Cruise News Update: April 8, 2023

We’re below with one more busy cruise news update across the important cruise line, such as coverage on Carnival Cruise Line, two stories on Norwegian, some Disney information, and news on just one of the Royal Caribbean Oasis-class cruise ships.

Cruise News Update

Cruise Hive has you covered with all the major developments from the earlier week, which include a active future Alaska time for Carnival Cruise Line, new Disney wearable gadgets to roll out across the fleet, Norwegian is tests out Starlink web and will roll it out across all of its brands, NCL also clarifies a much talked about a prohibited merchandise, and a Royal Caribbean cruise ship undergoes dry dock.

Carnival Setting up Busy Alaska Year

3 Enjoyable Ships will be sailing Alaska itineraries this summer months, and all three ships are the popular Spirit-course vessels: Carnival Miracle, Carnival Spirit, and for the initial time in North American waters since becoming a member of the fleet, Carnival Luminosa.

Carnival Wonder will be the initial to established sail for Alaska when she leaves Long Seashore on April 23 for a 14-evening roundtrip sailing up the California coast to take a look at Alaskan ports.

The ship will then reposition to San Francisco for alternating 10-night Alaskan sailings and 4-evening Baja Mexico cruises. In September, Carnival Wonder will again return to Very long Seaside right after yet another 14-evening Alaska cruise.

Carnival Spirit will return to Alaska commencing on Might 2, immediately after a 16-night repositioning cruise from Miami to Seattle. From Seattle, the ship will present 7-night roundtrip Alaska cruises for the time. After the Alaska season, Carnival Spirit will reposition to Mobile via a 16-night time just one-way cruise from Seattle to New Orleans.

Carnival Luminosa will join her sister ships in Alaska for the 1st time. From Seattle, Carnival Luminosa will offer generally 7-night roundtrip sailings, nevertheless the June 15 departure is a 6-evening cruise and the June 28 departure is an 8-night time voyage. Immediately after the Alaska season finishes, Carnival Luminosa will return to Brisbane by way of an epic 31-night time cruise.

New Disney Cruise Line Wearables

Next in the footsteps of Princess Cruises’ OceanMedallion, MSC Cruises’ MSC for Me, and Royal Caribbean’s WOW Bands, Disney Cruise Line is jumping onboard with subsequent-gen know-how in the type of its wearable, the DisneyBand+.

Disney has been making use of the engineering for wearables in its parks for about 10 yrs and is finally bringing the technological know-how to its cruise ships.

The line will try out the wearable onboard the 144,000 gross tons, 5,555-guest Disney Desire on pick out sailings around the subsequent months right before the official start later on this 12 months.

Available in 3 Disney Cruise Line-special designs, the smart capabilities of DisneyBand+ claims to make the cruise encounter far more pleasurable.

The DisneyBand+ also enables visitors to unlock their stateroom doorways, make payments for snacks and souvenirs, and even grant entry to onboard kids’ golf equipment. The bands are made to be worn though swimming or collaborating in various drinking water routines, including at the line’s private island of Castaway Cay in the Bahamas.

Not confined to cruise holidays, DisneyBand+ technology can be employed at Disney Parks and Disney Resort hotels, generating it a adaptable accent for visitors who want to mix a cruise onboard a Disney Cruise Line ship and a pay a visit to to a single of the parks.

Norwegian Testing Starling for All Fleets

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has announced a demo run for high-velocity Starlink world-wide-web accessibility onboard ships, and if profitable, the firm strategies to roll out the company to all three of its cruise line brand names: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent 7 Seas Cruises.

The original take a look at of the significant-speed, broadband world wide web support Starlink is being conducted aboard Norwegian Breakaway, a single of the greater vessels in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet.

If successful, the enhanced world-wide-web services would permit guests and crew associates alike greater solutions for remaining related to family members and pals, as well as to get pleasure from streaming companies and on line gaming if they desire. At the minute, a sluggish rollout is tentatively planned.

