Jørn Henriksen, director of expedition operations at Viking, has been appointed chair of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators’ executive committee, according to a press release. Henriksen has been involved in Antarctic travel since 2000 and has been an IAATO member since 2005. He was elected to the executive committee in 2024 and previously...

TUI River Cruises is adding 10 new excursions to its 2026 European program, which will enable guests to explore its newest port, Kladovo in Serbia, among others. According to a statement, guests can visit Kladovo during a seven-night “East Danube Delights” roundtrip cruise from Budapest, Hungary on the TUI Maya starting at £1,610 per person. “With our newest port, Kladovo in Serbia being added to the program and the latest refurbished ship TUI Aria...

AmaWaterways has introduced a new culinary experience offering guests hands-on cooking sessions with French grandmothers, according to a press release. The Cooking with Mamie program is available exclusively on the AmaDante and AmaLyra as part of the Paris & Normandy itinerary. “With Cooking with Mamie, we are bringing local traditions to life in a very...

Crew members will join the TUI Cruises’ ships that were stranded in the Middle East in South Africa, according to Crew Center. Set to welcome guests back in Europe in early May, the Mein Schiff 4 and the Mein Schiff 5 are currently sailing with reduced staffing. As previously reported by Cruise Industry News, only...

Merima has opened a new office and logistics center at the Blue Industry Park, a new maritime industry business park near the Turku shipyard. In a press release, the company described the industry park as Europe’s leading maritime and manufacturing industry cluster, bringing together pioneers from their respective fields. “Turku is an important hub for...

A travel agent who shares her name with P&O Cruises ship the Iona is planning to get married on the vessel next year. Iona Ginn, a travel consultant with Hays Travel, will get married aboard the ship on September 12, 2027, during a seven-night cruise to the Norwegian fjords. The ceremony will take place while at sea, before the ship arrives in Stavanger, Norway. “We’re...

Urban One media company is partnering with Virgin Voyages to bring its ONE Voyage Experience cruise onboard the Resilient Lady. Described as a reimagined evolution of the Fantastic Voyage, the 2026 sailing taking place from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, will depart from Miami and call at Nassau, Bahamas and the Beach Club at Bimini. Radio host and comedian Rickey Smiley will host this year’s voyage, according to a press release....

Foyle Port has officially commenced its 2026 cruise season with the arrival of the Le Lapérouse, marking Ponant’s first visit to the port, according to a press release. The expedition vessel anchored in Greencastle on April 16 as part of a 10-day Celtic Secrets & Landscapes cruise sailing from Greenock to Cobh, with stops across...

Poseidon Expeditions has wrapped up its 2025-26 Antarctic season. According to the company, the season’s standout moment came during the New Year cruise, when near-perfect weather conditions allowed the expedition team to land at Bailey Head on Deception Island, one of Antarctica’s most challenging landing sites. The remote location, situated within a flooded volcanic caldera,...

Shenzhen International Cruise Homeport recorded 1.1 million travelers in the first quarter of 2026, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, according to an April 12 report by the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily. The homeport is preparing to welcome the Adora Magic City, China’s first domestically built large cruise ship, this summer. The vessel is scheduled to...

Astro Ocean’s Piano Land is set to wrap up its Hong Kong homeport season by the end of May, according to its published sailing schedule. The vessel’s itineraries from the Asian hub have included voyages to ports in Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. The ship is expected to reposition to Europe where it will will sail...

Bantry Bay Port Company will mark the beginning of its 2026 cruise season on April 26 with the arrival of the Le Lapérouse, the first of 12 cruise vessels scheduled to call this year, according to a press release. Across the season, Bantry Bay will welcome a mix of expedition, luxury and mid-size cruise ships....

The Costa Fortuna recently repositioned to the Mediterranean for its final season in service for Costa Cruises. After 23 years sailing for the Carnival-owned brand, the 103,000-ton vessel is set to be handed over to Margaritaville at Sea in September. As previously reported by Cruise Industry News, the ship will undergo a major refurbishment before...

