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!
Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises announced a partnership with Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming. The partnership will provide perks benefitting both vacationers and team members across all brands. Travelers will be able to take advantage of accommodations, meals, and discounts at Hard Rock and Seminole casinos, hotels and cafes, as well as vacations aboard Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises ships.
Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander is one stop closer to her debut. The cruise line recently posted on social media that the ship “passed her sea trials with flying colors (and a little luck of the Irish)” in the Irish Sea. Islander is currently undergoing a major renovation at the Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Ireland.
Carnival Corporation recently purchased 5,000 locally grown palm trees for its new cruise port destination, Celebration Key. The trees were all grown in Grand Bahama and 40 percent of the trees were purchased from small-scale community growers through the company’s “Plant a Tree” initiative. This is just Phase one of Carnival’s initiative. Phase 2 will launch on May 9, 2024, and focus on native plants.
Virgin Voyages released a video highlighting details of its newest ship, Brilliant Lady. She is expected to debut from all four corners of the United States beginning September 2025. Her inaugural voyages will take place from New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle. Additionally, Brilliant Lady will be the first ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet to traverse the Panama Canal and explore Alaska.
Princess Cruises announced its 2026 World Cruise–a 114-day journey aboard Coral Princess. The voyage will sail across six continents, and cover more than 35,000 nautical miles as she visits 52 ports in 28 countries–the most destinations ever on a Princess World Cruise.
Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Anne, set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage this week. Her historic seven-night maiden voyage began in Southampton with fireworks as her backdrop. While Queen Anne is Cunard’s first ship in 14 years, she is the 249th ship to sail under Cunard’s flag and the fourth Cunard ship based in Southampton.
There you have it. This week’s Cruise News Digest. Jump on over to La Lido Loca’s YouTube Channel for cruise news updates or watch the latest Cruiseday NIght Live and find out where Tony is off to next. If you like extra exclusive live content and more, become a patreon member of Loca Extra. Follow La Lido Loca on FaceBook for more fun and connection with fellow cruisers.