Princess Cruises Hikes, Fast Dining, Carnival Canc...

Get the within scoop on cruise information with Cruise Hive’s weekly recap, your go-to supply for business developments throughout the globe. In our newest version, prime tales embody Virgin Voyages deciding to relocate its New York homeport from Manhattan to Brooklyn; P&O Cruises growing its ultimate cost requirement to 120 days earlier than departure; and Carnival Cruise Line unveiling an Categorical Eating possibility fleetwide.

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Value to Ship Princess Medallions Rises Sharply

Delivery prices have risen in all places, even at Princess Cruises, which has quietly raised the cost of transport its Medallions to booked friends earlier than embarkation day.

Medallions have been utilized by the road since 2017 as an alternative choice to the standard plastic visitor ID card. Like these playing cards, Medallions are offered by friends to purchase items onboard the ship, like drinks, and are used as identification when leaving and returning to the ship.

Company hailing from the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada have the choice of receiving their Medallions earlier than leaving house, however now that comfort will price extra. For passengers within the US and Puerto Rico, the transport price has doubled, from $10 to $20. In Canada, the price jumped from $15 to $25.

Multiple Medallion could be included in an order, and friends are charged simply as soon as for a cargo of as much as 4 Medallions. Nevertheless, if friends on the identical reserving have completely different house addresses, every cargo incurs the cost.

Beforehand, friends who purchased the road’s Plus or Premier inclusive packages didn’t pay for transport, however underneath the brand new coverage, which started on February 27, 2026, they’re topic to the price.

The choice exists, after all, to easily choose up Medallions on the time of embarkation, and that different is free.

Entry Price to Grownup Present Revealed on Norwegian Luna

A risqué adult-only present aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Luna has an admission cost of $45 per particular person, a charge that has taken some booked friends abruptly.

Norwegian Luna, a 3,571-guest new-build at the moment crusing her inaugural transatlantic cruise, will arrive at her new homeport, PortMiami, on March 23, 2026. 

Some friends booked to sail on the ship have found the $44.99 charge to attend “LunaTique: Pop Circus,” which is restricted to friends 21 and older and is described as having mature themes.

Nevertheless, there are some perks to paying the charge: Every visitor receives 4 specialty cocktails (or mocktails) and a memento glass to take house. A $10 charge can be charged if friends cancel their reservations inside two hours of showtime.

Different, free, leisure choices are featured aboard Norwegian Luna, together with “ELTON: A Celebration of Elton John.” It’s a musical assessment of his biggest hits. After which there’s “HIKO: Innovation Meets Marvel,” a high-tech dance and acrobatic present — additionally included in passengers’ cruise fares.

Norwegian Luna is the road’s second Prima Plus-class ship, following Norwegian Aqua, which launched in March 2025.

Virgin Voyages Opts for Brooklyn Terminal Over Manhattan

Virgin Voyages is shifting Valiant Lady’s homeport from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal resulting from infrastructure points which have affected Manhattan’s Pier 90.

The change is efficient on April 6, 2026, and impacts all the ship’s cruises in April, after which once more in September and October. Valiant Girl, a 2,770-guest ship, is scheduled to function Bermuda cruises in April earlier than heading to Europe for the summer time season.

Following her Europe deployment, Valiant Girl will return to the US — to the Brooklyn terminal, in September and October, for New England and Bermuda voyages. In late October, the ship will reposition to Puerto Rico for winter cruising within the Caribbean.

All instructed, 10 cruises from New York are affected, starting from a 5-night Bermuda crusing in April to an 8-night fall foliage crusing in September, and the 12-night voyage to Puerto Rico in October.

Valiant Girl usually has been primarily based at Pier 90, nevertheless, that facility is in disrepair, and a serious redevelopment is deliberate. At present, Pier 88 is the Manhattan terminal’s solely working berth for cruise ships.

P&O Cruises Tells Company to Pay Up Sooner

P&O Cruises, the Carnival Company model that caters to the UK market, modified its ultimate cost requirement to 120 days earlier than embarkation day.

The brand new coverage is efficient on new bookings made on and after March 10, 2026, for voyages departing on and after December 1, 2026.

Its earlier coverage required cost 90 days previous to departure, that means that friends crusing after December 1 must fork over their ultimate steadiness cost roughly a month earlier.

