Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to guests impacted by an itinerary change for Carnival Spirit for 2025-2026 sailings.
Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up
Carnival Spirit. Photo Credit: Cruise Fever
The Bahamian port of Bimini has been removed from 10 different sailings on the vessel, including sailing that range from November 8, 2025, to March of 2026.
The following sail dates on Carnival Spirit have had Bimini removed from the itinerary:
November 8, 2025
November 22,2025
December 6, 2025
December 20, 2025
December 28, 2025
January 31, 2026
February 14, 2026
February 28, 2026
March 14, 2026
March 28, 2026
These are all 8-night sailings on Carnival Spirit that are scheduled to sail out of Mobile, Alabama.
It should be noted that Bimini is still on itineraries for the ship’s 6-night voyages.
No reason has been stated for the port of call change, but most of the sailings will still be visiting the other scheduled ports on the itineraries, some of which include Princess Cays, Nassau, Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay.
The cruise line has stated that any guests who booked shore excursions on Bimini will see a full refund.
Built in 2000, Carnival Spirit is a 2,124-passenger vessel currently sailing out of Seattle for Alaska voyages.
The ship will move to Mobile’s cruise port in October of 2024 where it will offer a variety of durations for sailings until another Alaskan season in April of 2025.
Viking, the world’s largest river cruise line, took delivery of another ship that is custom built for the Nile River in Egypt.
Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up
One of Viking’s 82 passenger ships custom built for the Nile River. Photo Credit: Viking
Viking took delivery of Viking Hathor in a ceremony that took place in Cairo. The ship will join sister ships Viking Osiris and Viking Aton in offering the cruise line’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary. Viking now has total of five ships sailing in Egypt.
The ship holds 82 guests in 41 cabins and has the same elegant Scandinavian design that Viking cruise ships are known for.
This 12-day itinerary starts with a three-night stay in a hotel in Cairo so guests can visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Sakkara, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, or the Grand Egyptian Museum.
After the stay in Cairo, they will then fly to Luxor to visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding the ship for an eight night cruise on the Nile River.
Visits on the cruise include:
Tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens
Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings
Excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna
Dendera Temple complex in Qena
Temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan
A Visit to a colorful Nubian village
After the cruise, guests will fly back to Cairo for one final night in a hotel.
Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, gave the following statement:
“We are proud to welcome the Viking Hathor to our award-winning river fleet. With its abundance of cultural treasures and ancient antiquities, Egypt has always been a destination of great interest to curious travelers, including our guests.
“We believe our ships are by far the most elegant vessels sailing the Nile River, and we look forward to introducing even more explorers to this fantastic destination in the years to come.”
Guests can extend their trip with a three-night stay in Istanbul or a four-night extension to Jordan, Dead Sea & Amman.
Star Clippers cruises are pretty different from regular cruises, and so you may be wondering what people wear on board…
While Star Clippers is a luxury cruise line, the atmosphere on board the ships is relaxed and casual. There are no formal nights, and you certainly won’t be needing your ball gown or tuxedo.
That said, you don’t want to be too casual in the evenings either, as the dining room is beautiful with dark wood, crisp white tablecloths and fresh flowers on every table.
To make it easy for you, here are photos of everything I wore on my four-night cruise on Royal Clipper in the Mediterranean in summer.
Travel outfit
I took a 6 am flight from the UK and boarded the ship at 4 pm in Civitavecchia, Italy. So I needed something that was comfortable and adaptable for the temperature.
I opted for some flowy 3/4 length trousers and a white vest, both from New Look. I also had a denim jacket that I wore until I stepped of the plane.
Lifejacket
On a Star Clippers cruise, you have to put on your lifejacket when you go to the Muster Drill. This is pretty unusual as on most ships you leave it in your cabin. Still, I found this quite fun and also very reassuring that I know how to put it on and do up the straps!
Daytime outfits
The daytime dress code is always casual, so you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in. The Mediterranean can be very hot in the summer, particularly for us Brits who just aren’t used to the heat!
I opted for another white vest, this time with some comfortable loose shorts, both from Temu.
Temu is an online marketplace that’s similar to Shein or AliExpress. The clothes are ridiculously cheap, and these shorts cost about £3. Most of the clothes are good quality though, and if you have any issues then returns are really easy.
Excursion Outfits
A Star Clippers cruise is as much about the places you visit as it is about the ship, and you can expect to visit some fascinating places.
I booked a walking tour, so I wanted to make sure I was wearing trainers to be as comfortable as possible. I also wore a patterned vest and denim shorts from New Look.
