Queen Elizabeth has been delayed by more than 24 hours in Seattle while essential routine maintenance is completed.
The Cunard ship is now scheduled to depart at 5:00 p.m. on September 18, a day later than originally planned.
Cunard has warned that the delay could impact the ship’s final Alaska itinerary of the 2026 season.
Guests aboard Queen Elizabeth’s final Alaska voyage of 2026 are spending an unexpected extra day in Seattle. The 2,081-passenger Cunard ship was originally scheduled to depart from the Washington port at 4:30 p.m. on September 17, but essential maintenance delayed the departure by more than 24 hours.
A guest on Reddit shared that, shortly after boarding, they were greeted with a note saying the departure had been pushed to 9:00 p.m. for essential maintenance. The captain later announced that the maintenance had pushed departure even further to 5:00 p.m. the following day, September 18. A subsequent letter confirmed the delay.
“Following the Captain’s announcement this evening, we are writing to inform you of our delayed departure from Seattle,” the letter read.“To allow for on-going essential routine maintenance to be completed, we will need to remain in Port until 17:00 tomorrow, Friday, September 18.”
To accommodate the arrival of another ship at Pier 91, Queen Elizabeth moved to an alternate location at 9:00 p.m. The letter to guests indicated that the ship would leave the port at that time and return at 7:30 a.m. the following morning.
However, guests commenting on the Reddit post said that the ship instead slowly moved to another berth, rather than leaving the port. The letter did not specify the ship that necessitated the relocation, but the Port of Seattle’s 2026 schedule lists Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas at Pier 91 on September 18.
“QE was to move to another berth at 9 pm to make way for an arriving ship. We moved very slowly a few feet, but then stopped,”one guest said.
“We are in a different berth now. The captain said our original berth was needed for a larger vessel,”commented another guest.“A Royal Caribbean ship is in our original spot and we moved one berth to the west.”
Guests were confined to the ship overnight, but were allowed ashore during the extra day in Seattle. However, the letter advised all guests to return to the ship by 4:00 p.m. ahead of the 5:00 p.m. departure.
The cruise line also clarified that they would still be running a full program of events onboard while the ship remained docked in Seattle. Cunard did not identify what maintenance was being performed, nor why it caused such a delay.
Final Alaska Cruise of the Season
The timing is notable, as the delayed sailing is Queen Elizabeth’s final Alaska cruise of the 2026 season. Cruise Hive previously reported that Cunard scheduled 15 roundtrip Alaska cruises from Seattle aboard the ship during the 2026 season, ranging from 7 to 12 nights.
This final 7-night cruise is scheduled to visit Ketchikan, Juneau, and Victoria, with scenic cruising at Endicott Arm before returning to Seattle on September 24. Ketchikan is the first scheduled port call, with Queen Elizabeth due to arrive there on the morning of September 19.
The sailing can also be booked as the first segment of a longer 28-night voyage from Seattle to Miami. Those guests are scheduled to return to Seattle on September 24 before continuing south along the Pacific Coast and eventually passing through the Panama Canal.
September 18 was originally scheduled as a sea day en route to Ketchikan. While no delay to the Ketchikan call has been announced, the removal of a full day of sailing makes a cancelled or shortened call likely.
Cunard has explicitly warned guests that they anticipate additional impact to the voyage and will try to limit changes to the ports of call. Guests will receive another update on September 18 once it has more information about any changes to the remainder of the voyage.
The Alaska State Fire Marshal’s Office has determined the Whittier dock, damaged by fire on Monday, September 14, 2026, is a total loss.
The dock is part of the $80 million Chugach Glacier Gateway Cruise Terminal project that first welcomed ships in September 2024.
There have not yet been any changes to ship schedules for the remainder of the 2026 season or the 2027 season, though ships will likely use Cruise Terminal 1.
It’s a harsh blow for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and guests sailing to Whittier, Alaska as the dock for the Chugach Glacier Gateway Cruise Terminal has been declared a “total loss” following the fire on Monday, September 14, 2026.
According to Anchorage Daily News, officials with the Alaska State Fire Marshal’s Office made the determination on Wednesday, September 16, two days after the hours-long blaze.
Cruise Hive previously reported on the fire, which was first noticed shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday but which the US Coast Guard determined was not fully extinguished until 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Anchorage Fire Department (AFD) stated on Facebook on Tuesday, September 15 that there was no working hydrant near the dock and both an engine and two tenders were used to fight the blaze.
Whittier Fire & EMS, Girdwood Fire and Rescue, and other local emergency services all responded to the emergency.
The fire was reported at the dock where Klondike Express, a local tour boat operated by Phillips Cruises & Tours that offered day cruises through Prince William Sound, was moored. There were no passengers aboard at the time, but the boat did sustain significant damage. There were no injuries reported related to the fire.
Norwegian Jade was also nearby but moved quickly away from the dock to stay safely away from the blaze. There was no damage to the cruise ship, and her embarkation that day was moved to Cruise Terminal 1, roughly 1.5 miles away.
At this time, Huna Totem Corporation is still assessing the extent of the dock damage and no further information is available about any rebuilding plans or future operations for the facility.
The Alaska State Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating the cause of the fire, which Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, confirmed has not yet been determined.
