Keep on high of cruise developments at Cruise Hive, the must-read supply for necessary updates from throughout the cruise business. This week, we have now articles from MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Line.
Cruise Information Replace
Let’s get going with one other weekly cruise information replace from Cruise Hive, the place we’ve received all the cruise business tales it’s essential to learn about, together with a whole itinerary change from MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line cancelling a voyage in favor of a constitution, Norwegian Cruise Line looking for suggestions on non-public island facilities, the new-build Carnival Jubilee arriving at her Texas homeport, MSC Cruises cancelling a transatlantic voyage, and Disney Cruise Line making tweaks to its youngsters’s applications.
Climate Prompts A Whole Itinerary Change
A whole, and really last-minute, itinerary change to an MSC Cruises’ crusing out of New York left disenchanted company swapping their bathing fits and sunscreen for his or her hats and scarves.
The complete rerouting of MSC Meraviglia’s December 16, 2023 departure nixed the ship’s authentic itinerary that was to function Port Canaveral, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, and the cruise line’s non-public Bahamian vacation spot, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
As an alternative, as a consequence of a storm that hit the southern East Coast on departure day and was forecast to journey north alongside the seaboard, the 5,400-guest ship headed for Boston, the place it will in a single day for 2 nights earlier than calling at Portland, Maine, and St. John, Canada. The ship will spend a day at sea earlier than returning to New York on December 23, 2023.
Booked company realized of the brand new itinerary by way of an e mail from the cruise line, which mentioned the change was to make sure the protection of everybody onboard.
Company had been supplied two selections: a full refund of their cruise fare, paid to their authentic fee technique, or a full refund as a Future Cruise Credit score. Pre-booked excursions on the itinerary’s authentic locations additionally had been refunded. Air and different ancillary prices that may have been booked to achieve the departure port are the company’ obligations, in the event that they determined to desert the crusing.
Norwegian Cruise Line Cancels Crusing in Favor of Constitution
Norwegian Cruise Line has once more cancelled a scheduled crusing in favor of a full ship constitution. The most recent announcement to booked company acknowledged that Norwegian Pleasure’s February 6, 2025 cruise to the Mexican Riviera has been cancelled.
The 5-night cruise, roundtrip from Los Angeles, was to name at Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. One of many largest ships within the line’s fleet, Norwegian Pleasure can accommodate 3,883 company in double occupancy.
For the reason that cruise is greater than a yr away, booked company have time to make various trip plans. The cruise line is refunding all visitor fares to the unique type of fee inside 30 days, and people who used a Future Cruise Credit score to pay for the crusing may have the quantity of the credit score returned to their account.
Norwegian Cruise Line additionally sweetened the deal for these keen to rebook with the road, by providing a ten% low cost as a future cruise credit score. It may be used to offset the cruise fare of any revealed voyage by way of December 31, 2025.
In the meantime, a overview of different Norwegian Pleasure sailings on the cruise line web site signifies there may very well be extra cancellations coming. The reserving engine reveals no sailings scheduled on the ship for all of February 2025, nevertheless, there initially had been two extra cruises aboard Norwegian Pleasure that month.
Survey Seeks Enter on Non-public Island Locations
Norwegian Cruise Line reached out to previous company with a survey asking what they wish to expertise on the road’s non-public island locations. The road has two such locations: Nice Stirrup Cay within the Bahamas and Harvest Caye in Belize.
The survey doesn’t reveal whether or not the suggestions is meant for one or each of the locations, or maybe for a model new non-public vacation spot.
The questionnaire was despatched to members of the cruise line’s NCL Inside Circle, which the road describes as an unique on-line group of trip aficionados. The survey requested: “Which of the next actions would you be most taken with visiting/collaborating in on a non-public island owned by a cruise line?”
Some three-dozen selections had been supplied, together with a couple of shocking ones resembling Ferris wheel, sharks, and bumper automobiles. Others had been extra widespread, resembling horseback driving, luxurious villas, swim-up bars, and purchasing.
Occasions additionally had been represented within the survey, which requested whether or not respondents would really like a fireworks show, parades, and adult-only pool events, amongst others.