Swimwear
If you’re cruising somewhere hot, you’ll definitely need your swimsuit. Royal Clipper has two pools and the other Star Clippers ships have two. They’re more plunge-pool size than swimming size, but they offer a lovely way to cool off.
Royal Clipper also has a watersports platform at the back of the ship, so if you plan on joing waterskiing or wakeboarding, then bear that in mind when choosing your swimwear.
A swimsuit coverup is also a good idea. Lunch is served in the main dining room, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re dry and suitably dressed for that. I love this white shirt from Matalan.
You’ll also want to keep the sun off your face. I love this sun visor from Seaspray.
Activewear
Royal Clipper has a small gym on board. The other ships don’t but they do all have gym classes available in the morning. If you like to keep active on holiday, don’t forget to pack your gym kit.
One of the highlights of my cruise on Royal Clipper was climbing the mast! For this, you’ll need closed-toed shoes. I didn’t actually use the gym or go to any gym classes, but the gym clothes still came in handy for the climb!
Evening Outfits
I love this sundress from Temu. So much so that I bought it in several colours! It’s flattering, extremely comfortable and I love that I can wear it in the daytime as well as the evening.
If you’d like to dress up a little more, you certainly can. On another evening, I wore this printed dress that I bought a few years ago from Sainsbury’s.
White Night Outfit
Every Star Clippers cruise has a white night and most people dress in white, although you don’t have to.
I wore this white dress that I got from Temu. I rarely have time to go clothes shopping and searching for a white dress in town could take all day! I love that I can just search on the Temu app and have one in minutes.
Star Clippers Dress Code
So, there you have all the things I wore on my cruise. Of course, everyone has their own style, but I think I fit in pretty well with the other guests. The main thing is that you wear what you’re comfortable in.
The only rule is that in the evening, “gentlemen should wear long trousers, shirts with collars and sleeves”. However, this isn’t strictly enforced, so if you wear tailored shorts, nice shoes and a nice shirt, you won’t be turned away.
Of course, you’ll also want to think about the weather during your cruise. And be mindful that it can always be unpredictable. Even in the middle of summer, you may experience heavy rain, so check the forecast and pack accordingly.
Related Posts:
If you found this interesting, please share!
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
You don’t have to have an expired passport to be denied boarding on a cruise ship. In fact, in most cases if your passport expires less than 6 months from the sailing date, you will be left at the pier.
Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up
That’s right. Even if your passport is ‘almost expired’ your ship could sail without you.
If you travel a lot, it can be easy to take your passport for granted and not even think of the expiration date as long as you see it’s still valid.
But since many people plan cruises a year in advance, they can overlook that expiration date relative to the actual cruise sailing dates.
I recently talked with a family that was excited about an upcoming cruise. But as they told me about the details of the cruise, it came up that their passports expired within a few months of the cruise sailing date.
I immediately told them they need to get on a renewal as soon as possible.
Of course, a closed-loop cruise (a cruise start starts and ends in a U.S. port) only requires a photo ID and birth certificate, but who really wants to travel with a birth certificate?
Since passport renewals take time (often longer than we anticipate), I recommend renewing them during those quiet travel periods of our lives, even if it’s still good for a while longer.
Here are some of the biggest mistakes people make in regards to their almost expired passport.
Photo credit: Cruise Fever
1. Assuming it’s valid
A U.S. passport is good for 10 years after it’s renewed. While a decade is a long time, it also means we aren’t used to renewing passports, and time slips away faster than we realize before it’s due again.
It’s easy to assume our passports are still valid because “it wasn’t that long ago” that we had it renewed, right? When planning a cruise, check the date on your passport and make sure it doesn’t expire within 6 months of the sailing.
By the way, for a child, passports are only good for 5 years, so if you’re going on a cruise with your family it’s important to check those passports as well.
2. Not Renewing with enough time
Before I renew my passport, I always look at the average wait times. This will vary at different times of the year. Shortly after the shutdowns, wait times were ridiculously long, and a lot of people missed their planned trips because of it.
You can choose to expedite the process time as well and that is currently estimated at 2 to 3 weeks.
Keep in mind that this does not include mailing times but the time it will take for your passport to be processed once it’s received.
A third option for urgent passport renewals requires making an appointment with a passport agency. You should only choose this option if you have a planned trip within the next 2 weeks.
These estimated wait times should be taken with a grain of salt, however. You may get your passport back in a couple weeks or it could be a couple of months. The point is to make sure you have plenty of time in case there is a delay.
