Nassau, Bahamas has set another cruise passenger record, marking the third straight year of growth for what’s now the world’s busiest transit cruise port.

The port welcomed approximately 6.1 million cruise passengers in 2024 across nearly 1,600 ship calls. That’s a 9.5% increase over 2023’s total of 5.6 million guests, which was itself a record at the time.

“This milestone year for tourism underscores the critical role Nassau Cruise Port continues to play as the primary gateway for visitors to The Bahamas,” said Mike Maura, Jr., CEO and Director of Nassau Cruise Port.

The growth follows a pattern of steady increases. In 2022, Nassau welcomed 4.4 million passengers, up from 3.2 million in 2021.

$300 Million Investment Pays Off

Port authorities invested $300 million in revitalizing Nassau Cruise Port, which reopened in its upgraded form in May 2023.

The project added six new and expanded berths capable of handling the largest cruise ships afloat, including Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class vessels that can bring up to 7,600 passengers per call.

Additional improvements to downtown Nassau included expanded shopping and dining options and the rollout of free Wi-Fi for visitors in 2024.

The upgrades have delivered results. Nassau broke its single-day passenger record twice in 2024. On March 11, six ships brought 30,538 passengers to port. That record fell again on April 8 when five ships delivered 31,011 cruise guests in one day.

Bahamas Tourism Hits All-Time High

Nassau’s success reflects broader growth across the Bahamas. The country welcomed an unprecedented 12.5 million visitors in 2024, with cruise tourism accounting for 86.5% of total arrivals, or more than 10.6 million passengers.

“Visitor arrivals grew 11.4 percent year-over-year, surpassing 2023’s record and exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels by more than 72 percent,” Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper told Parliament.

Beyond Nassau, other Bahamian ports showed growth, including destinations with private cruise line islands across the region.

A union pier-side protest against Carnival Australia’s treatment of crew members has been criticized, and it’s not just from the cruise operator. 

There was also some pushback from the crew themselves. In a mixed reaction, it was suggested the Maritime Union of Australia’s protest aim was more about increasing union membership than pushing for better pay and conditions. 

Union protest criticized by some crew members

Some also said the union hasn’t spoken to them about working conditions. One added that the union’s aims were unrealistic. “They’re comparing Australian standards to international maritime contracts.”

“Carnival Cruises is paying its crew as little as $2.50 an hour to work on its Australian cruise ships. This has got to be the worst labor exploitation we have ever seen, and it’s happening in plain sight,” said union organizer Shane Reside.

“When companies like Carnival behave like this, it casts a cloud over all of us. We will not stop until this ugly exploitation is stamped out for good.” Reside said the union has detailed its grievances, but Carnival management refuses to negotiate in good faith.

The protest at Station Pier in Melbourne attracted about 100 people. Carnival has three ships based in Australia.

The cruise company hit back, calling the demonstration a ‘lame tactic’ and nothing more than a recruitment drive for union membership.

“Let’s call the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) activity for what it is: to increase membership and raise revenue. They don’t care about our employees except to try to get a portion of their paycheck for their treasury,” it said ahead of the protest.

“This so-called campaign is offensive to the dedicated shipboard team members who take pride in their work.”

The union claims Carnival “exploits a loophole in the Coastal Trading Act,” while the company responded that it “meets, and in most cases exceeds” what is require under the Maritime Labour Convention.

A legal challenge has temporarily shut down work at Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico project after a local environmental group was granted an injunction. 

Municipal leaders in Mahahual, Mexico, say the change of land use granted on behalf of Royal Caribbean’s project is legal and transparent. It follows the legal filing by the local group DMAS, which claims the amendment was made illegally.

Change of land use granted illegally, says environmental group

DMAS claims it requires public consultation first, but council leader Jaime Aguilar Cheluja says this is not mandatory. “This is mandatory only when the municipal planning programs and instruments established are formulated for the first time or are fully updated,” Aguilar Cheluja said.

He said the change of land use request only relates to about 3% of the total project, which doesn’t necessitate a period of public consultation. The change was requested by Royal Caribbean Group.

DMAS’s legal filing led to a suspension of work on the project after a court granted an injunction on January 25. The group claimed in the filing that land use for more than 107 hectares within the Perfect Day cruise tourism project was illegally reconfigured.

Antonella Vázquez, DMAS President, said the organization is not anti-cruise tourism or opposed to development. “However, we are in favor of respecting the law, urban planning, and the community’s right to a healthy environment.”

