Key Aspects: Norwegian Cruise Line has updated the dress code for the most elevated specialty restaurants in its fleet. Greater restrictions have now been placed on where guests can wear flip flops and shorts for dinner. Guests report inconsistent enforcement of dress codes on different ships, which is always a challenge for the crew. The
Key Aspects: Virgin Voyages reported its highest booking month in its history in January 2026. In 2025, the cruise line also saw bookings increase by nearly 20 percent year over year. The company’s gross ticket revenue also rose nearly 30 percent in 2025. Adults looking for a break from family-focused vacations are fueling new growth
Key Aspects: Ambience is removing Havana from her 40-night Caribbean itinerary due to a UK travel advisory update. The ship will instead replace the call with two new port visits, one to Guadeloupe and one to St. Kitts. The visit to Guadeloupe will include an impromptu meetup with another ship in the Ambassador Cruise Line
Key Aspects: The manufacturing is now complete for all 949 crew cabins destined for installation aboard Carnival Festivale. Construction of the pre-fab cabins took 25 weeks and work will now transition to guest staterooms. In total, Carnival Festivale will be home to 3,585 crew and guest staterooms. While her debut to welcome guests isn’t until
Key Aspects: A first-time cruiser’s suitcase went missing on embarkation day onboard Liberty of the Seas. Despite repeatedly visiting guest services for help, the passenger was never reunited with their belongings. The guest felt that Royal Caribbean didn’t do enough to help the situation and didn’t offer adequate compensation. One passenger was forced to endure
Key Aspects: Australian authorities inspected Carnival Encounter after a whistleblower turned over hundreds of crew complaints. After a thorough inspection, Carnival was cleared of any wrongdoing or misconduct toward crew members. The ship is now on its way to Singapore, where it will undergo routine maintenance in dry dock. After an unidentified crew member sounded
Key Aspects: Recent and current guests on Norwegian Encore are being alerted to two recent cases of Legionnaires’ disease. The illness was diagnosed from two guests who sailed in December 2025, but the exact sailing date has not been disclosed. All testing onboard Norwegian Encore has been negative and the CDC is monitoring ongoing precautionary
Key Aspects: MSC Cruises will feature live broadcasts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches on all ships. The tournament games are set for June 11 to July 19, 2026. The cruise line will show the matches in lounges and other public venues. Add MSC Cruises to the list of cruise lines that will offer
Key Aspects: Michael Bayley has announced Royal Caribbean’s third Chief Dog Officer’s name as Skipper. The female golden retriever puppy was born in early February 2026. Skipper will serve onboard Legend of the Seas and will join the vessel in Europe. As the debut of Legend of the Seas gets closer, crew rosters are undoubtedly
Key Aspects: A Carnival guest reached out to Brand Ambassador John Heald to ask if passengers could pay to reserve prime loungers. Heald confirmed that Carnival has no plans to introduce a reservation system for pool loungers. Instead, the focus is on mitigating chair hogging so that everyone can enjoy the loungers without stress. As
Key Aspects: MSC Splendida has cancelled its call to La Goulette, Tunisia, on February 12, 2026, due to strong winds. This is the second time the MSC ship has had to make this change in just over a month. February 12 will be spent as a sea day and Palma De Mallorca has been added
Key Aspects: A harbor pilot fell into the ocean while attempting to board the Emerald Princess in rough seas off Kauai. The pilot was quickly rescued by the pilot boat crew, and no injuries were reported. The ship cancelled its Kauai call due to hazardous surf conditions and continued to Maui. A routine harbor transfer
