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!
Carnival Vista returned to Port Canaveral (a day late) after her 30-day dry dock in Cadiz, Spain. Carnival Cruise Line’s first Vista-class ship received a variety of enhancements and upgrades. Everything to a new signature red, white and blue livery to upgrades to and additions of public spaces.
Disney Cruise Line revealed the completed bow artwork of Disney Treasure as she sits inside Hall 6 at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Following the Disney Cruise Line fleet’s two-decades-long tradition of carrying a unique character-inspired art piece on the bow of a ship, Captain Minnie Mouse, in her signature adventure-themed outfit and surrounded by a filigree of silhouettes of other Disney characters, is now completed marking an exciting milestone for Disney Treasure.
We learned of two newbuilds this week. One that’s been ordered and one that’s in the works.
Carnival Corporation entered into an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft for a fourth Excel-class cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line. The ship is expected to debut in 2027 and join her sister ships Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee.
Additionally, Royal Caribbean Group entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique for a seventh Oasis-class ship to debut in 2028. Most fans of the Oasis-class ships expected Utopia of the Seas to be the final ship in the class, making Royal Caribbean’s announcement a pleasant surprise.
Princess Cruises guests are still awaiting the inaugural sailing of Sun Princess. The cruise line did take delivery of the ship, but canceled the February 18, 2024 inaugural sailing for “additional technical work.” This is the second time her inaugural cruise has been canceled. It is rescheduled for February 28, 2024 to sail from Rome to Barcelona.
Finally, Carnival Cruise Line has announced the leadership and entertainment team for Carnival Firenze which is set to sail in just over two months. Together, the team brings more than 75 years of Carnival experience to the latest addition to the Carnival fleet. Carnival Firenze will bring Carnival Fun Italian Style to Long Beach, California when she debuts on April 25, 2024.
There you have it. This week’s Cruise News Digest. Did you see Tony’s advice on how to fight the cruise blues? Tony also welcomed Royal Caribbean expert Matt Hochberg of the Royal Caribbean blog to the podcast this week to ask if mega cruise ships are good for cruising.
Subscribe with the notification bell on to all things La Lido Loca so you never miss an update. And, become a patreon member of Loca Extra for extra exclusive live content and more.