Weekly Cruise News Recap for August 24, 2025

Celebrity will soon take deposits for it's new river cruises.

Celebrity is getting into the river cruising market starting in 2027. They have 10 river boats on order with the first deliveries in 2027. They plan to sail Rhine and Danube rivers initially and expand from there.

Hurricane Erin is causing more ships to change their schedules and stops.

Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas along with Bermuda are all effected by the category 4 storm. Carnival, Disney, MSC, and NCL all have to alter some of their schedules and stops, mostly sticking further west to Mexico or the western side of the Bahamas. The NCL Aqua is actually going north to Canada to replace their Bermuda stops. The NCL Escape is delaying their cruise out of NYC for two days while they stay in the safety of the harbor.

Brawl on Carnival over chicken tenders.

A 2am brawl at the Lido buffet broke out over chicken tenders on a Carnival cruise ship headed to Miami. The specific are unclear but some of the altercation was caught on video. Carnival has a zero tolerance policy on fights and violence so those involved will likely see bans from the cruise line.

Carnival Panorama hit by a sudden storm in the Pacific.

You might think all the storm action is happening in the Atlantic with Hurricane Erin but the Carnival Panorama encountered severe listing while hit by a sudden storm off the Gulf of California. This happened on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, in the Gulf of California between Mazatlan and La Paz. Winds were reported to be 60mph and caused the boat to list causing plates, glasses, chairs, and guests to slide over on the boat. No major injuries were reported.

Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady has announced their 2027 summer cruises.

The Resilient Lady will be Rome, Amalfi Coast, Florence/Pisa, Sicily, Cinque Terre, and more for their 2027 summer. Most notably cruise for the total solar eclipse to Tangier, Morocco in August. Probably best to book these cruises earlier as they will likely fill up fast.

Sun Princess has a man overboard in Turkey.

The Princess cruise ship had a man overboard on Thursday, August 21, 2025 while heading to Istanbul. The ship performed rescue operations including sending out life boats and turning off the AC, engines, and music so people could listen for cries of help. The person overboard was identified to be a crew member and they were not recovered.

Disney Cruise Line has announced more West Coast sailings in 2026 and 2027.

Focusing on San Diego and Galveston, Disney has opened new cruises for booking in the fall of 2026 and spring of 2027. The Disney Magic and Disney Wonder will be returning to these ports offering cruises on both coasts of Mexico, Nassau, and their private beach of Castaway Cay. Themed cruises for Halloween and Christmas will also be available on some ships.

Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas has been blessed and is now ready for regular service.

The naming ceremony for the second Icon-class ship was help with Godmother Kellie Gerardi in Port Canaveral blessing and sending off the Star of the Seas. The ship will now start sailing it's regular itinerary of 7 night cruises around the Caribbean and the CocoCay.

Margaritaville at Sea is bringing back their unlimited cruise pass.

The cruise line is bringing back their cruise pass for allows for unlimited, nonconsecutive, 2 or 3 night sailings for $799. They have also introduced a new higher tier for $1,499 that allows for cruises up to 7 nights. Each pass gives you at least an oceanview cabin for two with the higher tier offering balconies.

Royal Caribbean swaps Grandeur and Jewel of the Seas sailings.

For the 2026 and 2027 season Royal Caribbean has moved the Jewel of the Seas to the itineraries for the Grandeur of the Seas from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. The Jewel is a slightly newer and bigger ship offering more rooms and booked passengers will get switched automatically. Those booked on the Jewel when the ship will need to reposition in May of 2026 will get a bonus 3 days added to their itinerary at no extra cost. The Grandeur of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's oldest ship, will taking over the former cruises from Jewel at less popular ports such as Cartagena, Colombia, and Colon, Panama.

NCL President David Herrera steps down.

The decision seems to come as a surprise as NCL is in a transformative period of playing catch up to their rivals. NCL has placed orders for mega ships over 200,000 gross tons and has invested in improvements to their private island Great Stirrup Cay. With all he strategic shifting, NCL is still trailing behind Royal Caribbean and Carnival in terms of profits after Covid. Herrera was only on the role two years.