Also, don’t confuse processing time with delivery time. When filling out the form online you will see an option for a 1-2 day delivery of your passport for an extra cost. But this does not speed up the processing time as that requires the expedited option as well (currently $60).
When your passport is renewed you will send in your old passport. This means you won’t have a passport at all for a period of time.
If you don’t send it in, you are just making the process last longer as you will have to submit everything again.
Accordint to the travel.state.gov website these are the required documents for renewal:
Form DS-82, completed and signed
Most recent U.S. passport. Note: if renewing by mail or in person, send us your most recent passport. If renewing online, keep your most recent passport.
Passport photo
If changing your name, certified copy of your legal name change document. Note: you must renew by mail or in person if you are changing your name. You cannot renew online at this time.
4. Applying for a passport card since it’s cheaper
Passport cards are a little cheaper, and a lot of cruisers ask about using them for cruise travel instead of a book.
While most cruise lines have stated that passport cards can be used for land crossings or sea port entry when arriving from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean, these cards cannot be used for international air travel.
I recommend just having the passport book because if something happens while on your cruise and you have to fly back home, you will need your passport book to get on the plane.
Having a passport card is basically like having your photo ID and birth certificate. It’s fine for Caribbean cruises as long as you don’t need to take an international flight.
I know a few cruisers who use a passport card for most of their cruises and they say it works for them. In my opinion, it’s worth it for the peace of mind if I have the passport book instead.
5. Sending in a beat-up passport
If you travel a lot, your passport can get damaged pretty easily. Shoving your passport into your pockets and suitcases over and over again can take its toll.
But you can’t renew a passport if it’s damaged too badly.
What is considered “damaged”?
According to the travel.state.gov website normal “wear and tear” is fine. Any passport book that has this kind of damage could be denied though:
Water stains
A significant tear
Unofficial markings on the data page
Missing visa pages (torn out)
A hole punch, or other injuries
If there is this kind of damage with your passport you will have to apply for a new one. And since a new passport can take even longer, I recommend you take care of those little booklets.
6. Not knowing some destinations could have different requirements
Some countries have different validity requirements for passports. These requirements will differ based on the destination but could require your passport to be valid for another twelve months from the cruise date instead of just six.
Do research on the countries you will visit to make sure you will not have any issues.
It’s important to know that some countries only require a passport to be valid for another 3 months or even a shorter period of time. But for almost every cruise line, you will need at least 6 months of validity even if the destination has a shorter period of time required.
Some longer cruises or even world cruises will require that your passport is valid for longer than 6 months as well, so always check with your cruise line ahead of time.
Bottom Line
It’s always an uneasy feeling when waiting for your passport to come back and you have an upcoming cruise. Just know that if your passport does not come back in time and you’re traveling on a closed-loop cruise you can still just use your birth certificate and photo ID and be fine.
It’s just more of a hassle. You also better make sure you make it back to the ship on time when visiting one of the foreign ports of call.
If you have a few months where you don’t have any travel plans, why not break out all of the passports in the family and check those expiration dates. It might be a good time to apply for renewal so you don’t have to worry about it again for another 10 years.
If you need to check the status of your passport you can do so here at passportstatus.state.gov.
Royal Caribbean has unveiled some details of what guests can expect onboard Star of the Seas when she launches in August 2025.
The second Icon-class ship will sail from Port Canaveral, and is being aimed as a rival not just to other cruise ships, but also Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida, with the cruise line explaining that it wants to offer an experience at sea that draws people away from the theme parks.
As a result, there are some changes planned for Star of the Seas compared to her sister Icon, which Royal Caribbean has now started to reveal.
One of the biggest changes will be to the Surfside area, with several small adjustments made to alter the target age of this neighborhood on the ship. On Icon of the Seas, this area is very much aimed at 0-6 year olds (and parents), but that age group will increase up to 10-year-olds to challenge the theme park demographics.
This will include new features for Splashaway Bay and the Playscape, and embracing the fact that the Water’s Edge pool on Icon has become more of an extension to the kids’ pools rather than a separate area for parents, as was originally intended.
The kids’ clubs will see some changes too, with more of a focus on analog play for Adventure Ocean, instead of just video games (though those will remain), and better meet-up and independent spaces for teens.
Parts of the ship will get an updated look and feel, with new multi-colour lighting for The Pearl, and updates to the Ultimate Family Townhouse suite.
And in terms of dining, Pier 7 will be overhauled, there’ll be slight changes to the AquaDome Market, and Icon’s Empire Supper Club will become the Lincoln Park Supper Club with more of a Chicago theme.
