Are you on prime of the large cruise developments? Don’t fear, we’ve all of it lined for you on Cruise Hive. On this week’s thrilling recap, examine 4 Seasons Yachts, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard, and Roatan Island.
Ensure you keep properly knowledgeable by signing up for Cruise Hive’s Each day Replace, so the large cruise tales are delivered proper to your inbox.
Captain Kate Is Headed to an Extremely-Luxe Ship
Captain Kate McCue, maybe the preferred cruise ship captain on the excessive seas at present, introduced she is going to quickly be on the helm of the ultra-luxe 4 Seasons I, the primary ship within the soon-to-launch 4 Seasons Yachts fleet.
McCue, who has labored for Royal Caribbean Group for the final 22 years, most not too long ago as captain of Movie star Cruises’ Movie star Past, was the primary lady to captain a big cruise vessel, having labored her method up from cadet to deck officer to grasp mariner and, lastly, captain.
The information earlier this month that she would depart Movie star Cruises got here as a shock to the trade. McCue, a social media celeb in her personal proper, revealed she would be part of 4 Seasons Yachts in a joint announcement with the luxurious journey model on March 18, 2025.
4 Seasons I, which can accommodate simply 190 visitors, is below development at a Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and on account of launch in January 2026. The ship will sail the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
New Icon-Class Ship to Launch Earlier Than Anticipated
Royal Caribbean added one other preview, or showcase, cruise to the schedule of its new-build Star of the Seas, set to debut in summer season 2025. The ship will now depart on her first cruise on August 20, 2025 from her homeport of Port Canaveral, including to 2 earlier introduced preview sailings on August 23 and 27.
The August 20, 2025 cruise will take visitors to Good Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s non-public island vacation spot within the Bahamas.
Maiden voyages are high-demand itineraries. Visitors who have already got reservations for both the August 23 or 27 sailings can change to the sooner cruise in the event that they act rapidly, or add a brand new reservation if they need. If no motion is taken, booked visitors’ current reservations will stay unchanged.
The timeline for the launch of the large new cruise ship, the road’s second Icon-class ship after Icon of the Seas, has been in flux.
The ship was initially scheduled to debut with a maiden voyage on August 17, 2025. Nonetheless, a delay within the supply of the ship compelled the cancellation of that cruise.
In January 2025, the road introduced that ship can be able to sail on August 23, 2025, and scheduled the unique two preview voyages.
Peeved Visitors Say Artwork Public sale Was a Rip-off
Visitors crusing on the trade’s largest cruise ships are accustomed to seeing art work on the market and receiving invites to artwork auctions. For one household crusing on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, the supposed buy of a bit of artwork turned out to be a giant disappointment.
The artwork public sale was organized by Park West Gallery, which leases area from the cruise line to carry its artwork shows and auctions. The gallery has no different affiliation with the cruise line.
The story that unfolded signifies a bait-and-switch state of affairs. The household posted on social media that they efficiently bid $650 for a bit of art work they liked.
Nonetheless, when finalizing the deal after the public sale ended, they had been advised there had been a pricing error and that the precise price of the art work can be $2,700.
Making issues worse, they had been advised that the piece of artwork that they had bid on was offered out, and one other art work was supplied as a replacement. The household backed out of the deal altogether and contacted the ship’s Visitor Companies division.
Visitor Companies workers, nonetheless, advised the visitor that the cruise line isn’t accountable for Park West’s actions.
Wildlife Officers in Honduras Say ‘Palms Off’
Native officers in Honduras have put the kibosh on the follow of cruise visitors dealing with and holding wildlife comparable to monkeys and sloths, and the brand new coverage is impacting some shore excursions.
As of March 1, 2025, wildlife authorities on Roatan Island, residence to the massively widespread Mahogany Bay vacation spot owned by Carnival Company, carried out a ban on cruise visitors bodily interacting with native animals.
Guests can observe wildlife, however not contact them anymore, the authorities mentioned. The coverage change was made, in line with the Nationwide Institute of Forest Conservation, in an effort to cease unlawful trafficking and over-manipulation of wildlife.
The brand new rule impacts a number of shore excursions that beforehand featured wildlife interactions, such because the “Pirates, Birds & Monkeys of the Caribbean” tour and the “Cover & Gumbalimba Park” tour, as an example, each of which had supplied alternatives for visitors to carry wildlife. The excursions are nonetheless supplied, however with out the dealing with of animals.
World Cruise Retains an Eye Out for Pirates
Visitors crusing on a Cunard world cruise aboard the three,000-guest Queen Anne skilled some heightened safety precautions because the ship sailed the Sulu Sea, a area of the Philippine Archipelago identified for . . . gulp, pirates.
There was no purpose to fret, ship Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge advised passengers on March 14, 2025, nonetheless, he issued a number of actions designed to thwart any attainable interplay with pirates.
The precautions known as for all visitors to keep away from the exterior promenade deck from 9 p.m. on March 14 to five a.m. on March 15. Additionally, exterior lights on the ship had been to be dimmed, and all visitors had been advised to maintain stateroom curtains closed and to dim or flip off cabin lights.
The in a single day hours handed with none points because the ship sailed from Darwin, Australia, to Manila. Queen Anne, Cunard’s latest ship that debuted in 2024, is constant on her 111-night world voyage, roundtrip from Hamburg, Germany. The cruise ends on April 29, 2025.
Cruise Line Pulls a Favourite Fruit Off the Buffet
There are no extra grapes within the Lido Market buffet on Carnival Cruise Line ships today, and one visitor wished to know why.
Posting the query on the favored Fb web page of cruise line model ambassador John Heald, the visitor mentioned he seen that there have been no grapes within the buffet or in eating places, however did see them in particular person fruit baskets delivered to visitor cabins.
Heald replied that, sure, grapes have been faraway from the buffet as a result of having visitors pull grapes off the vine isn’t a hygienic motion. The coverage might be modified sooner or later, he added.
Touching meals gadgets, together with utensils, plates, and different surfaces, comes with a danger of spreading germs. Certainly, the previous few months have seen a number of circumstances of gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships throughout cruise traces.
Visitors are routinely reminded to scrub fingers incessantly, particularly earlier than eating at any cruise ship venue.
Cruise Line Clarifies Security Drill Requirement
Cruise visitors have turn into accustomed to the digital type of muster drills which have emerged throughout the trade, the place visitors usually watch a security video of their cabin slightly than report in individual, sporting their life vest, to their muster station.
However one way or the other rumors have surfaced that sure Carnival Cruise Line ships had been returning to the in-person drill requirement. Some visitors turned to model ambassador John Heald to elucidate what’s occurring.
On his Fb web page, Heald confirmed that, no, the road is not reverting to in-person drills, nonetheless, to adapt to security rules, every ship within the fleet should maintain one in-person drill each six months.
The in-person requirement is normally introduced to visitors shortly earlier than departure day, so it gained’t be a shock. All cruise ships should maintain a security briefing earlier than leaving the dock.
Digital drills might be performed on the visitors’ comfort as soon as they enter their cabin, whereas the in-person drills take a few half-hour.
Extra Cruise Headlines
Cruise Hive has a lot extra cruise information tales you gained’t wish to miss, together with MSC Cruises bringing its new “Soiled Dancing” present to a different ship; a Maine port limiting visiting cruise ships to 50 visitors; Villa Vie Residences including one other world cruise reserving choice; one other viral outbreak impacting a Holland America Line ship; and Carnival Company including solar energy to 2 Caribbean ports.
