This week’s version of Cruise Hive’s information replace is chock filled with developments throughout the trade. Keep on high of all of it by studying our protection of Norwegian Cruise Line unveiling a rebranding marketing campaign, Royal Caribbean cancelling all calls to Labadee by 2026, and an unfortunate cruise visitor lacking his ship after arriving on the flawed departure port.
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Visitor Embarrassed After His Gadgets Are Confiscated
A Carnival Cruise Line visitor was shocked to be taught that safety officers confiscated his Leatherman multi-tool and laser pen/flashlight, gadgets that he had packed in a suitcase and routinely introduced on his cruise holidays.
Crusing aboard a current Carnival Spirit cruise, crew members had delivered solely two of the three items of baggage the visitor and a companion had been crusing with. Curious, the visitor went to a crew space the place baggage is sorted and requested about his lacking suitcase.
After discovering it, the bag was scanned and a few gadgets had been recognized as suspicious. The visitor was requested to open the bag, and the offending gadgets had been discovered and confiscated.
The visitor posted on model ambassador John Heald’s Fb web page, informing him of the incident he described as embarrassing and degrading. Whereas Heald provided no particular recommendation to the visitor, he did ask others to touch upon gadgets they’ve had confiscated.
Loads of folks responded, telling Heald about numerous gadgets they’ve had taken from them, reminiscent of journey followers, flashlights, an electrical toothbrush, and hair curlers, amongst others.
Norwegian Cruise Line Reveals Main Rebranding
“It’s Completely different Out Right here.” That’s the advertising and marketing tagline of Norwegian Cruise Line’s new model identification, a theme that was utilized by the road again within the Nineteen Nineties.
The marketing campaign, which additionally includes a new shade on the road’s brand — black as a substitute of the previous blue, can have promotional supplies with the phrases “Out Right here, the Reminiscences Make Themselves,” “A Trip Shouldn’t Be Capable of Inform Time,” and “Restore Your Manufacturing unit Settings.”
The nationwide advertising and marketing marketing campaign was launched on Fb, Instagram and X, and includes a “For All Maritime” tv industrial that references the ideas of flexibility and visitor selection somewhat than strict guidelines.
The rebranding comes at a pivotal time for Norwegian Cruise Line, which has taken daring steps lately. The addition of its Prima-Plus class of ships brings bigger vessels into the fleet — Norwegian Aqua debuted in April 2025, Norwegian Luna is due out in April 2026, and Norwegian Aura will enter service in Might 2027.
Additionally, the road has invested in a serious $150 million overhaul of Stirrup Cay, its non-public island within the Bahamas, the place a brand new pier was added to accommodate two ships at a time, enhancements had been made to the pool and different areas, and the brand new Nice Tides Waterpark is about to open in summer season 2026.
MSC Poesia Cancels 10-Night time Crusing in February
With lower than a month to go earlier than setting sail, friends booked on an MSC Cruises’ ship came upon they gained’t be cruising in spite of everything.
The cruise line has cancelled MSC Poesia’s February 13, 2026 voyage from Southampton, UK, to Valletta, Malta. The ten-night journey was to name at Lisbon, Cadiz, Barcelona, Marseille, and Rome.
MSC Cruises cited operational causes for the cancellation, nonetheless, for the reason that ship had a scheduled dry dock arising on the Palumbo Shipyard in Malta, it’s possible the change is tied to that challenge.
Affected friends on the cancelled voyage are receiving a full refund and a Future Cruise Credit score equal to 50% of the cruise fare they paid. The credit score is legitimate on any future MSC Cruises voyage.
The two,550-guest ship is slated to have the road’s MSC Yacht Membership, two eating venues, and a lounge added in the course of the dry dock. The ship presently has no cruises scheduled between February 13 and April 6, 2026.
Visitor Misses Cruise After Arriving at Incorrect Port
Port Canaveral. Port Everglades. What’s in a reputation?
One cruiser came upon the arduous manner when he blended up his departure port, arrived on the flawed one, and missed out on his Caribbean voyage.
Sharing his unhappy story on social media as a warning to others, the visitor defined that he was booked to sail on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas from Port Canaveral. However he mistakenly thought Port Canaveral was in Fort Lauderdale.
Port Canaveral is in Central Florida, a couple of three-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale, the place Port Everglades is situated, in South Florida.
It was the January 12, 2026 departure of Utopia of the Seas, a 4-night cruise to Nassau and Excellent Day at CocoCay. Realizing his error, the visitor requested Royal Caribbean whether or not he might be part of the ship in Nassau if he flew there at his personal expense.