One really cool feature to be added will be facial recognition for staterooms, although it will be a pilot programme only for a select few staterooms, with no specifics on which ones yet. But opening your door without needing your keycard – provided it’s reliable – will be great, especially if you’re carrying sleepy kids back to the room!
Expect more details on the ship to be revealed as we get closer to her arrival later in 2025.
Don’t worry though, dog fans – the ship will have a resident dog onboard just like Icon. Sailor is their name!
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
Don’t miss the latest Royal Caribbean offers…
Related posts
If you found this interesting, please share!
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
A victim of credit fraud has shared their story of how their parents managed to open credit cards in their name in order to pay for cruise holidays. Sharing their…
Extinction Rebellion, the protest group that has become noted for performing large-scale stunts as part of its movement, continues to cause problems for cruise ships around Amsterdam. Following protests that…
Carnival Cruise Line has notified guests who had booked a cruise on Carnival Liberty that their voyage has been cancelled, due to the ship being chartered. Many guests had already…
Guests embarking on a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas were greeted by a major plumbing issue with no running water onboard. According to a guest who posted…
Royal Caribbean has released the first details on Star of the Seas, their next new cruise ship that will debut in 2025. The vessel is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland.
Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up
Royal Caribbean is the world’s largest cruise line with 28 ships in service. Their 29th ship, Star of the Seas, will offer cruises to the Caribbean from Port Canaveral starting in August 2025.
Star of the Seas will be a sister ship to Icon of the Seas, the current world’s largest cruise ship that debuted earlier this year. You can watch a short video below showing many of the great features that this cruise ship will have.
New features that debuted on Icon of the Seas will also be added to Star of the Seas. This includes Lincoln Park Supper Club, a 1930s Chicago-inspired spin on the supper club experience that pairs multiple courses with live entertainment.
Central Park is one of the most popular neighborhoods on Royal Caribbean cruise ships
Star of the Seas will be divided up into eight neighborhoods:
Thrill Island
Chill Island
Surfside
AquaDome
The Hideaway
Royal Promenade
Central Park
Suite Neighborhood
Surfside is a neighborhood for young families
Star of the Seas will have six waterslides, seven swimming pools and over 40 dining/beverage options.
Central Park will have 30,500 live plants and several dining options that include pick-up windows for sushi and champagne.
The AquaDome consists of the AquaDome Market food hall, lounge setting with ocean views, and the marquee AquaTheater. The AquaTheater will offer unique shows that include high divers, aerialists, robots and dancers.
Royal Promenade on Star of the Seas
Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International, gave the following statement about this new ship:
“Star of the Seas is the second bold act of this exciting, new era of vacations first introduced with Icon of the Seas, and it’s putting the world’s best vacation on the map at yet another top travel destination.”
“Between Miami and Port Canaveral (Orlando), more adventurers than ever can set their sights on the only vacation that combines the best of all vacations – from the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure – with experiences that have and will continue to make headlines and memories for years to come.”
Star of the Seas will sail her maiden voyage on August 31, 2025. This seven night cruise from Port Canaveral will visit Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and CocoCay.
The ship will offer cruises to both the Eastern and Western Caribbean. All cruises will visit Royal Caribbean’s award winning private island in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Construction officially began on a new $151 million cruise ship terminal in Galveston, Texas that will convert an existing cargo warehouse into a cruise terminal.
Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up
The new terminal at Pier 16 will be used by MSC Seascape when it opens in November 2025. It will include a 165,000 square foot terminal and a new parking garage that will cost $55 million.
The terminal will have a spacious check-in area that will allow for passengers to wait in comfort until they board their ship.
New cruise terminal at Pier 16 in Galveston will be used by MSC Cruises
Rick Sasso, chairman of MSC Cruises U.S., said that the groundbreaking for the terminal marks a significant milestone in the cruise line’s ongoing U.S. expansion. It will be the fourth homeport in the country for MSC.
The Port of Galveston expects to have more than two million cruise passengers a year in 2026 after this fourth terminal opens.
Cruise Terminal 16 will include a lounge for MSC Yacht Club guests to enjoy during the embarkation process
Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO, said the following about construction starting on the new terminal:
“We have so much to celebrate today with this milestone and what it means to our community, cruise guests and port partners. This beautiful new terminal will generate jobs and economic growth for the region, an exciting new cruise choice for our market, and growth opportunities for our port partners.
“We also want to take this opportunity to give a warm, Texas-sized welcome to MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise line. Having a cruise line of this stature homeporting in Galveston says a great deal about our position in the U.S. and global cruise markets.”