U.S. Coast Guard Responds to Whittier Cruise Port Fire (Credit: USCG Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic)
US Coast Guard teams from Sector Western Alaska and US Arctic are also conducting pollution assessments and a marine casualty investigation to determine if there is any contamination as a result of the fire. No significant pollution has yet been noted and a “small sheen” first noted immediately after the fire has already dissipated.
What Will This Mean for Future Cruises?
While the 2026 Alaska season is drawing to a close with just a few ship visits remaining on Whittier’s schedule this year, it is not yet known what impact the fire may have on the 2027 season.
The new terminal offered first right of scheduling for ships in the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings family: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, with ships from other lines such as Princess Cruises and Holland America Line utilizing Cruise Terminal 1 but also able to use the new dock as needed.
It is likely that all ships will use Cruise Terminal 1 until repairs can be made, but no cruise lines have made any announcements about terminal changes or itinerary updates for the 2027 season as yet.
The first call to Whittier in 2027 is to be Coral Princess on Tuesday, May 4, while the first vessels from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings are planned to be Oceania Riviera on Sunday, May 9, Norwegian Jade on Monday, May 17, and Seven Seas Explorer on Wednesday, May 19.
Seven Seas Explorer is also the last planned call for the 2026 season, arriving in Whittier on Monday, October 5. With no other ships planned that day, the 750-guest ship will most likely use Cruise Terminal 1 without difficulty.
Norwegian Joy had a deceased fin whale on its bulbous bow as the ship approached Sitka on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The ship’s docking was delayed and the whale carcass will now be assessed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
To compensate for the later arrival, guests on Reddit report that Norwegian Joy remained in Sitka an hour later than originally planned, but no other itinerary changes are confirmed.
It was a sad day aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Joy arriving in Sitka, Alaska on Thursday, September 17, 2026 when a dead fin whale was discovered on the ship’s bow.
According to My Northwest / KIRO Newsradio, the ship was briefly delayed in order to remove the cetacean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has its Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network team assessing the whale and determining what additional steps may be necessary.
“We are deeply saddened by this situation, and we are cooperating with the appropriate authorities and any relevant scientific and wildlife experts as part of the assessment process,”Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement.
“This is a sobering reminder of the importance of ongoing collaboration among the maritime, scientific and conservation communities. We remain committed to operating responsibly, complying with applicable laws and regulations and supporting efforts that contribute to the long-term health of marine life.”
Norwegian Joy had departed Seattle on Friday, September 11, 2026 for a 10-night roundtrip sailing, the ship’s next-to-last Alaskan itinerary of the season. Sitka is the ship’s fourth port of call visit, following Ketchikan on Sunday, September 13; Juneau on Tuesday, September 15; and Icy Strait Point on Wednesday, September 16.
The ship also spent time in Glacier Bay for scenic cruising on Monday, September 14.
It is not known where Norwegian Joy may have impacted the whale, or if the whale was already deceased at the time it got caught on the ship’s bulbous bow, the protrusion just below the waterline that helps improve a ship’s fuel efficiency.
Originally, the 3,802-guest ship was scheduled to be in port from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The Reddit poster Alternative-Hat-9627 noted that the ship did not begin docking until roughly 10 a.m., but that an extra hour was added to the visit to make up for some of the lost time.
Photos posted to the Reddit thread by different users show the whale being towed away from the ship. The whale is belly up and appears to have a wound near its tail.
Whale Being Pulled Away (Photo Credit: Foreign_Chipmunk_306)
It is standard procedure in these cases for authorities to conduct a necropsy on the whale to determine the cause of death.
Norwegian Joy is still scheduled to visit Skagway on Friday, September 18 and Victoria, British Columbia on Sunday, September 20 before returning to Seattle for debarkation on Monday, September 21. At this time, there is no confirmation of any further itinerary adjustment for the ship.
Not the First Whale Strike in 2026
Sadly, this incident with Norwegian Joy is not the first whale strike by a cruise ship in 2026.
Cruise Hive previously reported that on Friday, June 19, Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas arrived in Seward, Alaska with a dead fin whale on its bulbous bow.
In that incident, the ship docked with the whale still on the bow, but the carcass was covered with a tarp until it could be removed and towed to a nearby protected lagoon for examination. It was later determined the whale had been pregnant at the time it died.
Additional whale incidents have been noted with other cruise lines as well. In May 2024, MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia arrived in New York with a whale on its bow, while in 2016, Holland America Line’s Zaandam hit a young male fin whale near Seward.
Carnival Jubilee will begin regularly sailing 4- and 5-night cruises from Galveston as part of Carnival’s newly opened 2028-29 Texas schedule.
These shorter cruises mark a major shift for Carnival’s newest and largest ship, which has primarily operated weeklong voyages from Galveston.
The move follows a wider trend of cruise lines deploying newer mega-ships on shorter itineraries, including Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas and Carnival’s own Mardi Gras.
Carnival Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship will soon be available for shorter getaways. The cruise line announced that Carnival Jubilee is set to begin regularly sailing 4- and 5-night cruises from Galveston in 2028.
Bookings for 2028-29 sailings from the Texas port were opened by Carnival on September 17, 2026. As part of this season, the cruise line has introduced two new shorter itinerary options for the 5,362-passenger Excel-class ship.
