Cruise News Update: New Giant Ships, Passengers, Cancellations

Table Of Content

• Carnival Spirit Completes First Winter Program in Mobile
• #5 – Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Experiences Unusual Water Incident
• Carnival Corporation Reroutes 12 Cruise Ships
• Carnival Cruise Passengers Try to Sneak Portable Washing Machine onto Ship
• New Category Offers Unprecedented Level of Exclusivity and Premium Extras Aboard Newest Ships from Princess
• American Cruise Lines Expands Coastal Cruising with New Class of Ships
• Cruise News Update: New Giant Ships, Passengers, Cancellations

According to data from the Cruise Industry News’ Global Cruise Ship Orderbook Report, the lineup includes a diverse selection of vessels, including mega ships, premium and luxury vessels, and more. Highlights of the newly opened cruises include three ships sailing from Bayonne — Odyssey of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, and Liberty of the Seas. The ships will offer a mix of seasonal Caribbean/Bahamas sailings, plus Canada/New England itineraries. The World-class cruise ships, all powered by LNG and with MSC World Europa being the largest LNG-fueled cruise vessel ever built, are expected to be the second-largest class of cruise ships on the planet. We bring you all the very latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines and cruise ship news.

Carnival Spirit Completes First Winter Program in Mobile

The newest in the class, Carnival Jubilee, introduced new “zones,” including Currents and The Shores, inspired by ocean and beach, and a Grand Central atrium, among others. The new vessel will be a sister ship to Mardi Gras, which entered service in 2020; Carnival Celebration, introduced in 2022, and Carnival Jubilee, fresh out of the shipyard in 2023. Guests booked on the cancelled cruise are receiving a full refund of their cruise fare and all pre-paid services. The line also is offering a 50% future cruise credit for any future Princess Cruises sailing booked by November 30, 2024 and sailed by December 31, 2025.

#5 – Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Experiences Unusual Water Incident

“The three ships will transfer directly to Europe without any passengers on board and avoid transiting through the Red Sea. The line has canceled three repositioning ‘Grand Voyage’ sailings in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe. MSC Cruises has become the first cruise line to cancel cruises due to the ongoing risks to shipping in the Red Sea. The affected ships, which include Costa Cruises' Costa Toscana and Costa Deliziosa; Princess Cruises' Island Princess; and AIDA Cruises' AIDAbella, AIDAblu, and AIDAprima, along with P&O Cruises' Arcadia. Queen Mary 2 will maintain its existing itinerary until after its call in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At that point, the ship's itinerary will sail south along the east coast of Africa before rounding the horn and coming up the western coast of the continent.

Carnival Corporation Reroutes 12 Cruise Ships

For the second time, Princess Cruises has cancelled the inaugural cruise of its new ship, Sun Princess, due to the need for additional technical work to be completed. The 175,000-gross-ton vessel was officially delivered to the line by the Fincantieri shipyard on February 14, 2024. Royal Caribbean opened for sale a slew of 2025 and 2026 cruises to the Caribbean and Canada/New England from a wide choice of ports. Bookings for voyages onboard seven ships opened to Crown & Anchor Society members on February 14, 2024 and to the general public a day later. The announcement of the ship order came as a surprise to cruise watchers, who believed Utopia of the Seas would likely be the line’s final Oasis-class ship.

Travel advisories are common to many regions, but an increased warning level for Jamaica in May advising travelers to reconsider visiting the island nation raised eyebrows for cruise guests. Crimes such as armed robbery, sexual assault, and homicides were cited as reasons for the raised alert level, along with ineffective police response. Disney Cruise Lines added its fifth and largest ship, Disney Wish, to the fleet this summer and the biggest ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas began sailing in March. The new ship launched in the spring, enticing travelers with a two-story sundeck, expanded rooftop garden and French chef Daniel Boulud's first restaurant at sea.

Others, like Costa, have elected to sail ships empty through the Suez Canal en-route to their spring European cruise seasons. Carnival Corporation announced on January 30, 2024 that it would re-route 12 individual cruise ships across its family of brands in order to avoid the Red Sea and conflict in the Middle East. Originally built in 2000 for Costa Cruises, Carnival Firenze will sail year-round from Long Beach.

Norovirus outbreaks on Royal Caribbean cruise ships eliminated in 2023 - Royal Caribbean Blog

Norovirus outbreaks on Royal Caribbean cruise ships eliminated in 2023.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:03:42 GMT [source]

China's 2nd Domestically-Built Cruise Ship Enters Final Assembly Phase In Shanghai Shipyard - Marine Insight

China's 2nd Domestically-Built Cruise Ship Enters Final Assembly Phase In Shanghai Shipyard.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 12:34:02 GMT [source]

Upon returning to Port Canaveral, Carnival Vista will embark on round-trip, six- to eight-night itineraries, visiting destinations like Halfmoon Cay, Grand Turk, Aruba, San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. The Casino, for instance, has been expanded with a new layout and a separate non-smoking annex. The ship's most noticeable update is its new livery, which now features Carnival's signature red, white and blue colors on the hull.