However the line stated that might not be doable. The visitor’s request, it stated, was denied by port authorities.
Because it was already midday when the visitor realized his mistake, there was not sufficient time to journey to Port Canaveral to make the ship’s 4 p.m. departure.
For this visitor, it turned out to be a better-luck-next-time scenario.
Labadee Pulled From Itineraries Via 2026
Performing out of an abundance of warning, Royal Caribbean ships is not going to name at Labadee, Haiti, by 2026, the road confirmed.
Labadee is the cruise line’s non-public vacation spot within the north of the island, about 85 miles from Port-au-Prince, the place gangs have basically taken over.
Whereas Royal Caribbean started cancelling visits to Labadee in 2023, when the federal government all however collapsed, it had deliberate to incorporate calls to the vacation spot on a number of ships this yr.
For instance, Freedom of the Seas was set to name there on an itinerary departing Might 2, 2026, and Journey of the Seas was to go to throughout a cruise departing on September 12, 2026. These port calls at the moment are nixed, with alternative calls slated for Nassau and Grand Turk, respectively.
Star of the Seas will add a sea day as a substitute of visiting Labadee or one other vacation spot on the ship’s Might 3, 2026 departure. In all, the itineraries of greater than a dozen Royal Caribbean ships are impacted.
Visitors are being notified by e mail concerning the modifications to their cruise itineraries.
Whereas Labadee has its personal safety system, the US Division of State has a Stage 4: Do Not Journey advisory in place for your complete island of Haiti resulting from kidnapping, crime, potential terrorist exercise, and different considerations.
New-Construct Norwegian Aura Will Homeport in Miami
Chalk up one other large win for PortMiami. Norwegian Cruise Line revealed that Norwegian Aura, its fifth Prima-class ship, will deploy to the South Florida port when she debuts in Might 2027.
At 169,000 gross tons and with capability for 3,840 friends in double occupancy, Norwegian Aura would be the largest within the fleet. Beneath development at a Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the ship will sail 7-night Japanese and Western Caribbean voyages from PortMiami.
Featured port calls on the ship’s itineraries embody Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel, plus the non-public locations Nice Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye.
Bookings have opened on the market. Norwegian Aura is the road’s third Prima-Plus-class ship, becoming a member of Norwegian Luna, launching in April 2026, and Norwegian Aqua, which entered service in April 2025.
Norwegian Aura will provide 1,976 staterooms and can characteristic 30% extra suites than the opposite Prima vessels.
Her maiden voyage, a 7-night Mediterranean cruise from Trieste to Barcelona, departs on Might 21, 2027, and calls at Malta, Salerno, and Rome. A 14-night transatlantic cruise follows, because the ship makes her method to PortMiami in mid-June 2027.
Factors Selection Loyalty Plan Is Formally Unveiled
Hypothesis about Royal Caribbean Group’s new Factors Selection loyalty program has been rampant for months on social media, following the cruise line’s hints in October 2025 {that a} new, higher plan was on the best way.
On January 15, 2025, the cruise line formally introduced particulars of the brand new system, which takes impact with cruise departures on and after January 30, 2026.
Factors Selection will permit friends crusing on the corporate’s three manufacturers — Royal Caribbean, Celeb Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, to use their loyalty factors to any of the three traces.
It implies that rewards will be assigned to Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celeb Cruises’ Captain’s Membership, or Silversea’s Venetian Society, regardless of the place the factors had been earned.
An change desk exhibits friends what their per-night factors will earn based mostly on cruise size and cabin class. As an illustration, friends reserving Sundown, Proprietor, Aqua-Theater, or Oceanview Panoramic suites would earn two factors per night time in Crown & Anchor Society, eight factors per night time in Captain’s Membership, or one level per night time in Venetian Society.
Visitors should request the switch of factors through a type out there on the road’s app or website online earlier than their crusing or as much as 14 days after their cruise.
Extra Cruise Headlines
There are lots of extra information and have tales you gained’t need to miss on Cruise Hive, together with one MSC Cruises’ ship nixing a port name resulting from tough climate close to Sicily, and one other experiencing a burst pipe that flooded staterooms.
Additionally, Carnival Cruise Line opens bookings on 2027-28 West Coast sailings, and the Port of Galveston receives $8 million in grants. Lastly, discover out what Wave Season is all about and the way it can prevent cash in your subsequent cruise trip.