The ship will operate 4-night Western Caribbean sailings, visiting Cozumel, Mexico and featuring two sea days. The cruise line currently has 20 departure dates between April 27, 2028 and April 26, 2029 available for booking.
Meanwhile, 5-night Western Caribbean voyages will call at Cozumel and Progreso. Currently, 42 of these 5-night sailings are available for booking, with departure dates between April 17, 2028 and April 30, 2029.
Longer sailings on Jubilee aren’t going away entirely, but they will be greatly reduced. One 6-night sailing has also been made available, leaving Galveston on October 29, 2028. This sailing visits Cozumel and Isla Tropicale, Carnival’s private destination in Roatan (formerly Mahogany Bay), before returning to Galveston on November 4, 2028.
Two longer 8-night sailings have also hit the market. The first, departing April 1, 2028, visits Celebration Key, RelaxAway Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. The second, departing April 9, 2028, visits Cozumel, Isla Tropicale, and Montego Bay. There were no 7-night sailings in the released schedule.
Carnival Jubilee is Carnival’s newest ship and the third vessel in the Excel Class, following Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. The 183,521-gross-ton ship has homeported in Galveston since it debuted in December 2023.
These new itineraries come just days after Carnival opened bookings for its upcoming fifth Excel-class ship, Carnival Tropicale, which will also homeport in Galveston. When the ship debuts in 2028, it will sail similar 4- to 8-night itineraries from the Texas port, visiting the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Mexico.
Mega-Ships Moving Toward Shorter Getaways
Carnival Jubilee won’t be the first Excel-class vessel to move into the short-cruise market, as Cruise Hive has previously reported. In August 2025, the cruise line announced that the 180,800-gross-ton Mardi Gras would begin 4- and 5-night cruises from Port Canaveral in May 2027.
At the time, Carnival noted that Mardi Gras was the largest ship in its fleet to sail short cruises. That distinction will pass to Carnival Jubilee when its shorter itineraries begin in 2028.
Other cruise lines have also been moving larger mega-ships into the short-cruise market. Royal Caribbean introduced the 236,473-gross-ton Utopia of the Seas in 2024 specifically with this market in mind.
The massive Oasis Class ship operates 3- and 4-night sailings from Port Canaveral, marketed around quick weekend getaways. Short cruises then expanded to other ships in the fleet for the 2026-27 season, including Utopia’s Oasis Class sisters, Wonder of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas.
The addition of Carnival Jubilee continues this broad shift toward offering some of the industry’s largest ships on shorter itineraries. With both Mardi Gras and Jubilee moving into the market, Carnival is following Royal Caribbean’s lead in making its newest generation of mega-ships available on shorter getaways.
A video posted to social media shows a guest climbing over a balcony railing and walking along an overhang onboard Norwegian Getaway.
The guest appeared to pause at several points to pose for selfies and take other photos while in the restricted space.
The video was posted on September 3, 2026 and was filmed in Nassau, Bahamas, but the actual date of the incident is unclear.
A video circulating through social media has shown a guest onboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Getaway engaging in risky, prohibited behavior, all for the sake of a few selfies.
The video was posted by @rudyhdez1962 and shows the ship docked in Nassau, Bahamas. The guest climbs over a balcony on Deck 9 onto a structural overhang that protects Deck 8 at the aft of the ship. That space is restricted and is not a public area or promenade.
The guest then walks along that overhang, where there are no barriers or safety rails, and appears to pause several times to take photos with a cell phone camera. At one point, they prop their camera against the ship’s hull to kneel for a pose several feet away, closer to the edge of the overhang.
At the end of the video, the guest then climbs back over the stateroom balcony.
The video was posted on Thursday, September 3, 2026 to Instagram and has also been posted to other social media platforms, though it is unclear when the video may actually have been taken. Norwegian Getaway was in Nassau on September 3 but the video could have been filmed earlier, as the 3,962-guest ship visits the Bahamian capital on every sailing.
Furthermore, the video’s YouTube post includes the hashtag #msc in the caption, and the full Spanish-to-English translation of that caption reads “Passenger on an MSC cruise ship jumps into a restricted and very DANGEROUS area to take photos.”
The ship in question is clearly Norwegian Getaway, as the name is seen on the vessel’s hull. The hull art visible in the video also matches Norwegian Getaway. The vessel is homeported from PortMiami and offers 3- and 4-night Bahamas cruises.
From the angle of the video and the foreground of another ship in the frame, it is clearly taken from onboard an adjacent cruise ship that is sharing dock space with Norwegian Getaway. That ship is not named, but on September 3, Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas were also in Nassau, along with Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Liberty, if the video was posted the day it was filmed.
Consequences for Risky Behavior
There is no mention of whether the guest’s excursion over the railing was reported to security onboard Norwegian Getaway. While the video evidence is clear, there is no easy way for guests on one cruise ship to report incidents to another vessel.
Nevertheless, if the behavior was reported, the guest could be in for some severe consequences. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Guest Ticket Contract, section 5(b), clearly stipulates that the cruise line may do the following if a guest “may endanger themselves” or exhibit “inappropriate behavior” in any way:
Refuse or revoke passage
Confine to a stateroom
Remove from the vessel
This type of risky behavior can often result in lifetime cruise line bans, and if the guest damaged any part of the ship, such as denting or scratching the overhang they walked on, they would be liable for those damages as well as a $500 administration fee (listed in the contract, Section 5(h)).
