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18 hours ago
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Celebrity Cruises plans massive ship upgrades
Celebrity Cruises plans massive ship upgrades originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me. Celebrity Cruises plans to overhaul its Solstice Series ships again. The brand is investing more than $250 million to modernize these, starting with Celebrity Solstice in 2026. Passengers can look forward to eight new experiences, including four new-to-sea spaces, and many redesigned favorites, which elevate everything that makes these ships unforgettable. Bow-to-stern innovations include reinvented outdoor escapes with enhanced views, new restaurants, and entertainment designed to create moments of connection with loved ones, as well as a redesigned stay with all-new stateroom categories and ship-wide stateroom Solstice will be the first of the Solstice Series ships to be made new again, welcoming guests for reimagined vacation experiences starting in March 2026. On board, new experiences from morning to night will make the journey just as exciting as the destinations. Plus, all 1,479 staterooms on Celebrity Solstice are getting an upgrade, offering more ways to feel at home when miles away at sea.'Our Solstice Series ships represent the best of classic cruising, and now we're elevating this vacation experience even further by adding brand-new experiences and enhancements at every turn,' said Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge. 'Guests will enjoy more ways to explore and restore, all while staying true to what made our guests fall in love with these ships in the first place.' Here are some of the changes being made: Boulevard Lounge:Good times and glamorous vibes will take center stage at this brand-new, intimate entertainment venue. With always-on programming, from interactive daytime activities like new game shows and trivia to elevated evenings of candlelit concerts and dueling pianos, this cabaret-inspired lounge offers a dramatic new take on showtime. Boulevard Bar: Just steps away from the lounge, guests can pull up a seat for handcrafted cocktails before or after the show — or both. Celebrity Barcade:Guests should bring their A-game to this new, elevated sports bar, the perfect place to both watch and play games. Guests can catch their favorite sports teams from multiple screens positioned so well they'll never miss a pass; or challenge their friends to a round of billiards, darts, or their favorite retro board game. Guests can enjoy a number of new dining options: Trattoria Rossa –Step into an Italian hideaway that blends opulence with modern design to experience a restaurant that bursts with charm from every corner. In this perfect setting to reignite date night, guests will have a front-row seat to the action with authentic tableside preparations of dishes inspired by Italian classics, including fresh pasta made from scratch daily. Fine Cut Steakhouse –The Forbes Travel Guide-rated, Edge Seriesfavorite steakhouse will bring upscale dining with service that's elevated to an art form. And check out these new bars and other innovations: The Sunset Park:Transforming the top deck of Celebrity Solstice, guests can enjoy unparalleled views fromthis half-acre outdoor oasis. Plus, with elevated cuisine, refreshing cocktails, lawn games, open-air concerts and more, a day at the park never looked so good. New private cabanas: Relax with sweeping ocean views and more shade, while dedicated attendants cater to your every whim. Expanded Sunset Bar:Drink in the views along with a refreshing cocktail, as every hour is happy hour. The Retreat suite area will be refreshed as well: Enhanced Suites: A completely reimagined stay at The Retreat awaits, making the most elevated experience at sea even better, as Celebrity Solstice will sail with enhanced suites. All-new Retreat Sundeck: Unwind in style at an all-new sundeck with ample outdoor seating and shade, exclusive for guests of The Retreat. Guests will relax carefree in an oversized hot tub, as they enjoy prime views from the top of the ship. Redesigned Retreat Lounge: The perfect place to enjoy a light bite or catch up with friends over drinks, reserved for guests of The Retreat. Some cabins will also be overhauled: Refreshed AquaClass Staterooms: A fully immersive, next-level wellness vacation awaits. Every room is updated with spa-inspired elements – from massaging shower heads, aroma therapy diffusers, in-room yoga mats, luxurious robes and slippers, and even a pillow menu for the perfect night's sleep. AquaClass guests can also enjoy complimentary access to the all-new Relaxation Lounge at The Spa. Four brand-new stateroom categories: New stateroom categories offer more ways to stay: The Panoramic Infinite Veranda Suite, Deluxe Panoramic Oceanview Suite, Panoramic Ocean View Suite, and Deluxe Panoramic Ocean View. These new stateroom categories are available to book starting mid-June. Guests will enjoy all of these enhancements on Celebrity Solstice vacations starting in March 2026 with unforgettable Asia and Australia itineraries, followed by summer sailings in Alaska. In September 2026, Celebrity Solstice will also bring guests on a once-in-a-lifetime, 110-night Grand Voyage from Canada to Southeast Asia. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Carnival Cruise Line rep addresses adults-only cruise controversy
