Over the weekend, cruise lines carefully tracked Hurricane Hilary's path, which took the storm across Baja California, Mexico and into southern California. Princess Cruises adjusted one itinerary for Emerald Princess, which was finishing up a 15-day Hawaii itinerary operating roundtrip from Los Angeles. The ship arrived in Ensenada on Saturday but only for a service call; guests were not permitted to go ashore.Then, the ship sailed for Los Angeles arriving one day early on Sunday. Guests were given the option to depart the ship on Sunday or remain aboard until today.
In addition, Carnival Cruise Line modified Carnival Panorama’s seven-day cruise that embarked guests Saturday at Long Beach, CA. The ship will call on Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Tuesday, August 22, instead of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The call to Mazatlán, Mexico on Wednesday, August 23 has been canceled; instead, the ship will call at Puerto Vallarta. Royal Caribbean International also modified one voyage of Navigator of the Seas, according to cruise publication Cruise Hive.
Elsewhere, small-ship Aqua Expeditions unveiled four new seven-night Amazonia departures for February 2024. The 20-suite Aqua Nera will operate those South American voyages, as well as some three- and four-night sailings. Since 2021, Aqua Nera has been sailing in the remote region alongside sister Aria Amazon.
Silversea Cruises’ new Silver Nova set sail on its inaugural cruise earlier this month in the Mediterranean. Sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor published a photologue and story about the new ship, which sports a new asymmetrical design.
On the river cruise front, Viking named its newest river ship,Viking Aton, with a celebration in Aswan, Egypt. Viking Aton is an identical sister ship to Viking Osiris, and will sail the line's "Pharaohs & Pyramids" itinerary on the Nile River.
New Voyages
Celebrity Cruises has unveiled new winter 2024-2025 Caribbean voyages on Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Summit. Open for booking tomorrow, 40 new itineraries will operate from Port Canaveral, Port Tampa Bay and Port Everglades, all in Florida.
Carrying the most cruise travelers to "The Great Land," Princess Cruises opened bookings for its 2025 Alaska cruise and cruisetours season, highlighted by three roundtrip itineraries and another 15-night “National Parks Cruisetour” to five of Alaska’s parks.
On the river cruise front, AmaWaterways announced its schedule line-up for 2025 river cruises. Separately, Brand G Vacations, an all-LGBTQ+ cruise and tour operator, will charter Amadeus River Cruises' new Amadeus Nova for its annual "Prague and Danube" cruise in 2024.
Opening a portion of its 2025-2026 deployment, Carnival Cruise Line started with new sailings from Galveston, TX, now available for booking. They’re operated by Carnival Breeze, Carnival Dream and the new Carnival Jubilee, debuting later this year.
More Cruise News
Royal Caribbean International will spotlight local artists across its Alaska cruises as part of a new “Locals Onboard” program in collaboration with Voyij.com. The program is part of the line’s “SEA the Future” commitment to energize local communities by connecting local business owners and artists with vacationers.
On the sustainability side, Cunard Line has unveiled shore power capability across its entire fleet. So, if ports are appropriately equipped, ships can plug into land-based power grids, rather than running engines in port.
To assist travel advisors, Lindblad Expeditions has partnered with Approach Guides to create multimedia content experiences that enable advisors to co-brand and share with their clients.
Given wildfire damage in Maui, HI, and recovery efforts now underway, cruise lines including Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises have shifted calls this month to other Hawaii ports. In an update last week, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said: “Visitors who are on non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui and non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time.
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