MSC Cruises is also building the largest cruise terminal in North America. This massive new terminal is located in Miami and is scheduled to open next spring.
A victim of credit fraud has shared their story of how their parents managed to open credit cards in their name in order to pay for cruise holidays.
Sharing their story on Reddit, the person explained how they received a letter from a collection agency that wanted to work out a payment plan for more than $10,000 of credit card debt.
They did some investigating and realised it wasn’t a scam, working out that their parents must have opened the credit card in their name due to the address being on every bit of correspondence.
While their parents initially denied it, they eventually relented and explained they had intended to pay the cards off themselves, but the payments became too high. They also admitted to opening credit cards in the Reddit user’s siblings’ names.
What’s even worse is that they advised their child to file for bankruptcy, but only once the parents had time to open up more credit cards in their children’s names first!
Unfortunately, the user has since deleted their Reddit account so we won’t get closure on the story, but hopefully, they were able to get the debt removed from their credit file.
As amazing as cruise holidays are, don’t commit credit fraud in order to pay for them!
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
Don’t miss these hot cruise offers…
Related posts
If you found this interesting, please share!
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
Extinction Rebellion, the protest group that has become noted for performing large-scale stunts as part of its movement, continues to cause problems for cruise ships around Amsterdam. Following protests that…
Carnival Cruise Line has notified guests who had booked a cruise on Carnival Liberty that their voyage has been cancelled, due to the ship being chartered. Many guests had already…
Guests embarking on a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas were greeted by a major plumbing issue with no running water onboard. According to a guest who posted…
2024 has a lot to be excited about, including some brand-new cruise ships! I mean you can tell from the title – we still have 10 ships due to launch…
There are a total of 192 departure dates to choose from. The cruise line has two ships in their fleet and both homeport in Florida.
Islander is the latest ship to join Margaritaville at Sea’s fleet
Margaritaville at Sea Islander offers cruises from Tampa while Margaritaville at Sea Paradise sails from the Port of Palm Beach.
Here is how this deal works:
Book a double occupancy stateroom, get one guest free
Book a triple stateroom, two guests come free
Book a quad stateroom, three guests come free
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th guests in a cabin just have to pay port taxes and fees, their cruise fare will be $0.
Not all cabins accommodate three and four guests in them. The number of available $0 guest fares is limited by the maximum number of guests a stateroom can accommodate in the desired stateroom category.
Margaritaville at Sea is calling this their best cruise sale of the year. You can see a complete list of all cruises included in this sale and prices for each here.
For complete terms and details of this special cruise deal from Margaritaville at Sea, you can check out their website here.
Extinction Rebellion, the protest group that has become noted for performing large-scale stunts as part of its movement, continues to cause problems for cruise ships around Amsterdam.
Following protests that already affected Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas and the luxury cruise ship Seven Seas Mariner, two more ships have been impacted by the group this week.
Firstly, Ambassador Cruise Line was forced to alter its itinerary for the ship Ambition, and avoid the port of Amsterdam altogether, instead re-routing the ship to the nearby port of Ijmuiden.
This was due to anticipated protests which the cruise line became aware of, so it took precautionary action.
The result was that guests who wanted to visit Amsterdam were forced to take a longer bus journey into the city of around an hour, although the cruise line did at least provide complimentary transfers for those guests.
Extinction Rebellion had a more significant impact on another Royal Caribbean ship Serenade of the Seas, forcing this ship to be delayed in the locks due to the protests.
Serenade of the Seas had originally been due to sail to Bergen in Norway on the day in question, but changed plans to try to get ahead of the protestors.
However, that failed, and the ship was eventually able to dock at Amsterdam after a delay of several hours.
Serenade of the Seas is currently on the final leg of her epic 274-night world cruise, which has experienced drama and controversy already as the so-called ‘TikTok cruise’, and is due to complete the sailing on 10th September in Miami.
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
Don’t miss these hot cruise offers…
Related posts
If you found this interesting, please share!
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
Carnival Cruise Line has notified guests who had booked a cruise on Carnival Liberty that their voyage has been cancelled, due to the ship being chartered. Many guests had already…
Guests embarking on a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas were greeted by a major plumbing issue with no running water onboard. According to a guest who posted…
2024 has a lot to be excited about, including some brand-new cruise ships! I mean you can tell from the title – we still have 10 ships due to launch…
A cruise ship caught fire while docked in Jeju, South Korea this week, with three crew members injured as a result. The Adora Mediterranea, sailing for Chinese-American cruise line Adora…