Carnival Cruise Line rep addresses adults-only cruise controversy originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me. Adults-only cruises have been a big hit for the hip Virgin Voyages cruise brand. These kid-free cruise vacations have become so popular that many cruisers have begun to wonder whether other cruise lines would break with classic cruise tradition to test out the new style of sailing, Carnival Cruise Line fans often write to the cruise line's brand ambassador, John Heald, on his popular Facebook page with questions and requests about adults-only cruises. Few people expected that the family cruise line would actually add adult-exclusive sailings, though. On his page, Heald even told passengers he didn't think that would ever happen. But then it did. Why the sudden shift? Is Carnival Cruise Line moving toward becoming an adults-only cruise line? Those were some of the questions swirling around the internet after Carnival recently announced a series of casino-exclusive sailings and SEA cruises — sailings exclusively for adults. Sailing from Miami on select dates this summer and fall aboard Carnival Conquest and Carnival Magic, these specialty itineraries are casino-focused cruises featuring expanded casino access and other perks for Carnival Players Club casino loyalty program the release of these specialty sailings led to rumors that Carnival is moving to become an adults-only cruise line, John Heald was quick to set the record straight. 'Please ignore that; we are a proud family cruise line, we have been and I'm sure we always will be,' Heald insisted in a video message posted on his Facebook page. Heald assured his followers that the only reason Carnival is offering adults-only casino cruises is because of schedule changes for Carnival cruise ship dry docks — maintenance and refurbishment that cruise ships undergo every few years.'This all is because we moved Carnival Magic's dry dock and the casino have taken a couple of cruises and made them adults only. They're making special casino offers to people,' Heald explained. Since both Carnival Magic and Carnival Conquest won't be out of service as originally planned for a few weeks later this year, the cruise line decided to offer some special invitation-only casino cruises to fill the reason these sailings are adults only is simply because they're casino cruises. 'Now, because they are casino offers, we cannot make those casino offers to children, which is why these cruises are for adults only because they are casino-based offered cruises and they are very popular,' Heald pointed out. These new offerings have made the brand ambassador more open to entertaining the possibility of future adults-only Carnival cruises, however. 'I understand why people are saying, 'Oh, we need an adults' cruise,'' Heald noted. 'So listen, I don't know what the future is going to hold, but let me just tell you we are not moving to an adults-only cruise line now.' More Carnival cruise news:Those who want to continue to enjoy Carnival cruises with kids shouldn't fret. 'This is not something that you should be concerned about because for every one person who says, 'I would love an adults-only cruise,' there are many who have written and said, 'What do I do with my children, my grandchildren?'' Heald explained. 'No, we are a proud family cruise line,' the brand ambassador reiterated. 'These were cruise-specific situations, so please ignore what some people have been highlighting.' (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
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2 days ago
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Cruise industry files lawsuit against popular Royal Caribbean port
Cruise industry files lawsuit against popular Royal Caribbean port originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me. As Royal Caribbean's popular Quantum Class cruise ship Anthem of the Seas embarks on its first-ever adventures in the Last Frontier this summer, a new battle is heating up between the cruise industry and one of its ports of call. A total of four Royal Caribbean ships are sailing in Alaska this summer, taking adventurous cruisers to explore sought-after ports like Sitka, Juneau, and of their popularity with cruise travelers, all three of these Alaska ports have been grappling with how to effectively manage cruise tourism to protect the environment and quality of life in their communities. Although Alaska ports have mostly been working collaboratively with cruise lines on measures to regulate cruise tourism and offset its impacts, one port recently adopted a controversial cruise ship ordinance, igniting a fight that will now be settled in court. Doug Parker shared details on the Alaska cruise port lawsuit, and other cruise news including significant cruise schedule changes made by Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean, on the May 29th edition of Cruise News Cruise News Today with Doug Parker. Good