Luxury Cruising Editorial

When Star Princess debuts in October 2025, it will have four improvements from the first Sphere class ship to make several spaces even better.

Star Princess will be the second Sphere class ship from Princess Cruises. The first, Sun Princess, debuted earlier this year and it’s the largest ship in the cruise line’s fleet.

The enhancements to Star Princess include larger dining and drink venues as well as a non-smoking casino.

The top deck (Where Park19 originally was on Sun Princess) on Star Princess will have a sports court and track. The sports court will be used for basketball and pickleball and there will also be an area with a splash pad and shaded seating.

Star Princess will have an expanded non-smoking casino area with 68 additional slot machines.

Love by Britto, one of the most premium dining restaurants at sea with a seven-course menu, will be expanded to have seating for 20 more guests.

The Irish Pub, O’Malley’s, will also be larger with 32 more seats.

Star Princess will have a total of 2,157 cabins. They include:

• Over 1,000 balcony staterooms
• 80 suites
• 123 mini-suites
• 100 connecting staterooms

John Padgett, President of Princess Cruises, gave the following statement:

“After the overwhelming response to Sun Princess, we are excited to debut her sister ship, Star Princess, with added enhancements to elevate the guest experience. From expanded non-smoking casino areas to new spaces for relaxation and recreation, Star Princess will deliver an unforgettable vacation for all when she launches in fall 2025.”

Star Princess will sail its maiden voyage on October 4, 2025, an 11-night cruise in the Mediterranean. The ship’s third voyage will be a Transatlantic sailing so Star Princess can reposition to Port Everglades.

Once in Port Everglades, the ship will sail week-long cruises to the Caribbean for the winter season.

In April 2026, the ship will head through the Panama Canal and sail to Seattle. Once in Seattle, Star Princess will offer seven-night cruises to Alaska.

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced new experiences that will debut on their next two new cruise ships, Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna.

The two ships are the first Prima-plus class vessels from NCL. Norwegian Aqua is scheduled to debut in April 2025 with Norwegian Luna coming out in 2026.

The ship’s will have Norwegian’s first Game Zone which will be an evolution of Galaxy Pavilion and arcade venues.

The Game Zone will have a wide range of games and activities that include virtual reality experiences such as Space Racing and Beat Hero, plus a mix of retro arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man; Donkey Kong; and Down the Clown.

Tee Time will return to the Prima Plus class ships but will be two and a half times bigger.

A dedicated pickleball court will be separate from The Stadium. This feature is being added after guests asked for more time to play this popular sport.

The new Bull’s Eye Bar (which can be seen below), will have an innovative take on darts. This complimentary experience will have six different games that will have video-game-style graphics and automated scoring that are projected onto a big-screen TV.

The Mandara Spa will have a new Clay Sauna that revitalizes the skin through detoxifying cleansing and gentle exfoliation.

The thalassotherapy pool will also feature all-new thalassotherapy loungers which promote relaxation, soothe muscle tension, and improve circulation.

IV Drip Therapy will also be available to boost hydration. Twice as many heated loungers will be added to the Mandara Spa.

David J. Herrera, President of Norwegian Cruise Line, gave the following statement:

“We provide our guests with more to do with a variety of fun, exciting and elevated experiences for every type of traveler.

“The two sister ships will introduce a brand-new venue to the fleet, the Aqua and Luna Game Zone, along with thoughtfully redesigned spaces and bringing back many more of our best-in-class offerings, beloved by our guests and inspired by their feedback.

“We look forward to our guests enjoying more of what they love on board and creating unforgettable memories aboard Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna.”

There is a somber mood on a Taylor Swift-themed cruise this morning, after a 66-year-old woman went overboard and is still missing.

The 4-day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas was 17 miles off the coast of Nassau when the woman fell from the 6,780-passenger ship.

The U.S. Coast Guard is working with local Bahamian authorities to look for the cruise passenger who went overboard Tuesday night around 9:40pm.

It is not clear if the woman was part of the “Swifties” group, and it should be noted that Taylor Swift herself is not on board the vessel.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told news outlets that they are supporting the family during this difficult time.

“Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and is working with local authorities. We are also providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share,” the spokesperson said.

The search for the woman continues today as an HC-144 airplane and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter are part of the search and rescue efforts.

Utopia of the Seas, another Oasis-class ship with Royal Caribbean, also turned around from it’s route to help in the search for the missing passenger.

The 4-day cruise on Allure of the Seas which began on Monday is scheduled to return to PortMiami on Friday.

While it’s being labeled a Taylor-Swift themed cruise, the whole event, organized by Travefy, only has a partial number of its passengers participating.

According to reports, about 400 Taylor Swift fans are on the cruise ship. Activities on the ship included friendship bracelet exchanges, Taylor Swift trivia, dance parties, and Swiftie Karaoke.

