We’re back with the top news stories of the week from Cruise Hive, keeping you up to date on developments from the major cruise lines and ports of call.
In this week’s news recap, some of our coverage highlights include the sinking of an excursion boat in the Caribbean, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas deploying to Texas in 2027, and MSC Cruises ordering two more mega-ships.
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Cruise Guests Saved After Excursion Boat Sinks
A catamaran sail on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea sounds like the perfect cruise excursion, but for a group of cruisers in the Dominican Republic, it turned into a scary experience they are unlikely to soon forget.
It happened on November 9, 2025 when guests sailing on TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1 were enjoying their catamaran excursion in Samana Bay. The boat apparently had an internal failure or may have collided with an underwater object and taken on water.
The 40-foot vessel quickly sank, leaving some 50 guests in the sea. Thankfully, all of them were reported to be wearing life vests and were rescued by the Navy of the Dominican Republic.
The incident is under investigation. There were no major injuries reported, and all of the cruise guests were returned to their ship. Videos and pictures posted on social media show one section of the catamaran sticking out of the water.
Mein Schiff 1 is sailing a 14-night voyage that did not originally have the Dominican Republic on its itinerary. The ship was operating a revised route due to cancelled calls at two Jamaican ports, and the Dominican Republic call had been added in place of Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.
Massive Wave Sweeps Cruise Guests Off Pier
In a tragic turn of events in Tenerife, Canary Islands, three people died and 15 were injured when a giant wave swamped a pier where tourists, including a group of cruise passengers, were enjoying ocean views in Puerto de la Cruz.
The event happened on November 8, 2025, and at least one of the dead was a cruise passenger and a Dutch national. The unidentified woman was reported to have died from a heart attack after being swept into the sea. About 10 other people from a cruise ship were also swept off the pier and into the water.
Rescue teams successfully pulled all of the people from the water. The cruise passengers were on a shore tour from a ship calling at Tenerife, but it is unknown which cruise ship they were sailing on.
Silversea Cruises’ Silver Dawn and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 3 were docked in Tenerife that day. Other tourists, including a French group, were swept into the water by the same rogue wave.
The pier apparently had a warning beacon, and it is not clear why the tourists disregarded it. Tenerife is known for its heavy surf and large swells that can unexpectedly create huge waves.
Celebrity Cruises Unwraps 2027-28 Itineraries
From Asia to South America and the Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises unveiled its 2027-28 roster of cruises that sail to 131 destinations in 42 countries, many with longer stays in port.
With its largest deployment to date from Florida ports, the line will base eight ships in the Sunshine State, offering cruises to 65 destinations in the Caribbean.
Among them are Celebrity Beyond sailing from Miami, and Celebrity Xcel, Celebrity Ascent, Celebrity Silhouette, and Celebrity Eclipse from Fort Lauderdale. Other ships will sail from Port Canaveral and Tampa.
Itinerary highlights will feature Panama Canal transits and visits to Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas.
Celebrity Equinox will explore South America with 14-night cruises that visit popular sights such as the Chilean Fjords, Tierra del Fuego National Park, and Cape Horn. Itineraries will call at ports in seven countries.
Two ships, Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Millennium, will operate Asia voyages to destinations including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Longer port calls are planned, as are overnight stays in key destinations like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Phuket.
Royal Caribbean Offers Deals on Oversold Cruise
Passengers booked on an oversold Royal Caribbean voyage during the Thanksgiving holiday were offered some pretty tempting deals to help alleviate the crush of bookings.
The overtures are being made to guests booked on Allure of the Seas’ 8-night Eastern Caribbean cruise set to depart Port Everglades on November 22, 2025.
Under the first option, guests who did not book an interior cabin are being asked to move their reservation to an inside stateroom, and those who agree will receive a full refund of their cruise fare. They would sail free, basically, not counting any packages or shore excursions, if they downgrade their accommodations.
Under a second option, guests can cancel the cruise, receive a full refund, and also enjoy a future cruise credit that totals 50% of the cruise fare they paid. The credit can be used on any Royal Caribbean cruise sailing on or before November 22, 2026.
In this instance, the cruise line will reimburse guests for non-refundable expenses, like airfares and hotels. Guests interested in opting for either offer must notify the line by November 18, 2025.
Icon of the Seas Deploys to Galveston in 2027
As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, and that will soon apply to the Port of Galveston, where the mega-ship Icon of the Seas will be based starting in August 2027.
Icon of the Seas is one of the world’s two biggest cruise ships (the other is her sister ship Star of the Seas), at 1,198 feet long and weighing 250,800 gross tons. These ships can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers plus 2,300 crew members.
Icon of the Seas will reposition from her current homeport, Miami, and begin sailing 6- to 8-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. The ship will officially leave Miami for the Lone Star State on August 7, 2027 and sail her repositioning cruise.
The ship’s first cruise from the Texas port will be a 7-night Western Caribbean voyage. The weeklong cruises call at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras. Six-night sailings will visit those same ports, but offer one less day at sea. The 8-night voyages add Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas.
Guests who love to sail Icon-class ships from Florida will still be able to do so, since Star of the Seas is based at Port Canaveral, and Legend of the Seas, due to enter service in summer 2026, will homeport at Port Everglades.
Royal Caribbean Details 2027-28 Voyages From US Ports
Royal Caribbean ships will sail from four US ports in 2027-28, offering voyages from 4 to 12 nights to destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada.
Nine ships will sail from homeports in Los Angeles, Galveston, Baltimore, and Cape Liberty. Caribbean and Mexico cruises will offer guests the chance to visit Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in the Bahamas, set to open in December 2025, and Royal Beach Club Cozumel in Mexico, slated to debut in 2026.
Perhaps the biggest piece of news is that Icon of the Seas will deploy to Galveston, starting in August 2027 (see related brief above).
Here’s the rundown of the planned deployments:
- Liberty of the Seas, Icon of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas from Galveston to Western Caribbean ports.
- Ovation of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas from Los Angeles to Mexico and Catalina Island.
- Oasis of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas from Cape Liberty to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Canada/New England.
- Vision of the Seas from Baltimore to the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Canada.
MSC Cruises’ World Class Expanding to 8 Ships
MSC Cruises’ World class just keeps on growing. The line announced another ship order, this time for two vessels, that will expand the class to eight ships by 2031.
The order, worth about $4 billion, was confirmed by the line and the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, where the World-class ships are all being built.
The latest two, temporarily referred to as World Class 7 and World Class 8, will debut in 2030 and 2031, respectively. The class is the industry’s biggest in terms of gross tonnage and passenger capacity, behind Royal Caribbean’s massive Icon class.
Two MSC World-class ships are already sailing — MSC World Europa, which was introduced in 2022, and MSC World America, which launched in 2025.
Two are under construction: MSC World Asia, due to enter service in 2026, and MSC World Atlantic, set to debut in 2027. And two more, World Class 5 and World Class 6, are ordered but not yet under construction. They will launch in 2029 and 2030, respectively.
The announcement of the latest order coincided with construction milestones for MSC World Asia, which was floated out of her bay, and MSC Atlantica, which held its keel laying ceremony.
More Cruise Headlines
Stick around for even more news from Cruise Hive, such as a new gameshow launching on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, a third new ship being ordered for luxe line Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Line updating its onboard party schedules.
Also, Royal Caribbean’s Royal Beach Club Paradise Island is nearing completion, and Princess Cruises’ ships will add Celebration Key as a port call in 2026.
