For a family of four on a 7-night balcony sailing, it works out to $28 extra in gratuities from June onwards.
Norwegian Settles Drowning Lawsuit Two Days Before Trial
This one has been grinding through the courts for over a year. It’s finally done.
Hyon Duk Shin died at Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda on March 27, 2024. He’d been in the water with his two young sons, aged 7 and 9, when he spotted a girl being pulled away by a rip current. He got her back to safety. He didn’t make it himself.
His family sued NCL the following year, arguing the cruise line knew the beach had a history of dangerous conditions and said nothing. Not enough lifeguards, no warnings about the currents, no disclosure of previous deaths nearby.
NCL pushed back hard, filing for summary judgment on the basis that open water hazards are obvious by nature. The judge wasn’t convinced. She pointed to the captain’s log from Norwegian Getaway, which included strong winds recorded at port that day, the kind that create exactly the currents that killed him.
Two days before the trial was set to begin, both sides came to a settlement. The case wraps up formally once paperwork clears over the next 45 days.
The beach transfer excursion is still on sale on NCL’s website. Still listed as “easy.” Still no mention of currents.
Guest Sues Celebrity Cruises After Tripping Over a Speaker
One passenger’s evening aboard Celebrity Reflection ended on the floor of the grand foyer.
Jeannette Beres was on Deck 3 of the Solstice-class ship on January 14, 2025, dancing in the atrium when she went down. A speaker, she claims, had been left by crew members right in the middle of the dance floor. In the way of guests. No warning, no signage, nothing marking it off.
She fractured her foot. Filed suit in March 2026 seeking compensation for pain, suffering, and financial losses. Celebrity Cruises hasn’t said a word publicly, and no footage has surfaced. Two sides to every story, but this one’s now in the hands of the courts.
Fishermen Block Sun Princess From Docking in Corsica
Not every port miss is down to weather. On April 7, fishermen angry about rising diesel costs blocked access to ports across Corsica. Ferries were stranded and cruise ships couldn’t dock.
Sun Princess showed up at Port Ajaccio, and the captain tried to negotiate. The fishermen’s position was simple: come in if you want, but you’re not leaving. As a result, the 4,300-passenger ship had to turn around.
She pressed on toward Genoa, with an overnight in La Spezia to follow before wrapping up in Civitavecchia. The protests are rooted in fuel costs tied to ongoing Middle East tensions, and the Corsican agricultural union is already talking about widening the action. Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Marella, and Saga all have April calls to the island lined up. Whether those go ahead is anyone’s guess right now.
Royal Caribbean Is the Fourth Line to Drop Tracy Arm Fjord
One by one, the cruise lines are pulling Tracy Arm Fjord from their Alaska seasons. Royal Caribbean is the latest.
Last August, a landslide sent roughly 100 million cubic meters of debris into the fjord and triggered a localized tsunami. No ships were inside at the time. The debris is still there, more slides are possible, and nobody wants to be the line that pushes its luck.
Thirty-one sailings across the Radiance-class Serenade of the Seas and the Voyager-class Voyager of the Seas are now rerouted through Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier, just 20 miles south and just as scenic.
Royal Caribbean-booked excursions will be adjusted or refunded automatically. Carnival, Holland America, and Virgin Voyages had already made the same call. Norwegian, Princess, and Celebrity still have Tracy Arm on their schedules for now.
Carnival Is Testing a New Free Lunch Venue
Right, enough bad news. Carnival is trialing a new lunch spot called Chicken, Waffles, & Waves on select Conquest-class ships. It’s been seen on Carnival Freedom, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Glory, and Carnival Valor. Brand ambassador John Heald confirmed the test is live.
The setup is on Deck 10 aft, where the old ‘Ol Fashioned BBQ used to be. The menu runs through fried chicken three ways, saucy tenders, slow-cooked pork, beef brisket, waffles, and sides. Mac and cheese, coleslaw, and bacon potato salad. All free.
Lines are short. Seating is easy to find. Guests are broadly happy with it, though a few want a grilled chicken option and think the waffles could be crispier.
Heald hasn’t said whether it goes fleetwide. Worth keeping an eye on if you’re sailing on one of those ships soon.
More Cruise Headlines
A Carnival cruise passenger has taken an assault claim against the line to federal court this week. Norwegian Dawn is being moved to a new homeport after port availability issues forced the change. And Princess Cruises is switching some of its Juneau calls to tender operations for the upcoming Alaska season.
Cruise News Roundup: Lawsuits, Protests, Groundings, and a Brand New Lunch Menu