Cruise Hive has reported on such risky actions from multiple cruise lines. In October 2025, for example, video posted online showed teens walking on balcony railings aboard what is presumed to be a Royal Caribbean ship, and in July 2023, young guests were sitting on balcony railings onboard another Royal Caribbean ship.
Norwegian Cruise Line has not commented publicly on this Norwegian Getaway incident.
Safety concerns over channel depths and forecast tides have eliminated Carnival Encounter’s upcoming overnight in Cairns, shortening the visit to one day.
Departure from Cairns was moved up to 8:00 p.m. September 29 and a visit to Townsville was added the following day.
The change comes weeks after shallow channel depths forced the same ship to cancel another Cairns visit entirely.
Guests sailing aboard Carnival Encounter later this month will lose the second day of an overnight visit to Cairns. The recently upgraded 2,600-passenger ship is scheduled to depart from Brisbane, Australia on September 26, 2026 for a 7-night, round-trip Great Barrier Reef sailing.
The cruise was originally set to visit Airlie Beach on September 28, overnight in Cairns on September 29-30, and cruise by Willis Island on October 1, before returning to Brisbane on October 3. However, continued channel-depth concerns have affected the ship’s itinerary for the second time in September.
“Current channel depths and forecasted tidal levels are expected to affect the ship’s ability to safely depart Cairns at the originally scheduled time Wednesday, 30 September,”a notice sent to guests September 16 reads.
Carnival Encounter’s arrival in Cairns at 9:30 a.m. on September 29 remains unchanged. However, instead of leaving Cairns at 6:00 p.m. on September 30 as scheduled, the ship will depart at 8:00 p.m. on September 29, the same day as its arrival.
The cancelled second day in Cairns will instead be replaced by a visit to Townsville on September 30. The ship will arrive in Townsville at 8:00 a.m. and depart at 4:00 p.m. Townsville tours will be made available to guests for booking online ahead of the beginning of the cruise.
Carnival Encounter in Dry Dock
Additionally, the scheduled scenic visit to Willis Island on October 1 has been shifted one hour earlier. Instead of cruising by the island from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., the onboard experience will now take place from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
No changes to the departures and arrivals at Brisbane and Airlie Beach have been announced. Guests who booked shore excursions in Cairns for September 30 will either be moved to the 29th where space allows, or automatically refunded to the original form of payment.
Second Cairns Disruption in One Month
The adjustment comes just weeks after channel-depth issues prevented Carnival Encounter from reaching Cairns at all. Cruise Hive previously reported on adjustments made to the September 5, 2026 sailing aboard the 108,865-gross-ton vessel.
That sailing, a 6-night round-trip cruise from Brisbane, was similarly scheduled to call at Willis Island, Cairns, and Airlie Beach. However, shallow channel depths led to a reshuffling of the itinerary.
Due to those unsafe channel conditions, the visit to Cairns on September 8, 2026 was cancelled entirely. Instead, the scheduled Airlie Beach visit was moved forward to the 8th, and a visit to Townsville was added for September 9.
The September 26 sailing marks the ship’s first subsequent scheduled visit to Cairns. Carnival had not announced any changes to this voyage at the time. The notice now confirms that, while the ship is still expected to reach Cairns on September 29, channel depths will once again affect the itinerary.
The next scheduled visit to Cairns for Carnival Encounter is set for October 28, 2026, during a 6-night Great Barrier Reef sailing from Brisbane, departing October 25. No changes to that itinerary have been announced.
Carnival Encounter is based year-round in Brisbane, offering 3- to 14-night sailings around Australia and the South Pacific. These sailings will continue into 2027 and 2028 as part of Carnival’s expanded Australia and New Zealand lineup.
A sick guest was airlifted from Serenade of the Seas on Monday, September 14, 2026, roughly 480 miles northwest of Vancouver.
The 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force responded to the request for a medical evacuation.
Tthe operation was carried out efficiently and safely in apparent windy conditions, and the guest was transported to Port Hardy.
Just days after a medical airlift of an injured crew member from Disney Wonder and another airlift from an undisclosed ship, the same squadron of emergency personnel has performed another airlift from a cruise ship in the same region northwest of Vancouver.
According to CHEK News, the incident happened on Monday, September 14, 2026, when a request for a medical evacuation of a sick guest came in from Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas roughly 280 miles northwest of Port Hardy (approximately 480 miles northwest of Vancouver).
Serenade of the Seas had departed Vancouver the day before for a 7-night Alaska sailing, with visits planned for Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Prince Rupert.
The 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), based out of 19 Wing Comox in British Columbia, responded to the emergency assistance request and reached the 2,143-guest cruise ship just before 6 p.m., according to time stamps on photos shared by 19 Wing Comox.
A CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-295 Kingfisher plane coordinated the rescue, with the plane monitoring, communicating with the ship’s captain, and filming while the helicopter lowered two search and rescue technicians onto Serenade of the Seas.
Coordinating with the ship is especially important to create the safest, most stable conditions for the airlift.
