It’s easy to stay on top of important cruise developments by reading Cruise Hive every day, but just in case you’ve missed something, here’s our latest edition of Cruise News Update. This week’s recap has coverage from Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, and PortMiami, the Cruise Capital of the World.
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Royal Caribbean Adds Homeport in The Golden State
Royal Caribbean is banking big on California in 2026 and 2027, adding a new homeport — San Diego, and basing four mega-ships in Los Angeles.
The 2,490-guest Serenade of the Seas will sail from San Diego starting in October 2026 and continuing through the winter 2027 season. Three-, 4-, and 7-night itineraries are offered to destinations along the Mexican Riviera.
In Los Angeles, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, both with double occupancy capacity for 5,000 guests; the 4,000-guest Navigator of the Seas; and the 3,600-guest Voyager of the Seas will sail multiple itineraries of up to 8 nights during the summer and winter seasons.
Destinations visited from both ports include Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Catalina Island.
Also, La Paz will be a new port call for Serenade of the Seas, marking the first time Royal Caribbean has included the destination on a voyage. The ship’s maiden call to La Paz will be a celebratory event. All of the California-based cruises have opened for bookings.
Rubber Ducks: Cruisers Either Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald reached out to his thousands of followers on Facebook asking why so many guests want the rubber duck game banned.
For those readers who may be oblivious to the harmless game, Cruisers hide small rubber ducks around their ship for others to find. Those who discover a duck can hide it somewhere else, for someone else to find, or hold onto it as a keepsake.
Even though some guests have suggested that the line ban the game, Heald has already stated that will not happen. Some guests replied to his post, with varying opinions on the controversy.
One admitted he’s not into the “duck thing,” but has no objection to others enjoying the game. Another posited that guests who complain about the duck game do so only because they haven’t been lucky enough to find one of their own.
Acknowledging the popularity of the game, Carnival Cruise Line recently took it to a new level by adding a “Ducky the Duck” character onboard its ships for the purposes of photo ops for their duck-loving guests.
Taxi Travesty Trips Up Cruisers at Port Canaveral
Always settle on the fare — or at least know the mileage charge, before getting into a taxi. That was a lesson learned the hard way for a couple who recently disembarked Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas at Port Canaveral.
Able to get off the ship earlier than anticipated, the couple had an hour to wait for their pre-scheduled Uber ride, they wrote in a Reddit post. So they cancelled that booking and instead accepted a ride from a driver already at the port, however, he would turn out to be a scammer.
Once arrived at their destination — Orlando, about 60 miles from the port, the couple was presented with the scammer’s bill, a whopping $345. The Uber ride would have cost around $120.
In the end, the couple paid the scammer $100 in cash, grabbed their suitcases and quickly left the scene. While they didn’t actually pay the scammer’s price, they described their experience as a warning to others.
Carnival Sunshine Begins Service From Norfolk
Carnival Cruise Line began operating year-round from Norfolk, with the 3,700-guest Carnival Sunshine launching a series of Caribbean and Bahamas cruises from the Virginia port.
Previously, the 3,690-guest Carnival Magic offered only seasonal voyages. That ship is now sailing from PortMiami.
The decision to base Carnival Sunshine at Norfolk was made back in 2022. The ship recently emerged from a scheduled dry dock and is sailing 5-, 6-, and 8-night voyages to the Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda. Come September 2025, the ship will feature a port call to Celebration Key, Carnival’s new private destination in the Bahamas set to open in July 2025.
Norfolk expects to welcome about 150,000 cruise arrivals each year thanks to the presence of Carnival Sunshine, which the city believes will be a boon to the local economy. The port has been preparing for the ship’s arrival by investing $12 million in the Half Moone Cruise Center.
Upgrades include the addition of air-conditioned seating areas for up to 600 guests, and a sloped walkway from the cruise center’s second floor to the baggage pick-up area.
‘Get to Know’ Your Favorite Carnival Cruise Director
Carnival Cruise Line guests — past, present, and future, now have a chance to go behind the scenes and learn all about their ships’ cruise directors. Cruise directors, after all, play a crucial role in setting the tone of a Fun Ship vacation and in the process become known to many guests on each sailing.
Fleet Cruise Director Lee Mason has launched a YouTube video series that focuses on the line’s cruise directors. Mason is a former Carnival cruise director and, as fleet cruise director, is involved in training and supervising directors across multiple ships.
His “Get to Know” series consists of 5- to 10-minute interviews with various cruise directors. The first in the series launched on February 10, 2025 and featured Gary Blair, currently serving aboard Carnival Miracle.
It turns out that Blair is an accordion player, has a penchant for Scottish dancing, and is a big fan of reality TV. So tune into the Mason’s series and look for your favorite Carnival Cruise Line cruise director.
New Carnival Cruise Line Gift Makes Packing Easier
Cruisers who are Platinum and Diamond level members of Carnival Cruise Line’s Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) loyalty program will soon have a new gift to enjoy when they board their next Carnival cruise: packing cubes.
The cubes are zippered bags designed to hold personal items inside a piece of luggage. They have already rolled out aboard Carnival Jubilee and will be made available across the fleet by early March, Brand Ambassador John Heald revealed on his Facebook page.
Loyalty club members typically are recipients of special gifts from cruise lines. Carnival Cruise Line’s latest gift, in October 2024, was a baseball cap.
Loyalty club members earn points for each day they sail on a Carnival Cruise Line ship. The Platinum level requires 75 points, while Diamond status is reached at 200 points.
Cruisers can collect their gift by visiting the Pixels Photo Gallery onboard their cruise ship. Their name and club level status will be checked against a list of eligible passengers.
PortMiami Records Busiest Cruise Day Ever
On a typical day at PortMiami, the world’s busiest cruise port, one can expect to find five or six cruise ships embarking and debarking guests, but on February 8, 2025, the port had 10 ships docked, making it the busiest day in the port’s history.
The ships at the port that day were Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Magic; Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas and Icon of the Seas; Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Gem; MSC Cruises’ MSC Seascape; Oceania Cruises’ Sirena; Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady; and Holland America Line’s Zaandam.
All told, the passengers transiting the port from all of the ships combined came to a dizzying 68,000.
The ships operating at the port that day were bound for various destinations and regions of the Caribbean. Icon of the Seas, for instance, the world’s largest cruise ship, was boarding guests for a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay, while Zaandam was departing on a 27-night voyage to the Amazon.
More Cruise Headlines
Those were just a handful of cruise news developments from the past week, and we’ve got plenty more on Cruise Hive. Check out our coverage on Costa Cruises unveiling its 2027 World Cruise; Norwegian Cruise Line and its sister brands adding a popular online payment option; Princess Cruises expanding its Alaska cruisetours; a new residential cruise ship revealing its interior design; and a Royal Caribbean guest suing the line after a jet ski accident.