DMAS and its supporters worry that the development will negatively impact a protected mangrove area and the town’s water supply. “We are not going to touch anything in the mangrove conservation area,” said Royal Caribbean’s director of innovation, Jay Schneider in response.

The cruise company is planning an 80-hectare water park and related amenities near the existing cruise ship pier.

Cheluja said the council is fully behind the project, which is the largest private investment project of its kind ever in southern Quintana Roo.

A court hearing to address the injunction is expected to take place in the next few days.

A new cruise port could be established in the Tampa, Florida area, opening up the region to cruise traffic on the largest modern cruise liners for the first time.

Seattle-based SSA Marine has published a draft proposal for a new cruise port and terminal facility in Manatee County on a 300-acre site known as the Knott-Cowen tract.

Tampa Bay Bridge Limits Cruise Ship Size

This would give the largest cruise ships an option to dock in the Tampa area. Currently the height clearance of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge doesn’t allow the largest cruise ships access to Port Tampa Bay.

SSA Marine is touting the project as a gamechanger for the region’s cruise tourism. “Our new port will complement existing cruise activities in the region,” the company says.

“It would be able to service the newer, larger, low-emissions cruise vessels that would otherwise be unable to visit due to the height restrictions of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge,” says Stefano Borzone, president of SSA Marine’s Cruise Division.

SSA Marine, which already has a presence at Tampa Port and other port facilities across Florida, is working with the land’s owner Slip Knott LLC to develop the new facility.

Slip Knott says the project is expected to generate around 31,000 direct and indirect jobs and “boost labor earnings by approximately $1.6 billion.”

“Cruise activity brings visitors, supports small businesses, and generates employment across a wide range of sectors, from hospitality and transportation to logistics and maritime services,” the company added on its website.

The project is still at the early planning stage with no specifics shared about what a finished cruise port and terminal would look like.

“A project of this magnitude will have many layers of review and due diligence,” said Jacki Dezelski, president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. Along with the construction and dredging work, the timeline for completion would likely be around the end of the decade at least.

A water leak caused flooding on an MSC Cruises ship with impacted guests offered compensation. It happened aboard MSC Seaview during a South American cruise last week.

The cruise line worked to fix the leak, apologized and compensated guests. Video footage obtained and posted online by a Brazilian news outlet showed standing water in a corridor with guests walking barefoot. The cruise line said water entered a “number of guest cabins” but hasn’t disclosed exactly how many.

MSC said a fault in a water line caused the flooding.

MSC Issues Apology, Compensates Affected Guests

We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our guests as a result of a leak on the ship. A fault was detected in a water line and unfortunately this resulted in water entering a number of guest cabins and the public corridor.”

“The fault was quickly isolated and resolved by our technical teams and all affected cabins were deep cleaned.”

The company said the flooding posed “no risk to guest safety” and all impacted guests were informed as soon as possible. “We offered a range of compensation offers depending on the degree to which guests were affected, including upgraded cabins and full refunds.”

MSC also offered onboard credit of up to $150.

Another Brazilian news outlet reported around 40 staterooms were affected. Guests were temporarily moved to public areas while inspections and repairs were completed and staterooms were given time to dry out. This reportedly took several hours.

The incident happened two days into a week-long cruise which departed Santos, Brazil and ended this weekend. During a subsequent port call in Maceio, the ship was checked by port authority inspectors and cleared to continue sailing.

During the repairs the ship continued its voyage and there was no interruption to onboard services.

Carnival Corp (CCL) is bringing back dividend payouts after a record-breaking full year performance.

The group’s 2025 full year results saw a 60% jump in adjusted net income to $3.1 billion, driven by $26.6 billion in revenue, an all-time record high.

Record High Full Year Revenue

The results and the dividend reinstatement pushed Carnival’s share price up nearly 10% the day of the announcement.

It also announced an upcoming change is planned to scrap its US and UK dual-listing. It aims to become a single New York-listed business subject to shareholder approval.

“2025 was a truly phenomenal year,” said CEO Josh Weinstein. “We set new records across our business, achieved investment grade leverage metrics and, as announced reinstating our dividend.”

“We’re always trying to figure out how to make the experience onboard meet and exceed expectations. “We have a tremendously ridiculous price-to-experience ratio gap between what we give to our guests and what you can get in land-based alternatives. That value proposition, I think, is getting clearer and clearer when it comes to how we can market this.”

The fourth quarter adjusted earnings exceeded analysts’ forecasts of $454m, with quarterly revenue at $6.33 billion.

With two-thirds of capacity sold for 2026, the company expects to increase earnings further in 2026 with adjusted net income of around $3.5 billion.