Cruise News Update: New Giant Ships, Passengers, Cancellations

The cruise industry continues to express its strong enthusiasm and strong outlook for the business. Cruise insiders in recent weeks had been expecting an announcement of a new ship for Carnival Cruise Line, after unconfirmed reports indicated that parent company Carnival Corporation was poised to disclose the development. Additionally, guests who have already traveled to Europe for the maiden voyage will receive reimbursement of their roundtrip airfare plus money toward hotels, meals, and other costs incurred while making travel plans to return home.

The Vista-class flagship has emerged from drydock with new venues, including Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge, a space that honors military veterans and active-duty service members. Carnival Vista also boasts a new O2 Club for teens as well as a new Effy Jewelry store and a new Cherry on Top shop. The cruise line welcomed Carnival Jubilee in December 2023 and has recently incorporated Carnival Firenze -- formerly Costa Firenze -- to its lineup, growing the current fleet to 27 ships. The cruise line was also full of surprises throughout the evening – from the announcement of a 4th Excel Class ship, to the pledge of raising $50 million by 2030 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

But Stefani -- a three-time Grammy award winner, The Voice judge and now cruise ship godmother -- was clearly the star of the event. Like its sister ships, Carnival's fifth Excel-class vessel will be powered by liquified natural gas (LNG) and will have capacity for over 6,400 passengers and 1,800 crew. The ship will be christened on April 24 in Long Beach and will embark on its first sailing a day later -- a seven-day Mexican Riviera voyage. Following the Explora I, the Explora II is set to become Explora Journey’s second ultra-luxury ship. Under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the 922-guest will kick off its inaugural season in the Mediterranean on August 11, 2024.

The 2003-built cruise ship is now set to undergo a refit before entering service for Celestyal in the Eastern Mediterranean as the Celestyal Discovery. Following a significant refit, the 2000-built vessel will offer a series of four- and five-night cruises to the Western Caribbean and Key West starting in June. The cruise line announced today that the honor of christening the 5374-passenger ship will fall on music superstar Gwen Stefani. The songwriter, performer and vocalist has achieved global success, selling more than 60 million records as frontwoman of the band No Doubt as well as a solo artist.

The line already has introduced its newest class, Icon, with the launch in January of the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, now the world’s largest ship. In an industry with ever-evolving safety standards, as well new and refurbished ships, and cruise news from around the world that could affect your next sailing, Cruise Critic has the best and most accurate cruise line information, often before it breaks. Similarly, Viking Cruises’ Viking Neptune appears next year as a small ship outfitted with all of the amenities and experiences that Viking fans appreciate. The ninth ocean-going ship in the Viking fleet, Viking Neptune will travel between Florida and California, California and England, with its inaugural sailing being a journey between Florida and England that takes a whopping 123 days.

Carnival Celebration will feature the same six fun zones, as well as the same rollercoaster at sea, BOLT. Carnival Cruise Line does permit guests to bring fishing rods aboard, but only for use off the ship in an appropriate port of call with appropriate permits. MIAMI - The cruise industry is recovering after the pandemic, rolling out a couple of dozen new ships this year. MSC Cruises, which maintains a strong presence in the Arabian Gulf with cruises aboard MSC Opera, also told Cruise Critic in an email that those voyages – which operate far removed geographically from the current conflict – would continue as planned.

These cruise lines include Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Viking, and more. Closing out Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class, the Utopia of the Seas is set to welcome guests for its inaugural cruise on July 22, 2024. In a first for the company, the LNG-powered newbuild will spend its maiden season offering short cruises to the Bahamas departing from Port Canaveral.

While they had been assigned to a different cabin at the last minute, a miscommunication with check-in staff meant that fact was not reflected on their boarding passes. "They continue to innovate and with that they shape different experience for different travelers," says travel advisor Rob Clabbers of Q Cruise + Travel. The president and CEO of Celebrity, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, says, "It's time to transition into the next phase and that's what the world is doing and that's what we're finally doing." Chuck McKay from DeLand, Florida, sailed to the Greek Islands with his wife and friends aboard Celebrity Beyond. “We were due to visit Israel, Egypt and Jordan next April but spoke to TA this afternoon about canceling." Viking notes its river cruise departures along the Nile in Egypt are still proceeding as planned, with the cancellation of select overland extensions to Jerusalem.