“When the helicopter arrives, slow to a minimum steerage speed into the wind,”the flight crew directed in a video shared by the RCAF.
The sick guest was brought to the ship’s bow where the helipad is located and the litter was lowered to bring them up to the helicopter. The technicians secured the litter and guest, and guided the litter onto the helicopter under what appeared to be breezy conditions, according to the video.
Guide wires were used to help stabilize the litter as it was lifted, keeping the patient as level as possible during the extraction.
Following the successful airlift, both the helicopter and the cruise ship offered thanks and appreciation for the assistance, as well as safe journeys to both the aircraft and the ship.
From the ship, the helicopter flew to Port Hardy, where the guest was transferred to paramedics for further transport to the appropriate medical facilities.
Serenade of the Seas Airlift (Credit: 19 Wing Comox)
No details about the guest, including their name, age, or why they required the medical evacuation, have been released. This helps safeguard the privacy of individuals and their family members, friends, and traveling companions at a very stressful time.
Approximately 200 personnel are part of the squadron, including maintenance personnel, pilots, navigators, and the search and rescue technicians, among others.
Cruise Hive is grateful that such personnel remain highly dedicated to their rescue missions, wherever and whenever cruise guests and crew members may require such emergency assistance.
Why Share Such Videos?
It can be curious to guests why videos of airlifts are released publicly, particularly when announcements are often made onboard not to film or photograph during rescue operations to avoid distracting the rescue team at critical moments.
Captain Steve Davies explained to CHEK News why the videos are valuable, not just for training and review. He noted that seeing the operations can help the public understand the dedication of the teams, including just how precise such operations must be.
“You are vulnerable out over the ocean for protracted periods,”Davies said.“Naturally the planning that goes into them is quite intense. Whether it’s at night or in the day, and the weather you’re going to encounter en route will drastically change the complexity.”
By better understanding how the teams coordinate and what is necessary for a successful rescue, guests can better appreciate the extensive training, professionalism, and expertise these teams offer with every rescue operation.
Royal Caribbean has announced when the first deployments and itineraries for the 2028-2029 season will be released for bookings.
Alaska’s 2028 season will be the first available beginning the week of September 28, 2026, followed by part of the European season (week of October 12) and the 2028 7-night Caribbean summer season (week of November 2).
Other sailing regions will be released at a later time, including Australia, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Bermuda, and more.
Experienced cruisers know planning and booking early is the best strategy for securing one’s preferred itinerary, favorite ship, and most desirable stateroom options. Royal Caribbean is making that planning a bit easier by announcing its schedule for 2028-2029 deployment plans.
Because cruise line deployment plans are released, in general, about two years prior to the sailing date, guests are now looking forward to learning which Royal Caribbean ships will be sailing in what regions from summer 2028 and into winter 2029.
2028 European Season (Part 1) – Week of October 12, 2026
2028 7-Night Summer Caribbean Season – Week of November 2, 2026
The Alaskan Season includes all Royal Caribbean cruises in the Last Frontier for Summer 2028. The season typically begins in early May and runs through mid- to late September.
For the 2028 European Season, not all itineraries may be released at the same time. The cruise line may split the deployment announcement by region, such as northern Europe, the Baltic, and the Mediterranean, or some ships may not be announced at the planned date as further itineraries are refined and confirmed.
This split might especially apply to the seventh Oasis-class ship and the fifth Icon-class ship, both of which are expected to debut in 2028. It is possible that at least one of them may enter service in Europe, but those details have not yet been confirmed.
The first of the 2028 Caribbean summer sailings to be released will be the weeklong itineraries. Shorter sailings will be announced at a later time.
Royal Caribbean Deployments
To be clear, the announcement dates only refer to the “Week of” the specific dates. This does not mean that all itineraries will be released on those days, only that Royal Caribbean is targeting that week for bookings to become available, but it might be later in the designated week and not only on the listed date.
It is also possible that some limited bookings may become available prior to those dates as the cruise line’s booking engine is updated with new offerings. There could be glitches and gaps, but the full collection of listed itineraries ought to be available for bookings by the end of the stated weeks.
When Will Other Cruises Be Released?
There are many sailing regions and top itineraries not yet included in this deployment update calendar: Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Bermuda, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, Bahamas, Canada and New England, shorter Caribbean cruises, and specialized sailings like transits through the Panama Canal, one-way repositioning voyages, and both transatlantic and transpacific cruises.
At this time, Royal Caribbean only notes that those remaining deployment plans are “coming soon.” These itineraries will cover sailing dates from Fall 2028 through Winter 2029.
Bearing in mind that itineraries are generally released two years ahead of departure, these remaining deployment plans are likely to be announced before the end of 2026 or early in 2027, but the cruise line has not confirmed an exact release date.
Itineraries Can Always Change
Savvy cruise guests may look forward to planning their cruises for 2028 and into 2029, but they also know that itineraries and even ship deployments can and do change.
While simple itinerary changes like a swapped or cancelled port can happen for a wide range of reasons from berth availability to storms to unexpected technical issues, deployment swaps can also happen.
For example, Cruise Hive reported in September 2025 that four Royal Caribbean ships were swapping homeports: Radiance of the Seas swapped with Rhapsody of the Seas and Vision of the Seas swapped with Brilliance of the Seas.