morning, here's your cruise news for Thursday, May 29th. Carnival Cruise Line has canceled seven sailings aboard Carnival Conquest in January over a rescheduled dry dock. Now the impacted cruises — originally three and four-night Bahamas sailings from Miami — are now off the website and not open for booking. Impacted guests can rebook comparable sailings with price protection, onboard credits, and possible airfare reimbursement. Full refunds are also available. No reason was given for the dry dock shift, but the original dates are now offered as casino sailings. Similar dry dock changes have also recently impacted Carnival Magic and Carnival the cruise industry is suing the town of Skagway in southeast Alaska over a new tax ordinance. Yeah, the policy passed late last year allows Skagway to collect sales tax on full-price cruise excursions, including commissionable fees. The Cruise Line International Association argues that this violates state and federal law, calling it unfair. Skagway officials say it ensures consistent taxation for all tourists, regardless of how they're booked. The lawsuit filed in state court seeks to overturn the ordinance and recover legal Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas is arriving ahead of schedule again and adding another sailing. Yeah, the cruise line has announced a new four-night showcase cruise departing Port Canaveral on August 16th. This will be visiting CocoCay and offering two days at sea. This is the fourth preview sailing ahead of the ship's official seven-night Caribbean cruise on August 31st. Guests booked on later cruises can now join this cruise if they'd cruise line stocks were down on Wednesday. Carnival Corporation: down two and a half percent, 23.00, Royal Caribbean: down two percent, 250.80, Norwegian: down three percent, 17.54, and Viking: down 1.3 percent, 44.32. If you have a lead on a story, let us know, tips@ This week's Cruise Radio Podcast: a review of Carnival Jubilee, where you listen to your favorite podcasts. I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News today. Have yourself a great Thursday. This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
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Carnival Cruise Line cruisers debate controversial elevator issue
Carnival Cruise Line cruisers debate controversial elevator issue originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me. If you haven't sailed on a cruise ship equipped with an advanced elevator system, you might not be aware that not all elevators are the traditional push-button variety. It's a clear industry trend for smart elevators to be installed on newer cruise ships. In Carnival's fleet, they have been added to a handful of ships, including the Carnival Horizon, Carnival Vista, and a few elevators are designed to reduce congestion in the elevator lobbies and reduce wait times. Instead of getting on an elevator and then hitting the button for the desired floor, smart elevators have no buttons whatsoever. The basic idea is that you'll use a touchscreen in the elevator lobby to input your desired floor and the number of people in your party. The screen will then assign you an elevator, and if you get on that elevator when it arrives, it will take you to your destination. There are some obvious benefits to this. At least once per cruise on ships with traditional elevators, I encounter a situation where I get on an elevator, only to find out that someone has hit all of the buttons and it will be stopping at every floor (to be fair, at times it has been my young children who have done that). Smart elevators eliminate this problem. On the other hand, there are some pain points. As one example, let's say that you request an elevator to the lido deck, and once you get on, you remember you're meeting your party on the promenade deck. You can't simply hit the correct button – you have to get off, use the touchscreen again, and wait for another elevator. There can also be a learning curve, as getting on the wrong car or failing to select the correct number of passengers can be an inconvenient seems like there really is no middle ground. Cruisers either love the smart elevator systems on cruise ships or absolutely detest them. Carnival Brand Ambassador recently received a comment from one of his Facebook followers, stating 'Put the smart elevators on every ship. They are awesome. They really do work and take the annoyance away from ship elevators. Put them on every ship.' As Heald often does, he used this comment to conduct a poll among his followers to determine whether cruisers agree with the comment. After about 54,000 votes, the result was clear – although many cruisers haven't yet been on a ship equipped with smart elevators, of those who have, cruisers agreed that they should be on all Carnival cruise ships – and by a three-to-one the comments on Heald's poll, it sounds like the technology is well-received, but the biggest obstacle is educating the passengers on how to use them properly. As one example, Heald follower Don DeMarte said 'It's not the elevators that are annoying. It's the passengers that refuse to learn them that are the issue. Walking up with four or five in your party and requesting only one spot kills the whole system.' More Carnival cruise news: Carnival Cruise Line plans to bring back popular app feature Carnival Cruise Line sounds the alarm on new scam Carnival Cruise Line shares strict bathroom warning Kate Hanson agreed. 