Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line has brought Norwegian Aura's debut forward by 19 days to May 2, adding a 10-day opening sailing from Trieste to Piraeus and a nine-day return voyage, while the advertised May 21, 2027 maiden voyage still goes ahead. Carnival Freedom resumed service from Barcelona after a 35-day dry dock in Marseille that gave it a new, lower whale tail funnel and an expanded casino, and Carnival has opened the ship's 2028-29 season from Norfolk, Virginia. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has announced 39 sailings for January through July 2028, including a 19-night voyage from Liverpool aboard Borealis that marks its first return to Canada since 2024. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.
Today on Cruise News: Disney Cruise Line opens general bookings for Disney Believe on October 19, ahead of the 4,000-passenger ship's maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on December 18, 2027, with what Disney describes as the world's first stage adaptation of "Encanto" and a new "Frozen" dining experience among its new venues. Carnival Radiance is back in service in Long Beach after a 15-day dry dock in Victoria, British Columbia, with updated guest areas and Carnival's new "From Sea to Shining Sea" bow crest. And MSC Cruises has unveiled six stage productions for MSC World Asia, four of them new to the line, ahead of the ship's Mediterranean debut on December 4, 2026. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.
Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean warned guests aboard Oasis of the Seas that toilets in affected areas would be unavailable during two two-hour maintenance periods on September 30 while the ship was docked in Nassau, after an identical notice during a July 29 call there. Carnival is already half booked for 2027, with occupancy and pricing at record levels for this stage of the booking cycle, and its Celebration Key destination on Grand Bahama received almost 2.5 million guests in its first year. Royal Caribbean Group, which removed 977 metric tons of sargassum from Mahahual's reef lagoon in five months, is adding a third collection boat with local nonprofit Menos Plastico es Fantastico as the cleanup moves into a second phase running through November. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.
Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean has canceled Oasis of the Seas' September 29 call at Port Canaveral after a nor'easter delayed the ship's return to Cape Liberty by 10 hours, replacing the Florida visit with a sea day and moving the Nassau call three hours earlier. U.S. Customs and Border Protection removed six crew members from Norwegian Breakaway following a September 20 enforcement action in Boston under Operation Tidal Wave. And Norwegian Jade is crossing the Pacific to Yokohama for its first Japan and South Korea season since 2019, with nine- to 14-night cruises from Yokohama, Tokyo and Incheon through late November. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.
Today on Cruise News: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has withdrawn from evaluating Daniel's Head, an 18-acre site in Bermuda's Sandys Parish, as a day-tourism destination, though its planned Bermuda calls, including five Norwegian ships at Royal Naval Dockyard in 2027, are unaffected. P&O Cruises' Aurora is underway on a 24-night Grand Mediterranean voyage from Southampton with calls in southern Europe, Egypt and Tunisia, ahead of a 75-night America and Caribbean Discovery cruise in early 2027. And Disney Dream made its first call at Funchal, Madeira, during a 13-night transatlantic repositioning from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, with Disney Wish due in Madeira in May 2027. Read today's stories and sign up for email alerts at CruiseNews.io.
Today on Cruise News: Hurricane Polo, classified as a Category 5 storm, forces Royal Caribbean to drop Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas from Navigator of the Seas' September 25 Mexican Riviera sailing from Los Angeles, adding Puerto Vallarta instead, while Carnival Panorama's Long Beach departure also changes course. Then, Santa Cruz de Tenerife prepares for 23 cruise calls in October, with MSC Virtuosa helping bring up to 9,334 passengers on October 10 alone. And Ambassador Cruise Line launches a UK and French TV campaign built with AI and CGI from existing footage, avoiding film shoots aboard its busy ships. Visit CruiseNews.io for the full stories and free email alerts.
Today on Cruise News: Royal Caribbean has settled the federal lawsuit over the death of Michael Virgil aboard Navigator of the Seas in December 2024, with the payment going to his son and the amount undisclosed, while the coroner's findings on the shipboard restraint remain central to the safety questions. Royal Caribbean Group has agreed to pay roughly $3 billion for half of Sandals Resorts International in an equal joint venture with the Stewart family, raising questions about control, financing costs and what cruise passengers can expect. And Windstar Cruises has opened bookings for its summer 2028 Europe season, with 348 itinerary combinations across five ships, a Circumnavigate Ireland itinerary, Monaco Grand Prix sailings and the return of its Mystery Cruises from Athens.
Today on Cruise News: Australian gambler Mark Timothy Grant has won an appeal allowing his $22,000 compensation claim against Royal Caribbean over five casino-reward cruises to proceed before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, while the cruise line's card-counting allegations remain unresolved. Carnival Cruise Line is holding full, in-person muster drills on five ships departing September 26-28 from Long Beach, Miami, Port Canaveral and Norfolk, involving more than 18,700 passengers. And in Nagoya, Asian Games organizers blamed incomplete delegation paperwork for boarding delays on the Costa Serena, which is housing more than 4,000 athletes and officials during the Games.
Carnival Encounter cuts its overnight Cairns call to a single day and adds Townsville as Ports North accelerates dredging in Trinity Inlet, making it the third Carnival itinerary affected by Cairns channel depths in September. Nicko Cruises adds a €10 per person, per night fuel surcharge to every segment of Vasco da Gama's 193-day 2026-27 world cruise, an extra €1,930 per person for full-voyage guests. And Meyer Werft floats out the first of three gigablocks for Disney Believe, the fourth Wish-class ship, which remains on schedule to join Disney Cruise Line's fleet in late 2027. Visit CruiseNews.io to see today's stories and sign up for free email alerts.
Royal Caribbean has named retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson godmother of Legend of the Seas, with the naming ceremony set for Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale ahead of the ship's first Caribbean season. Aroya Cruises is adding Alexandria as a second embarkation gateway and its first 14-night voyages to an expanded 2026-27 Mediterranean program from Galataport Istanbul, which expects a 188% passenger increase. And the Isles of Scilly wrapped its 2026 cruise season with all 46 scheduled calls operating and 19,000 passengers tendered ashore without a single weather cancellation.