All the main cruise manufacturers present non-public island locations, and a few are making ready new ones for launch within the subsequent few years. Amongst them are Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key, close to Freeport, Bahamas, and set to open in summer time 2025, and Disney Cruise Line, which is constructing Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Level, on Eleuthera, Bahamas. It would open in July 2024.
Carnival Jubilee Arrives at Her Texas Homeport
The extremely anticipated Carnival Jubilee, the most recent ship from Carnival Cruise Line, formally arrived at her homeport of Galveston, Texas, on December 20, 2023.
It marks the primary time {that a} model new ship can be based mostly on the Lone Star State port, and plenty of Texans and Carnival Cruise Line followers turned out to welcome the newest Enjoyable Ship. The Port of Galveston hosted a festive occasion for all the attendees, who included cruise line executives and port officers.
Carnival Jubilee, a 183,521-gross ton Excel-class ship with a capability for six,500 company, was delivered to the road by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on December 4, 2023. Her journey to the Texas port included calls in Tenerife, Canary Islands, and Nassau, Bahamas.
The brand new ship docked on the port’s Terminal 25, which had been upgraded in anticipation of the ship’s arrival. The ship will depart on her first cruise from Galveston on December 23, 2023.
Carnival Jubilee will sail 7-night Western Caribbean cruises calling at Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. The ship is scheduled to stay home-ported at Galveston till at the least April 2026.
Together with a number of thrilling new areas onboard, Carnival Jubilee will function many Enjoyable Ship favorites, resembling Man’s Burger Joint, the Punchliner Comedy Membership, the adults-only Serenity space, BlueIguana Cantina, and the WaterWorks aqua park.
Cancelled Voyage, Simply After Ultimate Fee, Irks Company
Company booked on an April 2024 MSC Cruise made their last funds solely to search out out — the following day — that the voyage was being cancelled.
A 17-night Grand Voyage cruise aboard MSC Seaside was to have been a transatlantic repositioning, departing April 6, 2024, from Martinique, within the Caribbean, and crusing to Genoa, Italy, with calls at Guadeloupe, Barbados, Antiqua, St. Maarten, Spain, and France.
Within the cruise line’s announcement to booked company, it pointed to “operational causes affecting the deployment of a few of our ships.”
Two choices had been supplied to company. They’ll cancel their reserving and obtain a full refund, or they will rebook on some other MSC Cruises’ voyage. Company can be chargeable for any distinction within the fares. The cruise line has suggested company to alter their reservation or request a refund by January 15, 2024.
Prices incurred outdoors of the cruise fare, resembling airfare or resort prices, could also be eligible for refunds. The 153,516-gross-ton MSC Seaside accommodates 4,132 company at double occupancy.
Cruise Line Adjusts Age Teams For Youngsters’ Packages
Disney Cruise Line tweaked a few of its youth exercise golf equipment, together with the age ranges for some and the areas the place supervised actions are held.
The adjustments, which took impact on December 21, 2023, are supposed to present extra applicable actions and services for the varied age teams.
Below the brand new plan, the age vary for Disney’s Oceaneer Membership and Disney’s Oceaneer Lab can be from 3 to 10 years previous, moderately than the earlier 3 to 12 years previous.
Children who’re 11 and 12 years previous now might take part in actions in Edge, which is able to proceed to simply accept youngsters as much as 14 years previous. Vibe, the cruise line’s area for teenagers, will proceed to supply applications for company ages 14 to 17.
In different adjustments to the youth programming, youngsters who’re 11 or 12 now not should register for youth actions earlier than departure. For company 10 and youthful, registration continues to be required as a part of the web check-in course of.
The kid’s age on the time of embarkation needs to be used throughout registration.
Extra Cruise Headlines
These had been simply a number of the massive headline tales we coated this week at Cruise Hive. There are a lot extra, together with Royal Caribbean opening a pop-up vacation market aboard Oasis of the Seas, a Hurtigruten ship turning into briefly disabled after being hit by a rogue wave, the US Virgin Islands practically doubling its cruise arrival numbers, Carnival Cruise Line posting stellar monetary outcomes in This autumn of 2023, and a Costa Cruises’ visitor being rescued after turning into misplaced in a Grenada rainforest.
