Keep on high of main developments within the cruise business at Cruise Hive, your go-to web site for breaking cruise information, cruise options, and cruise ship information. On this week’s cruise information replace, we’ve received protection on Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Superstar Cruises, and Princess Cruises.
Cruise Information Replace
Let’s dive into this week’s high cruise information tales from Cruise Hive so that you don’t miss a factor. On this week’s tales, examine a Royal Caribbean ship broken by a extreme squall within the Gulf of Mexico, Carnival Cruise Line revealing a few of what Celebration Key will supply to visitors, Carnival Jubilee rescuing two kayakers misplaced at sea, a journey advisory replace warning vacationers concerning the Bahamas, Superstar Cruises altering its ultimate fee coverage on some voyages, and Princess Cruises withdrawing a plan to name on the historic port of Yorktown, Virginia.
Extreme Squall Hits Ship, Topples Slot Machines
Excessive winds, large waves, heavy rain, and even hail made for an uncomfortable few hours aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, which ran headlong right into a extreme squall as she made her means towards her homeport of Galveston, Texas.
The ship was on the tail finish of a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston when the storm hit round 1:30 p.m., on January 26, 2024. The 138,194-gross ton ship was noticeably itemizing within the Gulf of Mexico — sufficient to topple some slot machines within the ship’s on line casino.
Visitors filmed the mayhem on their telephones and posted movies to social media. The ship sustained flooding, broken furnishings, and damaged glass, however no extreme accidents had been reported. Out of doors decks had been closed, and crew members labored to clear flooded inside areas.
Regardless of the nasty climate, Voyager of the Seas returned on schedule to Galveston and departed on her subsequent cruise as deliberate. The ship is crusing a sequence of 4- and 5-night cruises to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.
The squall seems to have been the identical line of storms that impacted Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Dream, which encountered related climate as she returned to Galveston after a 14-night crusing.
5 ‘Portals’ Revealed For Celebration Key
Carnival Cruise Line revealed particulars concerning the visitor expertise areas it’s going to supply at Celebration Key, its new non-public vacation spot on Grand Bahama Island set to open in July 2025.
The $200 million vacation spot, which can sport a theme of genuine Bahamian tradition, will characteristic 5 portals, every with a particular focus and set of facilities and companies.
A Welcome Portal will present an data space concerning the vacation spot, and wow visitors with an enormous sand citadel and stay music. A Household-Pleasant Portal will characteristic a freshwater lagoon, waterslides, sports activities courts, and eating venues. Personal cabana and villa leases might be out there.
An Grownup-Pleasant Portal will supply lagoon entry, a swim-up bar, a full-service restaurant, and a DJ. Cabanas and villas might be featured right here, too.
A Personal Membership Portal might be an adult-only retreat with an infinity pool and eating choices. And eventually, a Retail Portal will tempt visitors with native art work and obligation free retailers.
Carnival Cruise Line has already opened many itineraries that may embrace port calls at Celebration Key. A dozen ships from eight homeports will spend a day on the vacation spot on 3- to 14-night cruises. The vacation spot’s dock will allow two ships to name on the identical time.
Carnival Jubilee Rescues Kayakers Misplaced at Sea
Two males misplaced at sea in a double kayak had been rescued off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, on January 29, 2024, by Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Jubilee.
What was first introduced as a person overboard alert quickly turned a rescue operation, when crew members realized two males had been paddling a kayak towards the huge ship.
The emergency unfolded about 9 miles east of Cancun. Carnival Jubilee had departed from her homeport of Galveston, Texas, on January 27, 2024, crusing a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise. The rescue occurred on the ship’s second day at sea.
After the kayak reached the ship, crew members lowered a rope and the 2 occupants climbed aboard the ship. It was unknown the place the kayak was touring from and the way lengthy the 2 males had been at sea within the small craft.
Carnival Jubilee alerted native officers, and Mexican authorities arrived in a patrol boat and picked up the 2 kayakers. The 5,400-guest ship then resumed her itinerary, which included calls at Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, earlier than returning to Galveston on February 3, 2024.
Different ships lately dealt with rescue operations within the Gulf of Mexico. Royal Caribbean’s Concord of the Seas on January 18, 2024 rescued six stranded fishermen and their canine simply north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. On January 27, 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Prima rescued a dozen refugees from a makeshift craft.
