Welcome to the weekly Cruise News Digest. Here you can catch up on the past week’s cruise news and all things La Lido Loca.
Let’s dive in!
This week began and ended with more hurricane news. Hurricane Hilary forced itinerary changes on the west coast last week and Hurricanes Franklin and Idalia did the same on the east coast this week. Early in the week Carnival Cruise Line made several itinerary changes to avoid Bermuda and Disney Cruise Line completely changed a Western Caribbean cruise to an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
Carnival Cruise Line revealed the name of their exclusive destination in The Bahamas–Celebration Key. Celebration Key is the first destination that is exclusive to Carnival Cruise Line and will begin welcoming its first guests July 2025. It was named with the idea that the destination will celebrate all that Carnival and The Bahamas have to offer.
Explora Journeys’ Explora I made her maiden port of call on Southampton during her 9-night cruise around the United Kingdom. The first cruise ship for Explora Journeys, the luxury cruise line for MSC Group, was welcomed by port officials and cruise line executives.
In the middle of the week, on Wednesday, Hurricane Idalia was expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. Port Tampa Bay and Port Canaveral were both under Port Condition Zulu meaning they were closed for business until further notice and Governor Ron DeSantis had declared a state of emergency in 49 out of 67 counties. Hurricane Idalia slammed Florida’s west coast near Tallahassee, swept through Georgia and then moved up through the Carolinas. Recovery efforts are still underway.
Also this week, Norwegian Cruise Line announced the return of Pride of America to Kahului, Maui. The cruise line’s Pride of America has an 18-year history of cruising the Hawaiian Islands year round, but, due to the wildfires in Lāhainā earlier this month, the calls to Maui were paused to avoid stressing local resources. Those weekly overnight calls to Kahului will resume on September 3, 2023.
In La Lido Loca news, there was no live show this week because Tony and the lovely Jenny B. were cruising aboard Carnival Paradise. Hurricane Idalia kept the Port of Tampa closed and they became YouTubers Stuck at Sea. Once Carnival Paradise was able to return to port, it embarked on a revised cruise that allowed cruisers to break the law on the cruise to nowhere.There you have it. This week’s Cruise News Digest. If you’d like a tour of Carnival Paradise through Tony’s eyes hop on over to La Lido Loca Two. You can get all your cruise news and views at La Lido Loca, follow along with Tony’s weight loss journey at Have To Lose or join in on the conversation via social media on the La Lido Cruising Community and the Have to Lose Support Crew group pages.