The impacted cruises for those swaps were sailings in 2026 and 2027. Booked guests were contacted at the time with their options.
Cruise lines will make such swaps for different reasons. Changes in dry dock planning, the popularity of select itineraries, homeport construction plans, and other factors might all influence ship changes long after itineraries are announced.
As one of the most popular and largest cruise lines in the world, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) offers a bevy of ships for cruisers to book, including its brand-new ships like the Norwegian Luna and the upcoming Norwegian Aura.
However, as is the case with all cruise lines, as NCL’s fleet has welcomed new ships, some of its older ships have fallen out of favor, and it hasn’t quite made sense to keep operating them.
Norwegian Cruise Line has nearly 20 such ships that have been retired, some as recently as 2025. Here’s what’s happened to them.
Sunward
Sunward (Photo Credit: Raymond L. Blazevic)
Before there was Norwegian Cruise Line, the one we know and love today, there was Norwegian Caribbean Line. Founded in 1966, the line’s very first ship wasn’t actually purpose-built as a cruise ship. Instead, it was originally a ferry!
The Sunward (not to be confused by similarly named ships to come) worked as a car ferry between the United Kingdom and Spain before the cruise line took it over, taking Sunward from Europe to the Caribbean, where it would sail from Miami to the Bahamas, to great success.
The Sunward could carry just over 500 passengers and it was hardly a luxury ship. It had two cabin decks, two decks with public spaces and two decks with outdoor spaces and a lounge. The one luxury that did make it stand out? Air conditioning — an amenity not found on some other cruise ships of the day.
However, the Sunward was not to stay long under the Norwegian Caribbean Line umbrella. Sunward was booted from the fleet in 1973.
The ship went back to Europe, and then the Middle East, serving as a ferry, hotel and cruise ship in its next lives, under various new names. The ship finally met its fate after nearly 40 years at sea, being sold for scrap in Bangladesh in 2004.
Starward
Starward (Credit: Robert J. Fluegel)
As Norwegian Caribbean Line saw greater and greater success, it decided to order some purpose-built cruise ships for its own use. Starward was the first of these, built in 1968.
However, in a unique nod to Sunward’s past, Starward could also carry cars, just like a ferry — though the car-carrying spaces within the ship were converted into public spaces and cabins for passengers after a time.
Starward remained in the fleet for much longer than Sunward, though, until 1995, when the ship was sold. Over its life, the ship changed hands multiple times.
It sailed for Festival Cruises, Louis Cruise Lines and others (including the U.S. government as an evacuation ship in 2006), until it was eventually sold for scrap in 2018.
Skyward
Skyward (Photo Credit: Rich Turnwald)
Skyward was very similar to Starward, also being ordered as a purpose-built ship for Norwegian Caribbean Line after the line saw its increase in bookings after launching Sunward.
It likewise featured that car-carrying space that was later converted. Additionally, both ships were about 80% larger than Sunward and capable of carrying around 750 passengers.
These earlier ships were known as the White Fleet, because, at the time, NCL’s ships were all white on the hull, rather than sporting the colorful hull art the line is known for today. As a fleet, the ships served very short sailings from Miami.
However, while Norwegian Cruise Line was seeing a good degree of success with these earlier ships, the line was not without its issues.
On Skyward in particular, the line faced a series of illnesses due to serving infected water on the ship, and, in 1979, a fire broke out on the ship.
After leaving NCL in 1991, Skyward served multiple purposes, as a cruise ship and casino ship, for a handful of different owners, its last being New Century Cruise Line. In 2021, the ship was sold for scrap in India.
Southward
Southward (Photo Credit: Rich Turnwald)
Between Skyward and Southward, there was supposed to be another ship, Seaward, but this 1970s ship never saw the light of day, at least not as a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.
Seaward’s builder went under, the hull was sold to P&O and the ship that was intended to be Seaward eventually became Spirit of London.
Regardless, Southward was the next ship for Norwegian Caribbean Line and would eventually be the next ship to leave the line’s fleet.
Southward departed from earlier ships Starward and Skyward by being the first ship in the fleet to have none of those ferry-esque car-carrying capabilities.
The Southward was built in 1971 and is actually partially to credit for Norwegian Caribbean Line changing its name to Norwegian Cruise Line.
When Southward moved from the Caribbean to offering similarly short itineraries out of Los Angeles, the cruise line couldn’t very well call itself “Caribbean” anymore, and so it became Norwegian Cruise Line.
Norwegian Cruise Line relieved itself of Southward in 1994 and the ship changed hands several times before eventually becoming scrap in 2013.
Sunward II
Sunward II (Photo Credit: Rich Turnwald)
Next up was the Sunward II, acquired in 1977 after the original Sunward I’s retirement from the fleet. Sunward II was not purpose-built for Norwegian Cruise Line. Instead, the cruise line purchased the Cunard Adventurer from Cunard, and transformed it into Sunward II.
The ship remained in the fleet until 1991, after which it was sold to Epirotiki Lines, for Greek Isle cruises. The ship changed hands a few more times before eventually being scrapped in India, in 2014.
