If you’ve been busy over the past week, then you’ve come to the right place with another busy cruise news update. We’ve got coverage across the major cruise lines, as Carnival gets stricter, Norwegian makes a big change, and lots of changes from Royal Caribbean.
Cruise news update
In this week’s roundup, we’ve got a mix of news on the major cruise lines, but one of the most significant stories is about Carnival Cruise Line starting to get strict with guests, which we’ll get into shortly.
there are also coverage in an exciting new journey for the new MSC cruise ship, many changes from Royal Caribbean, including major development with Starlink. Norwegian Cruise Line makes a big change and Virgin Voyages prepares for a new loyalty program.
MSC unveils new robotic voyage
MSC Cruises has revealed The first trip with a robotic arm at sea for her new cruise ship, MSC Seascape.
The fun ride called ROBOTRON, which has three seats suspended from a robotic arm, will push guests in all directions and turn them upside down as they fly 175 meters above sea level hanging over the edge of the deck.
Riders can choose their level and speed of thrills, from family-friendly fun to the ultimate high-intensity thrills. Visitors can also set the mood with their choice of music, lights and more.
Behind them will be a giant video screen visualizing the rhythm and bass, while the robotic arm dances and twirls to the music.
MSC Cruises announced even more exciting voyages in addition to ROBOTRON, focusing on virtual reality, 3D and simulation games. The flight simulator will be a 360-degree virtual reality ride where guests can choose from different worlds.
VR Motorcycles will be a VR experience where guests can ride a motorcycle, complete with special effects like wind and water spray. There is also MSC Formula Racer and an Immersive XD 3D Cinema.
169,000 gross tons MSC Seascape will depart on November 19 from Italy. Her maiden voyage will be a 17-night Grand Voyage, ending in New York City for her inauguration. The ship will eventually operate year-round Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from PortMiami beginning December 7, 2022.
The carnival cruise line gets tight
Surprisingly change its policy for minor guests that applies to passengers under 21, Carnival Cruise Line has instituted a fleet-wide youth curfew on board. The schedule will only apply to guests 17 years of age and older and is effective immediately.
This means that Guests 17 years of age and under who are not accompanied by an adult in their travel party, 21 years of age or older, must vacate all public areas by 1:00 a.m. each evening, unless included in a teenager of Club 02 or Circle C. activity.”
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald explained the consequences of violating this new policy, Heald said, “Any guest who violates the curfew or whose behavior violates our rules may be disembarked at the next port at their own expense and may not be allowed to cruise with us again.”
This change comes just days after Carnival Cruise Line updated its “Know Before You Go” information sent to guests before their cruise. In the documentation, the cruise line reminds guests to respect others on board, noise in the hallways is kept to a minimum, guests follow queues and that a spirit of community and neighborliness is demonstrated by all.
Carnival is really kicking off and it comes after several reported fights on the ship in recent weeks. In June and July, separate incidents occurred on board The magic of carnivals from New York and Carnival joy from Jacksonville, Florida. Such incidents, however, are not limited to the Carnival cruise line. Royal Caribbean Navigator of the seas there was a similar incident in early July.
Royal Caribbean moves forward with Starlink
Royal Caribbean Group is the first worldwide cruise company to fully implement SpaceX Starlink Maritime high speed internet on cruise ships.
Starting immediately, the company will begin installation onboard cruise ships sailing for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
Royal Caribbean has extensively tested the system onboard Freedom of the seas over the past few weeks, the knowledge the company is getting on board for the rest of the fleet.
Celebrity Cruises has already provided an update on when it plans to implement the new systems on its ships. The newest celebrity boat, Celebrity Beyondwill receive the new system on September 5th.
All Celebrity Edge Series ships will be updated by the end of this year. Installation will then continue into 2023 and be completed by May.
According to Royal Caribbean, feedback from guests has been overwhelmingly positive, and by the end of the first quarter of 2023, the cruise line hopes to have full fleet distribution.
Not only does the speed far exceed the current norm, but SpaceX reports speeds of up to 350 Mbps. The low-orbit satellite connection also means extremely low latency, which effectively means the fastest connections work like home.
New Virgin Voyages Perks Program
In 2023, Virgin Voyages will launch its official loyalty program. Before launch, the cruise line owned by Richard Branson has published details of several benefits available to guests this year. These benefits, and previous onboard purchases, will help guests propel themselves to elite status in 2023.
Virgin Voyages will offer two different benefits in the coming months, aimed at helping guests achieve higher status once the official loyalty program launches next year.
First, ‘Deep blue extras,’ will give guests who book a massive bonus once they get on board, elevating them to VIP.
The second benefit is the Red Hot Booking Bonus Months. Starting August 30 through November 15, 2022, every booking made during this period will qualify guests for special on-board spending benefits and chances to earn incredible experiences across the Virgin family.
As a thank you to subsequent guests who were the first to sail aboard Scarlet Lady AND Brave lady, the cruise line is also introducing Tokens. These Tokens track all qualifying onboard spending to ensure sailors are positioned for benefits in 2023.
Those sailing in 2021 with Virgin are called Sea-Blazers. Among other benefits, they will receive a $125 Bar Tab bonus for life. Anyone who has sailed with Virgin Voyages twice in 2022 is a Sea-Rover. They will earn a $100 Bar Tab bonus for two years.
There’s lots of information about Virgin Voyages’ new benefits program at cruisehive.com.
Norwegian Cruise Line switches to Coca-Cola
Following previous reports and sightings of beverage offerings on board various ships, Norwegian Cruise Line has officially announced the switch from PepsiCo soft drinks to Coca-Cola products.
This change is in connection with the inaugural sailing of the cruise line’s newest ship, Norwegian primawhich is already serving Coca-Cola drinks.
New Norwegian prima is the first ship in Norway’s 18-ship fleet to carry Coca-Cola as its official soft drink. The remaining NCL vessels will all fully switch to Coca-Cola products by December 2022.
Guests on various ships have already reported the increased availability of Coca-Cola drinks, including Norwegian partition, Norse epicAND Norwegian joy.
Other ships will begin serving Coca-Cola drinks as bars and lounges can be adequately supplied, but no timetable has been announced for which ships will have which drinks when.
It can be a challenge to make the transition even on a single ship as each ship has many different bars, lounges and restaurants that all need to be adequately stocked and rebranded to promote the new partnership.
Royal Caribbean Transatlantic Protocols Updates
As protocols for various cruise itineraries, ports of embarkation and destinations have shifted rapidly in recent weeks, guests booked on future transatlantic crossings from Europe to North America will be relieved to finally have up-to-date instructions for their sailing trip.
Under updated protocols, all guests age 5 and older are required to be fully vaccinated prior to departure. The final dose of the primary vaccination series should be administered at least 14 days before sailing.
All guests on these cruises must present a negative result from a pre-cruise test. Guests who are fully vaccinated and up-to-date on their vaccinations, including a booster shot when their primary vaccination series was completed more than 9 months prior to sailing, may have a supervised PCR or antigen test up to three days before boarding the plane.
Unvaccinated guests do not need to take two tests, but must ensure that their tests are administered within the appropriate time frame before they are valid.
No unsupervised self-tests will be accepted for any pre-cruise testing, regardless of vaccination status or time of testing.
More Cruise Titles!
It’s been just another busy week in the ever-changing cruise industry, we’ve got all the coverage, including crew members getting a new lounge in a cruise port, exclusive dining options to come on the new P&O cruise ship, a change of route for a Royal Caribbean ship, workers strike affecting navigation operations in Vancouver, Artemis 1 launch causing delays at Port Canaveral, a former Celebrity cruise ship arrives for scrapping and much more.