The Brilliant Lady recently arrived at the Port of San Diego for the first time as part of Virgin Voyages’ maiden season on the West Coast. After debuting in Los Angeles in early April, the 2,770-guest ship is now offering a series of cruises to the Mexican Riviera and California. The first call to San...

The MSC Euribia is currently returning to Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, according to AIS data. After spending nearly two months stranded in the Arabian Gulf, the MSC Cruises vessel was expected to reposition to Northern Europe through Africa. As previously reported by Cruise Industry News, the LNG-powered ship was projected...

The Port of Montreal launched its 2026 cruise season on Friday with the arrival of the Victory I, kicking off a season that runs through October 31 and is expected to bring nearly 50,000 passengers to the city across 39 operations. According to a press release issued by the port, Montreal will host 17 ships...

Prince Rupert Cruise Port has kicked off its 2026 cruise season with the arrival of Holland America Line’s Noordam, marking the start of what is projected to be the port’s busiest year on record. According to a press release issued by the port, Prince Rupert expects to welcome approximately 145,000 cruise guests in 2026, more...

The Port of Vancouver is celebrating the 40th anniversary since welcoming the first cruise ship at its Canada Place terminal as it prepares for what it says will be a record season with an estimated 1.4 million visitors. After the Disney Wonder arrived at the port as this season’s first ship in late February, the...

Carnival Cruise Line’s fifth Excel-class ship, the Carnival Tropicale, will homeport in Galveston after its delivery in 2028. It will join the Carnival Jubilee – which started service in Galveston in 2024 – making Galveston home to two of the three newest ships in the cruise line’s fleet. In a press release, Carnival said the...

AIDA will mark its three decades of operation by funding the 100th school built through its Cruise & Help initiative. Thanks to donations, a new primary school for around 160 girls and boys will be built in the coming months in the Zambian town of Mulando, according to a press release. The cruise line’s initiative has supported educational opportunities in emerging and developing countries since 2019. “AIDA...

There are over 350 ports getting AIDA calls globally, head of deployment planning Diana Havkost told Cruise Industry News. “This year is our 30th anniversary so we have a sister-ship meeting planned in Hamburg on June 7, with the AIDAsol, AIDAprima and AIDAperla.” Also new for 2026 is the AIDAblu’s summer program in the Eastern...

Ocean Platform Marinas (OPM) and Global Ports Holding Limited (GPH) have formally started operations of the new cruise and megayacht terminal at the Port of Seville, the latter said in a press release. The duo was awarded a 25-year concession agreement for the operation of Seville Cruise Port late last year.  They plan to invest €5 million in the development...

Nicko Cruises is cancelling a cruise onboard the Vasco da Gama on short notice to make room for an unscheduled shipyard visit. Local sources report that the 1993-built ship is currently facing a technical issue that also led to the shortening of its 2025-26 world cruise. The cancelled cruise was scheduled to depart from Hamburg...

ECOS LNG has signed an agreement with BASS Software to deploy BASSnet Neo software for its Floating Storage Regasification Unit operations, according to a press release. The contract was awarded following an evaluation process to replace ECOS’s legacy maintenance software. “BASSnet Neo is the right choice to align with our broader digitalisation strategy and digital...

Holland America Line will welcome the Eurodam to the Port of Seattle on April 25, ushering in its 2026 Alaska season. Sailing April through September, the cruise season will feature more than 100 voyages across six ships departing from three homeports, according to a press release. “As the leader in Alaska, we are committed to delivering experiences that are as enriching as they are unforgettable, bringing guests...

Disney Cruise Line has extended its homeport partnership with the Port of San Diego through at least 2031, according to a statement. This is expected to double the number of Disney cruises out of the city each year, with more than one million Disney passengers expected to pass through the Port in this timeframe. “San...

Carnival Corporation has expanded its partnership with the Maritime & Port University of Mexico, extending its maritime cadet apprenticeship program to Princess Cruises. According to a statement, an addendum to the original agreement between the cruise line and the university from May 2024 was signed at a recent industry event in Miami Beach to include Princess Cruises vessels. The program enables eligible final-year students...