It was the fourth time in 2025 it outperformed guidance thanks to strong last-minute booking volume.

Carnival announced a 15 cents per share dividend is payable in late February 2026.

Carnival Corp CFO David Bernstein said the company structure will be simplified by delisting Carnival PLC from the London stock exchange.

Delisting From UK Stock Exchange

“We believe it will also increase liquidity for stock trades and increase weighting of the stock in major U.S. stock indices,” he said. This means unifying into a single corporate entity listed only in New York.

This will then “streamline governance and reporting, and reduce administrative costs,” Bernstein added. Existing Carnival PLC shareholders would be issued Carnival Corp. shares on a one-for-one basis, making Carnival PLC a UK subsidiary wholly owned by Carnival Corp.

This will be formally proposed at shareholder meetings in April, with an expected completion in the second quarter.

Carnival’s move follows Royal Caribbean (RCL), which reinstated its dividend in 2024 as cruise line across the industry return to shareholder payouts after the pandemic recovery period.

Royal Caribbean’s Haiti private destination Labadee won’t be getting any cruise calls for the entirety of 2026. The long suspension will continue for the rest of this year, “out of an abundance of caution,” the cruise line says.

It comes as Haiti’s gang related issues continue to impact overall security of the country since a state of emergency was issued in March 2024.

Highest Level State Department Travel Advisory

The country remains under a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory. The U.S. State Department advises Americans to stay away “due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.”

 “We have been monitoring the evolving situation and have extended our pause to Labadee through December 2026. We have already communicated with guests directly,” Royal Caribbean said. 

The cruise line last called at Labadee in April 2025, and also halted cruise calls for more than six months in 2024.

Royal Caribbean cites ongoing risk assessments of safety even though unrest is centered mainly on the capital Port-au-Prince. It says it continues to monitor developments. Labadee is located on the northern coast, more than 100 miles from Port-au-Prince.

As a private destination it is exclusive to ship guests and has a round-the-clock security presence. The 260-acre site has a private beach, and an array of leisure amenities such as cabanas, a zip line, water slides and boating.

The cruise line has shared itinerary revisions with travel advisors and guests. For most cruises, it has disclosed the replacement port calls although for a few sailings, the scheduled Labadee call is being replaced by a sea day.

The revised itineraries affect sailings on 12 Royal Caribbean ships, which include Allure of the Seas, Icon of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Star of the Seas. 

Port calls substituted for Labadee include Nassau, Grand Turk, Cozumel, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Princess Cruises’ Discovery Princess has been named “Coolest Way To See Alaska” in Good Housekeeping’s 2026 Travel Awards.

Good Housekeeping selected winners through expert reviews, consumer feedback, and real-world testing by its editorial team.

Discovery Princess earned top marks for blending innovation, luxury, and family-friendly entertainment while delivering authentic Alaskan experiences. The award reinforces Princess’s position as the leading cruise line in Alaska.

What Makes Discovery Princess Stand Out for Families

The ship brings Alaska’s culture and environment onboard through Princess’s signature “North to Alaska” immersive programming.

Park Rangers stationed onboard in Glacier Bay provide live narration and lead Junior and Teen Ranger programs. Storyteller series feature cultural ambassadors, adventurers, authors, photographers, and Iditarod champions sharing authentic Alaskan perspectives.

Beyond traditional cruising, the ship offers unique experiences like Puppies in the Piazza and Campfire Movies Under the Stars—entertainment designed to engage all ages. Youth and teen activities include Gold Rush Treasure Hunt and the Great Alaskan Fishermen’s Race.

Dining reflects Alaska’s seafood heritage. Discovery Princess sources fresh salmon, halibut, and crab locally throughout the voyage.

A unique “Cook My Catch” program lets guests enjoy the fish they reel in during select shore excursions. The ship features Alaska craft beers, local spirits, and signature Alaska-themed cocktails.

2026 Alaska Season Expansion

Princess is operating its biggest Alaska season ever in 2026. Discovery Princess sails the popular “Voyage of the Glacier” route between Vancouver and Anchorage (Whittier), featuring Glacier Bay National Park.

The season marks the debut of Star Princess, the cruise line’s newest ship, offering weekly seven-day Inside Passage round-trip cruises from Seattle. Overall, Princess’s Alaska program for May through September 2026 includes eight ships, 180 departures, and 19 destinations.

For an extended time in Alaska, Princess Cruisetours combines seven-day Glacier cruises with 3-10 nights at Princess-owned Wilderness Lodges.