Norway
SS Norway (Photo Credit: Thorsten Pohl)
Very similarly, the Norway was not built for Norwegian Cruise Line at all — but that didn’t stop the ship from making waves when it first debuted under the NCL banner in 1980.
Norway was significantly, significantly larger than the cruise line’s prior ships. In its past life, the Norway was known as the France. Already on the older side, the ship had been out of service for a few years before Norwegian Cruise Line purchased it.
However, the France had set records already over its life, as one of the largest ships in the industry, as well as the longest ship ever built and the second-fastest passenger ship to offer transatlantic cruises. It took about $80 million to turn the France into the Norway.
There was just one issue. The new Norway was too large to visit the Caribbean ports of call that Norwegian Cruise Line was accustomed to visiting.
As such, the cruise line began using tendering ships known as the Little Norway I and the Little Norway II to get passengers from the Norway to shore. (Interested in these unique ships? You can actually see them if you have to tender at Great Stirrup Cay.)
Over Norway’s life, it received several upgrades in order to retain its status as one of the most impressive in the biz. The ship received luxury staterooms and private veranda cabins, and new public spaces, for example. The ship would sail all over the world, before it was eventually retired from the NCL fleet in 2003.
The ship was sold for scrap, but the process of actually turning the ship into scrap was a long one, as the ship’s large volume of asbestos required careful handling.
Seaward/Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea Docked in Roatan
Remember how there was supposed to be a Seaward ship that debuted for Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1970s, but that ship never materialized and the hull was given over to P&O?
Well, finally, in the 1980s, Norwegian Cruise Line got another crack at this ship. By the time Seaward debuted, the ship was the first new-build ship for the cruise line in nearly two decades.
Seaward was built in Turku, Finland, and cost $120 million at the time. It could hold 1,534 passengers and measured in at around 42,000 GT. The ship offered a range of cruises and, by the mid-1990s, represented about 20% of Norwegian Cruise Line’s capacity, given the ship’s size.
Seaward was renamed Norwegian Sea in 1997 and, eventually, was transferred over to Star Cruises in 2005, at which point the ship became SuperStar Libra.
SuperStar Libra was heavily overhauled to meet the expectations of the Asian cruising market and began cruising out of India. In 2018, the ship became a hotel ship, and then it was finally moved to Turkey to be turned into scrap in 2022.
Westward
Black Watch (formerly Westward)
Norwegian Cruise Line’s parent company bought the Royal Viking cruise line in the 1980s and, in 1991, two of the line’s ships were transferred over to the NCL brand: Westward and Sunward (yes, yet another ship named Sunward). However, neither of these ships would remain in the fleet very long.
Westward was already pretty old when it joined the fleet, having been built in the early 1970s, and sailing for Royal Viking for nearly 20 years. As Westward, the ship offered itineraries between New York City and Bermuda.
However, after just a handful of years, the ship moved to Royal Cruise Line, where it was renamed Star Odyssey, but only lasted a handful of years here, too, before moving on to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. The ship became the Black Watch, sailed for a while longer, then was sold as a hotel ship in 2020, then beached for scrapping in 2022.
Yes, there were already two other Norwegian Cruise Line ships that were named Sunward, but, at the time of this Sunward’s sailing, the other two were out of commission.
The latest Sunward was, like Westward, acquired from Royal Viking Line. The ship had already been sailing for quite some time and would only sail for NCL for a very brief period, about a year.
Over its lifetime, the ship would have more than 10 different operators, finally being sold for scrap in 2021.
Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star (Photo Credit: Aah-Yeah)
Norwegian Star is kind of an outlier, as it didn’t really sail for the Norwegian Cruise Line that we know of now.
Instead, this ship, like Sunward and Westward, was originally a Royal Viking Line ship and, when it was turned over to Norwegian Cruise Line, it became a member of a small fleet (so small that this was the only ship!) known as the Norwegian Capricorn Line.
The Norwegian Capricorn Line had the same owners as Norwegian Cruise Line, but it was technically a separate cruise line meant to offer cruises to the Australian market. Unfortunately, the Norwegian Capricorn Line didn’t last long. In 2001, the ship was given to Star Cruises.
Since then, the ship has changed hands multiple times and was a hotel ship at one point. The ship was scrapped in 2021.
Dreamward/Norwegian Dream
Norwegian Dream Cruise Ship
Built in 1992, Dreamward — later renamed Norwegian Dream — didn’t really compete with the other cruise ships of its age, in terms of size.
However, it was a nimble little ship. Measuring in at around 40,000 gross tons, it was just a fraction of the size of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships today, but it was actually built with the intention that it could be, if needed, lengthened and expanded.
In 1998, the ship was resized and renamed Norwegian Dream. However, this expansion did not ensure Norwegian Dream’s standing in the fleet for very long. Just six years later, the ship was turned over to Star Cruises.
While Star Cruises had plans to sell the ship multiple times over the years, those deals never materialized, and the ship remained in Star Cruises’ possession, undergoing some extensive refurbishments along the way, until the ship was finally sold for scrap in 2022.
Windward/Norwegian Wind
Norwegian Wind in Alaska (Photo Credit: Gillfoto)
Sister ship to Dreamward, Windward was built in 1993 and likewise was able to be lengthened and expanded if needed. This occurred in 1998 as well, and the ship received its new name: Norwegian Wind.