Crime Spike Prompts Warning About Bahamas
The Bahamas, a significant vacation spot for cruising, was within the information this week, and never in a great way. A latest improve in crime within the fashionable cruise ports of Nassau and Freeport prompted the US Division of State to replace its Degree 2 Journey Advisory.
The January 26, 2024 replace cites not solely crime ranges, particularly in New Windfall (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport), but additionally sure water actions. The Degree 2 alert advises guests to “Train Elevated Warning” within the vacation spot.
The state division has listed the Bahamas at Degree 2 for greater than a 12 months, and the advisory is up to date as wanted. A excessive price of homicides is famous in a separate safety alert from the US Embassy in Nassau. Issued on January 24, 2024, it famous that 18 homicides have been dedicated in Nassau to date this 12 months.
The Degree 2 journey advisory additionally cautions guests about sure water actions, together with excursions, watercraft, swimming, and shark encounters. It warns that boats is likely to be poorly maintained and that some tour operators would possibly lack security certifications, for instance.
The water exercise a part of the advisory could also be the results of the November 2023 sinking of the Blue Lagoon Island ferry. A cruise passenger on that ferry died within the accident, which occurred in tough climate.
Additionally, sharks have emerged as a priority within the waters across the Bahamas in latest weeks.
Superstar Cruises Transfer Up Some Last Fee Dates
Superstar Cruises has altered the ultimate fee schedule on two classes of sailings — voyages of 15 days or longer, and all Galapagos Islands cruises.
Beginning with bookings made on and after January 30, 2024, visitors should pony up their ultimate funds earlier than beforehand required. Last fee for sailings 15 days or longer have to be made 120 days previous to departure, whereas Galapagos cruises of any size have to be absolutely paid 150 days earlier than departure.
Underneath the previous plan, visitors on 15-day or longer cruises might wait till 90 days earlier than departure to make their ultimate fee, and people on Galapagos sailings might maintain off ultimate fee till 120 days from the sail date.
The fee change impacts all Galapagos cruises onboard Superstar Flora, Superstar Xpedition, and Superstar Xploration, with departures in July 2024 and later. It additionally impacts 17 cruises of 15 days or longer, departing on numerous ships from April 2024 to April 2026.
The change has the potential to make potential cruisers leery of the coverage. Usually, if a visitor cancels a cruise earlier than the ultimate fee is made, there’s little or no monetary penalty.
However after the ultimate fee is made, cancellation charges come into play, and so they improve as departure day nears. The cruise line provided no cause for the coverage change.
Cruise Line Nixes Plan to Name at Historic US Port
Princess Cruises withdrew a proposal to have two ships make port calls at Yorktown, Virginia, a historic port that performed a giant position within the Revolutionary Warfare. In early 2023, the cruise line had put ahead a pilot program to incorporate the port on a handful of summer time 2024 itineraries operated by Island Princess and Emerald Princess.
Nonetheless, York County and port officers came upon on January 26, 2024 that Princess Cruises has as an alternative opted to name at Norfolk, Virginia, fairly than Yorktown. The shift signifies that Yorktown is not going to profit from an estimated 14,000 cruise visitors, who would have contributed to the native economic system.
The two,200-guest Island Princess was to make three calls and the three,080-guest Emerald Princess would have made two.
Not everybody might be dissatisfied: Greater than 5,000 native residents had signed a petition in September 2023 searching for to forestall the ship calls as a result of considerations over cultural and environmental impacts to the historic city.
Because it stands, Island Princess will function 10-day “American Heritage” cruises on June 4 and 25, 2024, roundtrip from New York, and calling at Norfolk, Charleston, South Carolina, Boston, and Halifax, Canada. An 11-day possibility, departing on June 14, 2024, provides Newport, Rhode Island.
Emerald Princess will sail one 14-day “Canada & Colonial America” from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec Metropolis on July 19, 2024, with calls at Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Newport, Boston, and Sydney and Saguenay, Canada.
Extra Cruise Headlines
It was a busy week for cruise information, and Cruise Hive has much more tales you’ll need to keep on high of, resembling California’s Catalina Island anticipating report cruise arrivals in 2024, Holland America Line opening gross sales on its 2025-26 South Pacific cruises, the Scottish Port of Aberdeen predicting it’s going to double cruise ship calls by 2027, a Cunard ship making an unplanned name to a small Australian port as a result of dangerous climate, and the Port of Galveston reporting its highest income ever.
