Key Aspects: Protesting sailors prevented MSC Cruises’ MSC Orchestra from docking in Marseille on February 2. This meant that the planned embarkation and debarkation could not go ahead as planned. Guests who were left behind in Marseille will be able to join the ship in Genoa, Italy, on February 3. MSC Orchestra was blocked from
Key Aspects: Queen Mary 2 anchored in Long Beach to meet up with the historic Queen Mary on Monday, February 2. This marks the first time the two Queens have met in 20 years. Queen Mary 2 is currently sailing a 108-night World Voyage, which has included her first Panama Canal transit. It was an
Key Aspects: Carnival Cruise Line is raising gratuity rates for all stateroom types effective April 2, 2026. Guests can pre-pay gratuities on any booked cruise before April 2 to lock in the lower rate no matter when they set sail. The adult price for the Bottomless Bubbles package is also increasing at the same time,
Key Aspects: A gastrointestinal outbreak has sickened 21 guests and crew aboard Seven Seas Mariner. This is the first reported illness outbreak for 2026, but the cause has not yet been confirmed. The ship was sailing from Miami to Hawaii during the outbreak and has already continued on its next itinerary. Cruise ships are often
Key Aspects: MSC Musica and MSC Orchestra will undergo renovations in late 2026 through early 2027. Both 92,409-gross-ton vessels will add the luxury “ship-within-a-ship” MSC Yacht Club concept. Once completed, all Musica-class vessels and 19 ships in the MSC Cruises’ fleet will have Yacht Clubs. Fans of MSC Cruises’ luxury Yacht Club will soon see
Key Aspects: MSC Cruises delayed MSC Meraviglia’s Brooklyn departure by a day, departing on February 2 instead of February 1, 2026. The delay resulted in reworked call dates and times in Port Canaveral and Nassau, Bahamas. The cruise line also scrapped a call to its private island destination, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. Winter weather has struck
Key Aspects: Celebrity Reflection unexpectedly enjoyed a cruise to nowhere over the weekend. Both Key West and Bimini were cancelled due to rough weather and no alternative ports were available. The ship returned to Fort Lauderdale for debarkation on Monday as planned. Ports of call are a big part of any cruise vacation, but sometimes
Key Aspects: Carnival Sunshine is adjusting her itinerary to avoid rough sea weather for her February 1, 2026 sailing. The ship will skip Bimini and the visits to both Nassau and Celebration Key have been adjusted. Cold weather is impacting the onboard experience but crew members are working to keep the ship warm. It isn’t
Key Aspects: Margaritaville at Sea has raised gratuity rates fleetwide, effective from Sunday, February 1, 2026. At $22 per person, per night for standard staterooms, the new rates are the highest in the industry. The cruise line does not permit guests to adjust or remove the gratuities from their accounts. In a surprise move, the
Key Aspects: Nassau, Bahamas, has broken its annual passenger record for the third time in 2025. The port welcomed an estimated 6.1 million cruise guests, exceeding the high of 5.6 million guests in 2024. Looking at the overall, the Bahamas welcomed an unprecedented 12.5 million visitors, the majority of which came from cruise tourism. Nassau,
If you’re planning a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska for the 2026 season, you’ll have four ships to choose from: Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, or Voyager of the Seas. Already thinking ahead to 2027? While ships may change from year to year, we do at least know at this
Key Aspects: Harmony of the Seas will be several hours late returning to Galveston due to a medical evacuation on the current sailing. Strong headwinds have made it challenging for the Oasis Class ship to make up for the evacuation delay. The next sailing will depart Texas three hours later than scheduled, but no port