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has unveiled its 2028–29 Legendary Journeys Collection comprising three Grand Voyages ranging from 61 to 101 nights. The itineraries span four continents, with 14 overnight stays across destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and Europe. Reservations open on April 29, 2026, and guests can pre-register their interest from April 22, 2026, Regent said in a press release....

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said in a statement that it would report and discuss first quarter 2026 financial results on Monday, May 4, 2026. The financial results will be published at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time with a conference call and webcast to discuss them to follow two hours later, at 8:30 a.m. The call will be webcast via the company’s Investor Relations website, and a replay will remain available there for 30 days following the...

Cruise Saudi has appointed Taha Nazer as its acting chief executive officer as it enters the next chapter focused on accelerating growth. After serving as Cruise Saudi’s chief financial officer since 2023, Nazer will now lead the company across all strategic, commercial, operational and financial priorities, the company shared in a press release. He will be replacing Lars Clasen, who established Aroya and lead the development of...

“Part of our portfolio is to continue to have new things to keep people coming back,” Mike Pawlus, head of itinerary planning at Azamara Cruises, told Cruise Industry News. “We have more than 300 ports we call at each year, and we are seeing a lot of people that once they sail with us, they...

“The most important news is that we are bilingual now, every ship,” said Lisa Wilken, head of luxury at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. “Since January, the three expedition vessels and the two Europa ships, are fully bilingual. Especially now on the Europa, we are getting more international clients.” The 135-year-old company, which helped pioneer leisure cruising, had...

Royal Caribbean International is repositioning the Symphony of the Seas to Florida starting in August 2027. The Oasis-class ship was initially set to offer cruises to the Western Caribbean and the Bahamas from the Port of Galveston. Instead, the vessel will offer six- to eight-night cruises to the Caribbean, departing from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades....

Princess Cruises is hosting an Alaska-themed drone show to mark the arrival of the Star Princess in Seattle ahead of her inaugural Alaska season. Taking place on May 1 at 8:30 p.m., the show will be best viewed from Seattle Center’s International Fountain Mall at 305 Harrison Street, the company said in a press release. After that, Princess’ newest ship will kick off her inaugural...

Europe’s airports have welcomed AccelerateEU, the European Commission’s response plan to the energy crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, according to a statement from ACI Europe. The plan outlines measures aimed at safeguarding the continued availability of jet fuel across the European airport network. “No airport in Europe is currently facing jet...

Silversea has opened general sales for its 2029 World Cruise, a 125-day voyage departing San Diego on January 5, 2029, according to a press release. The voyage onboard the Silver Whisper will visit more than 60 destinations in 19 countries across the Pacific, spanning Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Asia and New Zealand. “With 17 overnights,...

Seabourn has opened for sale its 2028–29 expedition voyages aboard the Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit. According to a press release, the cruise line will offer 49 departures ranging from eight to 96 days and visiting more than 180 destinations across 29 countries. “As Seabourn approaches its 40th anniversary, our 2028–2029 expedition season is designed for travelers who want to explore the world’s most...

Virgin Voyages has announced its first AI crew assistant and AI-powered travel assistant, Rovey. Coming soon to VirginVoyages.com, Rovey will help guests with cruise planning by adding personalized recommendations adapted to specific travel style, pace and interests. This is the first expression of Project Ruby, Virgin’s AI platform co-developed with Google Cloud, and a total of seven are planned, the cruise line said in a statement. Nathan Rosenberg, chief brand experience, marketing and momentum officer at Virgin Voyages, said:...

Mario Bounas has been appointed chief commercial officer of Swan Hellenic, the company said in a press release. “I’ve had the privilege of helping shape Swan Hellenic from its earliest days, but the brand’s extraordinary growth reflects the talent and dedication of everyone in our team,” said Bounas. “Taking on the CCO role is both an honor and an exciting...