'The smart elevators are amazing, but rarely do people know how to use them correctly. Maybe at muster, the crew members should mention that they have smart elevators and people have to push it number of times for the number of people. Because they aren't doing it!' And Donna Speaks Meade said, 'Smart elevators are great once you learn how to use lol. They seem to disperse crowd[s] faster.' To be fair, as smart elevators start to become more of a standard feature on cruise ships and not just something you'll find on a handful of vessels, more cruisers will become accustomed to how they are designed to be used. But even for now, it sounds like they are a clear improvement over traditional elevator technology. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
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3 days ago
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Royal Caribbean makes controversial change, again
Royal Caribbean makes controversial change, again originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me. Many 'loyal to Royal' cruisers have learned over the years that careful planning and early booking are a must if you want to secure the itinerary, stateroom type, and add-on amenities you want for your vacation. These days, most experienced cruisers know that booking early will usually help you secure the lowest price for your cruise, days of scoring a last-minute cruise deal are mostly gone, with only a few exceptions this year like some of this summer's Mediterranean and Alaska cruises. Despite the higher prices that usually come with last-minute cruise bookings, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty revealed during the company's Q1 earnings call that the cruise line has noticed more last-minute booking behavior recently. So rather than discount last-minute cruises, Royal Caribbean has been raising prices on near-departure cruises to drive higher profits. This trend in last-minute bookings could also be a factor in the cruise line's controversial decision to continue to make changes to this summer's launch schedule for its next Icon Class ship. These launch schedule changes have opened up some enticing opportunities for cruisers to add somewhat last-minute summer cruises on board Royal Caribbean's highly anticipated Star of the Seas, which will debut in August from Port Canaveral, loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers who are diligent about planning their vacations far in advance were quick to book this summer's inaugural sailing for Star of the Seas when it opened for booking back in December 2023. Most of those cruisers wanted to be the first to sail on the new megaship, which will offer seven-night Caribbean cruises designed to compete with Orlando's theme park vacations. Originally, Star of the Seas' first cruise was scheduled for Aug. 17, 2025, but Royal Caribbean later pushed the inaugural sailing back to Aug. 31, citing a delay in the ship's expected delivery. But early this year, it became clear that Star of the Seas would be ready to sail earlier in August after than change the date of the inaugural voyage again, Royal Caribbean decided to add two shorter 'showcase sailings' before it. For some Royal Caribbean cruisers who didn't plan early enough to secure the ship's inaugural sailing, this was great news. But at the same time, it frustrated some of the careful planners who booked the inaugural cruise to be the first to sail on the new ship on its full seven-night maiden voyage. Some of those cruisers took the opportunity Royal Caribbean offered to switch their booking to the first showcase sailing so they could still be the first on board, but then, a few weeks later, the cruise line changed the launch schedule March, the cruise line announced that Star of the Seas would be ready to sail even earlier, and added another short showcase sailing on the ship departing on Aug. 20, 2025. And now, they've done it again. It turns out Star of the Seas will be delivered according to its original timeline after all, and now it will even debut one day earlier than the previously planned Aug. 17 inaugural voyage.'To officially kick off our inaugural season, we have added in an additional 4-Night Star Showcase Cruise to Perfect Day [at CocoCay] on August 16, 2025, because we simply can't wait to debut the world's best family vacation,' the cruise line wrote in an email to travel partners. So now, while the Aug. 31 Star of the Seas cruise is the first full-length sailing and still considered the inaugural voyage, there are a total of four short showcase sailings happening before it. Although that may be a bit disappointing for some passengers who chose to stay on the original inaugural sailing, it's sure to bring higher revenue for Royal Caribbean as it capitalizes on this year's last-minute cruise booking trend with new sailings on a brand-new ship. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