The test interval is crucial to be positive the technological innovation is as reliable as predicted. “Ensuring that this technological innovation fulfills our superior expectations of excellence for our company is very critical to us, which is why we are introducing this slicing-edge engineering throughout our fleet in a phased fashion,” mentioned Harry Sommer, president and CEO-elect of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“Once deployed, visitors and crew will have a speedier and additional reputable approach to keep connected with pals and loved ones including by sharing in serious-time the outstanding memories they make when at sea,” Sommer extra.

If the take a look at aboard the 145,655-gross-ton Norwegian Breakaway is a good results, seven additional ships are prepared to be outfitted with Starlink ahead of the stop of 2023.

In time and if successful, the corporation options to roll out Starlink all through all three fleets, a whole of 32 ships – 19 for Norwegian Cruise Line, 7 for Oceania Cruises, and 6 for Regent 7 Seas Cruises.

NCL Clarifies Prohibited Merchandise

Norwegian Cruise Line has clarified its new prohibition on followers, which are now shown on the cruise line’s prohibited items checklist. When fans had been not long ago included to the prohibited record, the inclusion only read “All forms of fans such as handheld, battery operated, electric powered and so on.” which indicated that each variety of supporter, no issue its measurement or ability source, would not be permitted onboard.

Now, the list product has been clarified to read “All kinds of lovers with the exception of compact electrical and battery-operated followers.”

Even though there is no distinct measurement listed as satisfactory, the listing does go on to state that “fans are subject matter to confiscation by the ship’s protection team for inspection and approval.”

There was a sizeable outcry when visitors 1st uncovered of the outright ban on fans, as there are numerous explanations why cruise tourists normally bring followers together.

For friends who do want to deliver a lover on a Norwegian cruise ship, it is ideal to bring the smallest attainable admirer that will fulfill your desires. Select a vacation-sized fan or tiny transportable fan if feasible.

Royal Caribbean Ship Undergoes Dry Dock

Symphony of the Seas has started her 2-7 days dry dock to refresh and refurbish the ship prior to her summer Mediterranean plan. The ship arrived in Cadiz, Spain on Monday, March 27, 2023, and will continue to be at the shipyard for far more than two weeks.

She is docked alongside Carnival Venezia, which is also undergoing extensive refitting function just before relaunching underneath the “Carnival Enjoyable Italian Style” brand in late May possibly.

Symphony of the Seas is not getting nearly as significantly renovation as the former Costa Venezia, but will still be thoroughly refreshed and up to date.

This form of dry dock is relatively short at fewer than a few weeks, and will most likely involve updates to complex programs and program onboard to maintain the ship running at peak effectiveness, as very well as hotel and public location upgrades like new flooring exactly where needed, up to date lighting, small repairs to public regions this sort of as repairing seating or railings, refinishing the open up decks, and new coats of paint.

Royal Caribbean International has not introduced any enormous updates for the ship, such as the introduction of absolutely new venues or removing properly-recognized characteristics, but these surprises are usually achievable.

Symphony of the Seas‘ initial cruise just after the recent dry dock will established sail from Barcelona, Spain on Sunday, April 16. That voyage is a 7-night time roundtrip Western Mediterranean cruise going to Mallorca, Marseille, La Spezia, Rome, and Naples, in advance of returning to Barcelona.

A lot more Cruise Headlines

Those people had been just a handful of the cruise news headlines from the earlier week, we’ve got all the protection on Cruise Hive, such as unfortunate information from a Virgin Voyages cruise, a main leadership alter at Celebrity Cruises, Holland The united states Line departs on 150th-anniversary sailing, cruises cancelled for an MSC cruise ship thanks to prolonged dry dock, a cruise director modify onboard Carnival’s flagship, Virgin Voyages seeks additional funding, and loads a lot more, which you can look through by means of proper below.