Present bookings aren’t affected, nor are bookings made after March 10 if the cruise departure date is previous to December 1. P&O Cruises provided no motive for the change, however it’s possible that the road is seeking to decrease the variety of last-minute cancellations whereas posting extra income on its books sooner.

The 120-day rule will not be unusual among the many Carnival manufacturers, though it has been principally utilized to luxurious manufacturers akin to Cunard and Seabourn, which each require ultimate cost at the moment. A few of their longer voyages demand full cost even earlier, at 150 days previous to departure.

However different premium traces, together with Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, implement the 90-day rule, except for world cruise segments and prolonged itineraries, which comply with the 120-day requirement.

Princess Cruises Hikes Service Price Cost to twenty%

The service cost utilized to food-and-beverage purchases onboard Princess Cruises’ ships is on the rise, from 18% to twenty%, and is taking impact nearly instantly fleetwide.

Princess Cruises will implement the upper charge as every ship begins a brand new voyage in March 2026, that means that friends crusing mid-cruise aren’t topic to the rise.

The brand new 20% cost applies to purchases of drinks, cowl fees for specialty eating, and different companies and facilities. As is the case at the moment, the charge is routinely added to such purchases and is nonrefundable.

Company who’ve pre-paid for an all-inclusive bundle won’t be impacted by the brand new charge. Additionally, the cost doesn’t have an effect on crew gratuities in any respect.

Sister model Carnival Cruise Line carried out the identical service charge hike from 18% to twenty% in December 2025. Each traces are Carnival Company manufacturers.

Nevertheless, different Carnival-owned traces have decrease service fees. Holland America Line maintains an 18% charge, in the mean time, and Cunard, a luxurious model, fees simply 15%. Charges are topic to alter at any time.

Carnival Cruise Line Rolls Out Categorical Eating

Some cruisers embrace an unhurried and leisurely dinner, whereas others choose to order, eat, and transfer onto the following exercise. It’s for these people that Carnival Cruise Line has launched Categorical Eating.

Designed to offer an entire, multi-course expertise within an hour, Categorical Eating presents friends a much less complete menu, however one that also options high-quality selections.

Based on cruise line president Christine Duffy, a current pilot program was successful with friends, so the model is rolling out the choice fleetwide by the top of Might 2026.

It permits friends to take pleasure in their dinner and never need to rush to night performances and different occasions. Categorical Eating is already provided on 15 ships, together with Mardi Gras, Carnival Jubilee, Carnival Firenze, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Breeze, amongst others.

Passengers who want to take part in Categorical Eating can merely inform their servers within the eating room or, if they’ve signed up for Your Time Eating, friends can choose the choice via Carnival’s Hub App.

A Slew of Carnival Firenze Voyages Are Cancelled

Company booked to sail aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Firenze on 11 getaway voyages from Lengthy Seashore, California, within the fall of 2026 received some dangerous information: Their cruise is cancelled.

With out providing a motive for the change, the cruise line has nixed the sailings — 5 3-night and 6 4-night Baja Mexico cruises departing between October 12 and November 16.

Carnival Firenze, accommodating 4,126 friends, sails to Ensenada on the shorter itinerary and provides Catalina Island on the longer cruises.

Passengers are invited to rebook one other crusing, and those that want to take action should contact Carnival Cruise Line no later than March 25, 2026. They’ll apply their cruise fare to a brand new reservation and obtain a $50 onboard credit score per particular person.

Company who don’t rebook could have their reservations routinely cancelled after March 25, and obtain a refund of their cruise fare and any pre-paid packages.

Carnival Firenze started crusing from Lengthy Seashore in April 2024. The ship is among the line’s two Carnival Enjoyable Italian Type ships transferred from sister model Costa Cruises. The opposite vessel is Carnival Venezia, primarily based in Port Canaveral.

Extra Cruise Headlines

Let’s preserve going with much more information from Cruise Hive, together with Princess Cruises rolling out its 2028 world cruise aboard Coral Princess; Florida lawmakers taking motion to prevent development of a bigger cruise port in Tampa; and an overboard scare on an MSC Cruises’ ship turning out to be a false alarm.

Additionally, Port Canaveral makes headway on the development of a huge parking garage for cruise friends, and the primary passenger reviews of Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Journey point out just a few frustrations with the ship.