Cruise Industry News Ship Updates & Breaking Reports

A brief power outage onboard Adventure of the Seas on Saturday, September 5, 2026 interrupted ship operations. The ship had departed Perfect Day CocoCay before losing power, but the outage only lasted about 30 minutes. Royal Caribbean has not issued any statement about the incident but power appears fully restored and the ship's itinerary is not impacted. Guests onboard a cruise ship … [Read more...]

A water leak onboard Quantum of the Seas caused flooding down a stairwell near the Royal Esplanade on a recent cruise to Mexico. Royal Caribbean has not issued a statement on the incident, but it appears to be like a burst pipe, which is not uncommon on cruise ships. The water was cleaned up quickly and there was no apparent change to anything else onboard or during the next cruise. … [Read more...]

Dominique Gamba has announced his departure from his position as Senior Director of Food and Beverage Operations at Royal Caribbean. Gamba has served with both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises and in different food and beverage leadership positions since June 2006, apart from a brief spell at Viking. He has indicated that he may not yet be leaving the cruise industry entirely and … [Read more...]

A passenger aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Voyager passed away prior to a scheduled visit to Greencastle in County Donegal, Ireland. The deceased passenger was brought ashore and transferred to Letterkenny University Hospital, with local authorities treating the incident as a medical emergency. Irish police confirmed that the passenger's death is not being investigated … [Read more...]

Two different Carnival sailings on different ships are losing Platinum benefits just days after the Carnival Rewards program began. Both cruises are 8-night sailings departing on Saturday, September 5, 2026: Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Vista. Carnival Rewards was introduced partly to address this problem because perks cannot be offered to so many guests onboard. The new Carnival … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean is seeking volunteers willing to change plans for Utopia of the Seas' September 4, 2026 sailing from Port Canaveral. One confirmed option offers a full cruise fare refund, complimentary transfer to a later Utopia of the Seas sailing, and an upgrade to an Ocean View Balcony stateroom. The reason for the offer has not been confirmed, though Royal Caribbean has made … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean is cancelling guests' reservations for Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in Nassau on January 23, 2027. The cancellations are due to a chartered sailing reserving the entire club for that day, with no additional capacity available. Allure of the Seas will be sailing the chartered 4-night Groove Cruise to Nassau that weekend, departing Miami on Thursday, January 21. … [Read more...]

Norwegian Cruise Line boasts 21 ships in its ever-growing fleet, spread across seven major classes: Sun, Dawn, Jewel, Breakaway, Breakaway Plus, Prima and Prima Plus class. (Technically, Norwegian Epic, Pride of America and Norwegian Spirit stand apart in their own, independent classes.) Each class is unique in its own way, with ships that may cater best to different kinds of cruisers. Here's … [Read more...]

Carnival Cruise Line is alerting guests to traffic rerouting and congestion at the Port of Galveston for Saturday, September 5, 2026. Emails were sent to guests boarding Carnival Dream that day to notify them of a cruise terminal change for embarkation. Ongoing road construction at the Port of Galveston has caused increased congestion for sailings for nearly a year. Guests boarding … [Read more...]

Norwegian Cruise Line has officially unveiled Great Tides Waterpark with a ribbon-cutting event and exclusive preview at Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas. Great Tides Waterpark will officially open to cruise guests on September 4, 2026, when Norwegian Luna visits. The nearly 6-acre waterpark features 19 waterslides, an over 800-foot Wandering River, cliff jumps, children's … [Read more...]

MSC Poesia will not visit Endicott Arm for her last three cruises of the Alaska season due to "seasonal operational considerations." Instead of the scenic cruising, the ship will arrive in Juneau six hours ahead of schedule for an extended visit. No other port visits on MSC Poesia's September 14 Alaska sailing is impacted by this change. Scenic cruising along glacial fjords can be one … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley has chosen Dolly as the name for the Chief Dog Officer on the upcoming Hero of the Seas. Dolly was not originally one of the finalist names but was added to the selection following the singer's passing. Hero of the Seas is scheduled to debut in August 2027 and will homeport from Miami with 7-night Caribbean itineraries. Dolly Parton may be gone, but … [Read more...]

Captain Gennaro Arma has announced he is leaving Princess Cruises after 28 years with the cruise line. He has not announced a final departure date or what comes next, though he did not characterize his departure as a full retirement. Arma became widely known as captain of Diamond Princess during its COVID-19 quarantine in Japan in 2020, and later helped bring Star Princess into … [Read more...]

Serenade of the Seas' August 30, 2026 departure is now completely cancelled and guests must debark the ship in Vancouver. While guests did board the ship on August 30, the vessel remained in Vancouver for repairs with the hope of a shortened itinerary. All guests will now receive a full refund and a 100% future cruise credit, plus reimbursement for flight change fees. Guests already … [Read more...]

A September 5 sailing on Carnival Encounter will no longer visit Cairns due to shallow channel depths. Airlie Beach will move forward a day to September 8 in place of Cairns, with a newly added Townsville call on September 9. The ship will return to Brisbane one hour later than scheduled and Cairns shore excursions will be automatically refunded. Just four days before departure, … [Read more...]

MSC Seashore will be leaving Port Canaveral 30 minutes earlier than scheduled on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The cruise line has alerted guests to the change and everyone must arrive at the terminal for check-in no later than 2:30 p.m. No other changes to the ship's 7-night Western Caribbean and Bahamas itinerary have been announced at this time. Guests setting sail on MSC Cruises' MSC … [Read more...]

Carnival Breeze hit and scraped along the corner of the pier in Cozumel while docking on Monday morning, August 31, 2026. Video and photos posted online show scraped paint damage on the ship's starboard hull, but no injuries have been reported. The ship departed Cozumel as planned and appears to be continuing her 5-night sailing without changes. It's never a good day when a cruise … [Read more...]

Carnival Cruise Line has revealed the dated, ship-specific designs for the Carnival Rewards Diamond and Platinum pins. Guests at those status levels can pick up the appropriate pin from the onboard photo gallery for sailings beginning September 1, 2026 and later. Pins for Gold status guests have been discontinued with the Carnival Rewards program. Loyal cruise guests love to collect … [Read more...]

Carnival Cruise Line's new Carnival Rewards program begins Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Guests need to be aware of stars, points, and milestone rewards as they move forward with the new spend-based program. Glitches have been reported in the days before the new program launches following a planned website outage. Carnival Cruise Line's new Carnival Rewards program is scheduled to begin … [Read more...]

Norwegian Cruise Line is alerting guests to three recent cases of Legionnaires' disease involving guests who sailed aboard Norwegian Prima in May and July 2026. All testing for the Legionella bacteria onboard has been negative thus far and the cruise line is working with the CDC. It is not known whether the guests contracted the disease onboard the ship or from a different source … [Read more...]