What happens when someone goes overboard on a cruise ship?

While it’s extremely rare for a cruise passenger to go overboard on accident, cruise ships have procedures in place for any passenger that falls into the sea.

The “Man Overboard” call will instantly put the crew into search and rescue mode.  “Oscar Oscar Oscar” or “Code Oscar” will be heard over public loudspeakers on a cruise ship during these events.

As soon as the crew discover that someone has gone overboard, the captain will immediately try to turn the ship around and pinpoint the exact spot the person fell in.

The bridge will then contact the coast guard, and rescue boats will be deployed to search for the passenger.

The captain will also contact other vessels in the area to help with a search operation, and they are obligated to do so.

Although there are 20 incidents each year, most of these events can be traced back to passengers who fail to follow safety guidelines or willfully jumped off the ship.

It is unclear what circumstances surrounded this recent incident.  Even in the event of a person going overboard from a cruise ship, there is a chance of survival, and much of it depends on how quickly the crew is able to respond.

Cruise Fever will update this story as more information and updates become available.

Carnival Cruise Line has announced more short cruises to The Bahamas that depart from Florida in 2026-2027.

These new cruises will take place on three cruise ships that homeport in Miami and Port Canaveral. They range from three to five days with most of them visiting Carnival’s new port that is currently under construction in The Bahamas, Celebration Key.

Cruises from Miami

Carnival Conquest will continue to homeport in Miami offering mostly three- and four-day cruises to The Bahamas.

Three-day cruises will visit Celebration Key with the four-night sailings adding in a port stop at either Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays.

The cruise ship will also sail an 11-day Carnival Journeys cruise to the Southern Caribbean in January 2027.

Cruises from Port Canaveral

Carnival Freedom and Carnival Glory will sail shorter cruises to The Bahamas from Port Canaveral.

Carnival Glory will sail three-day weekend cruises that depart every Friday and four-day sailings that depart every Monday.

The three day cruises will visit Celebration Key with the four-night cruises alternating stops in Nassau, Celebration Key, Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay.

Carnival Freedom will offer four- and five-day cruises from the world’s busiest cruise port.

The four-day cruises will visit Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay with the five-day sailings adding a port stop in Nassau or Princess Cays.

Carnival Freedom will also offer two transatlantic Carnival Journeys cruises next year, with a 14-day voyage from Port Canaveral to Barcelona, with stops in Gibraltar as well as Malaga and Alicante in Spain, and a 13-day journey from Barcelona to Port Canaveral.

The ship will also sail an eight-day, round-trip Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona that visits Provence in France as well as Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples (Amalfi/Pompeii) in Italy and Valletta, Malta.

Carnival Cruise Line is planning an expansion to Half Moon Cay that will add more features and entertainment to the private island.

Fred Stein, vice president of itinerary planning for Carnival Cruise Line, said the following about these new cruises:

“These itineraries build out a key part of our 2026/27 schedule because they represent that quintessential, quick Carnival getaway from Florida to The Bahamas.

“These sailings give our guests many options to enjoy an escape, with all the vibrant onboard activities they know and love, plus a visit to the picturesque ports of The Bahamas, including our premier new destination Celebration Key.”

Gambling is not permitted on the Cayman Islands.   Historically, this restriction has been extended to cruise ships that pull into port as well.

But now, the territory is considering a proposal that would allow cruise ships to keep their casinos open, with the aim of keeping the vessels in port overnight.

According to news reports, Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism for the Cayman Islands, is pushing forward the proposal in an attempt to allure more cruise traffic to the area.

The initiative would allow cruise ships to keep their casinos open even while the vessels are anchored in Grand Cayman Island at George Town Harbour.

However, this plan will only go into effect if a new cruise pier is also approved.  That vote will take place at the same time as the general election for the Cayman Islands.

The real push here is for overnight stays.  Bryan is hopeful that ship’s staying over night will help spur the territories economy and bring more foot traffic to local businesses.

If the proposal is passed, cruise ships will still have designated times in which casinos would be open to make sure passengers have time to explore the area.

Local residents of the Cayman Islands would still not be allowed to gamble and security measures will control port access.

In the past, Grand Cayman has seen well over one million cruise passengers annually.  But the Tourism Ministry has recently stated that about 750,000 cruise passengers are expected to visit in all of 2024.

This move is an attempt to ramp up cruise traffic once again, and allow passengers to spend more time in port.

Revenue from the cruise industry is expected to drop by at least 4% every year after 2025, and that’s a major reason for this proposal.

“We cannot afford to ignore this reality any longer without consequences,” The Minister of Tourism said.

The general election in the Cayman Islands will take place in the early part of 2025.