However, Norwegian Wind’s story was much the same as Norwegian Dream’s tale. The ship was transferred over to Star Cruises in 2007 and became SuperStar Aquarius. It was also sold for scrap in 2022.
Leeward
Leeward (Photo Credit: Aah-Yeah)
In the 1990s, beyond building a few new ships, Norwegian Cruise Line also continued its pattern of acquiring older ships and repurposing them for its own use. As somewhat of a throwback to its origins, the cruise line acquired another ferry in 1995.
The Leeward was built in 1980 and did serve as a partial ferry for six years before becoming a full cruise ship in 1986, then operated by the now-defunct Sally Cruise. The ship led a dramatic life for a while, suffering fires, partial sinkings and an array of rebuilds.
As mentioned, Norwegian Cruise Line put its stamp on the ship in 1995, renaming it Leeward, but the ship only remained in the fleet for five years before it went on to join Star Cruises.
Following this stint, the ship changed hands several other times. It most recently operated as Celestyal Crystal for Celestyal Cruises until 2023.
In April 2025, the ship was sold to a UAE buyer and was eventually scrapped at Alang ship-breaking facility in India.
Norwegian Crown
Norwegian Crown (Photo Credit: Doug Letterman)
In 1996, Norwegian Cruise Line moved another ship over from the previously purchased Royal Cruise Line (NCL had purchased the entire line in the late 1980s — don’t confuse Royal Cruise Line with Royal Viking Line!) to the NCL fleet. The prior Crown Odyssey, built in the 1980s, became Norwegian Crown.
This ship was traded back and forth between fleets several times. In 2000, NCL passed it over to Orient Lines, which it had also purchased, and the ship became Crown Odyssey again. Then, in 2003, the ship went back to being a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, retaking the Norwegian Crown name.
Finally, the ship was sold in 2006 to Fred. Olsen Cruises, at which point the ship was renamed Balmoral, and, today, the ship still offers itineraries. It’s currently the smallest ship in the Fred. Olsen Cruises fleet.
Norwegian Dynasty
Norwegian Dynasty (Photo Credit: MeRyan)
In 1997, Norwegian Cruise Line purchased Majesty Cruise Line and gained two ships in the process. Norwegian Dynasty was originally Crown Dynasty, operated by Cunard Line, before being operated by Majesty Cruise Line under the name Crown Majesty.
Norwegian Cruise Line only operated Norwegian Dynasty, a very small ship at only about 25,000 GT, for two years, before eventually selling the ship to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
The ship operated under the line for nearly two decades, until it was sold to Villa Vie Residences. The ship offers long-term, residential-style cruises, with cruisers sailing for more than three years at a time. As of early 2025, cruisers are still actively living on the ship.
Norwegian Majesty
Norwegian Majesty (Photo Credit: K0NFUZIUS)
Also once a Majesty Cruise Line ship, Norwegian Cruise Line gained this ship as well in the line’s acquisition.
Norwegian Cruise Line expanded the ship, lengthening her, and renamed her Norwegian Majesty, but only kept her for less than a decade before transferring her to Star Cruises.
The ship was sold to Louis Cruise Lines in 2008 and then eventually to Mano Cruise, in 2018. The ship currently goes by the name Crown Iris.
Norwegian Sun
Norwegian Sun Cruise Ship in Jacksonville (Photo Credit: NEFLO PHOTO)
After Norwegian Majesty, Norwegian Cruise Line more or less slowed its continual revolving door of ships, while also slowing its acquisition of other, older ships, instead focusing on its own new-builds.
This has resulted in the modern Norwegian Cruise Line fleet that we see today. Since Norwegian Majesty’s retirement, we’ve not seen any other ships leave the fleet until announcements were made in 2025 — starting with the announcement regarding the retirement of Norwegian Sun.
This Sun-class ship originally launched in 2001. It’s long been one of Norwegian Cruise Line’s smaller and more modest ships, so it’s no surprise that the cruise line decided to transfer her over to Cordelia Cruises, in a joint transfer along with Norwegian Sky.
While the announcement was made in 2025, the transfers are scheduled for 2026 and 2027, for Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun, respectively.
Don’t worry, though. While some cruisers may have been out of sorts at the thought that their previously scheduled cruises on these two ships were canceled, Norwegian Cruise Line is replacing the ships with bigger and newer ships to come over the next few years.
Before its retirement was announced in March 2025, Norwegian Sky was not the oldest or smallest ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet (that title is held by Norwegian Spirit, which is still in operation).
However, the cruise line still felt that Norwegian Sky was a better choice to leave the fleet than its sister ship.
Norwegian Sky itself has an interesting history, as it was originally destined to become a Costa Cruises ship, but then, during the ship’s construction at Lloyd Werft in Germany, the ship became Norwegian Sky, launching in 1999. Over the ship’s lifetime, it’s also served as the Pride of Aloha.
The ship was rumored to be sold or transferred to either Star Cruises or Pullmantur Cruises at various points in time, but those changes never materialized.
Now, though, Norwegian Sky has already completed its final passenger cruise, which was a 9-night sailing out of Barcelona on August 31, 2026. The vessel will finally have a new life known as Cordelia Sky for Cordelia Cruises, which serves the Indian cruise market.
