Luxury Cruising Editorial

Just two weeks after we reported that Celebrity Cruises canceled a cruise because it had been chartered, Royal Caribbean has sent out a similar notification for Allure of the Seas.

Guests who had booked the March 7, 2027, sailing on the Oasis-class ship were sent notifications from the cruise line stating that their cruise was officially canceled.

The reason? The entire 5,718 double-capacity ship has been booked by a private charter.

The email from Royal Caribbean stated the following:

“We’re reaching out to let you know that, regrettably, we must cancel our March 7, 2027, Allure of the Seas sailing, as it has been chartered.”

The cruise line acknowledged it’s not ideal and apologized for the disruption to vacation plans.

Although it’s not the message you want to receive after weeks of planning and preparation for a cruise, Royal Caribbean is giving impacted guests a few options to sweeten the pot a bit.

Royal Caribbean is offering several options:

• Automatic rebooking on the March 21, 2027 sailing (same ship, same itinerary) with your original stateroom protected at the lower of your original fare or current pricing. The only different is that the cruise departs 2 weeks later.
• A nice onboard credit: $100 for interior/oceanview/balcony cabins, $200 for suites, plus $50 extra per third and additional guest.
• Full refund option with no penalties if you’d rather cancel and go a different route.
• Waived change fees and some help with non-refundable transportation costs (up to $200–$400 per person depending on domestic/international).

If you do nothing, they’ll move you over to the later sailing. Not perfect, especially if you had specific dates locked in because of your schedule’s availability, but it’s better than getting left high and dry.

So What’s Going On With All These Charters?

Private companies and groups have been chartering ships for years. It’s not a new thing. But they do seem to be popping up more often lately, especially on larger ships like Allure of the Seas and Celebrity Equinox.

Often charters are just for part of the ship, but I’ve been seeing more full ship charters taking over sailings in the last few months.

In this case, the ship has been chartered by Atlantis Events for an all-gay Caribbean cruise.

Is This Becoming More Common?

It’s not unheard of, but it’s happening more on popular ships and popular itineraries.

Cruise lines love the guaranteed revenue from a full charter, and with demand for private events growing, we might see a few more of these pop up in the coming years.

For any sailings that are at least a year out, it’s important to have those notifications from the cruise line turned on.  As we always say, it’s important to have flexible travel plans, and travel insurance is pretty much a must these days.

While Royal Caribbean is doing more than their fair share to compensate impacted cruisers in this case, other travel costs that you might have booked on your own might have to come out of pocket. That’s where “cancel for any reason” travel insurance can give you some peace of mind when you spend several thousand dollars on a much-needed vacation.

A viral video of a huge fight near customs in PortMiami has been spreading like wildfire online. After the arrival of Carnival Conquest, a massive brawl broke out that reportedly began between two families.

A cruise vacation is supposed to be a relaxing experience, and the goal is to come back refreshed and recharged. But for more than a dozen cruisers, it was the post-cruise customs line that set the stage for a massive fight.

By now, a few videos of the fight have surfaced. Phone cameras captured part of the fight as pushing, shoving, grappling, and punching ensued in the chaos of the moment.

According to news reports, two women started the fight. One dressed in a black dress went under a divider and began throwing fists at another woman in polka dot pajamas.

Another individual joined in the fight and grabbed the hair of one of the women.

The fighting individuals struggled to stay on their feet as the video shows them in their bare feet or just socks on the tile floor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection got involved to try to break up the fight even as several more people joined in the brawl and create even more chaos.

Besides fists and elbows, luggage was also flying. In one video a suitcase can be seen being tossed into the fray.

The fight went on for a few minutes before it was finally peaceful again, but the damage had been done for at least 16 people who are now banned from Carnival Cruise Line for life.

None of the people involved decided to press charges so no arrests were made. There is no clear answer as to what exactly started the fight, and no serious injuries were reported.

According to a statement sent to DailyMail, the cruise line stated,

“The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of US Customs and Border Patrol. We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter. We do not tolerate such behavior.”

The incident does not seem to have impacted the next cruise on Carnival Conquest as the 2,980 double-capacity ship was able to leave on schedule on a 4-day sailing to The Bahamas.

In today’s earnings call, Carnival Corporation announced that they actually cut fuel consumption by 5.6% to help combat rising fuel costs.

Even though the cruise line’s stock is down along with the overall market today, the numbers on the top and bottom line were surprisingly good.

High gas prices are bad news for cruise operators.  And with the price of a barrel of oil spiking in the last couple months due to the conflict in Iran, cruise lines have had to get creative in order to maintain profit margins.

Combating Higher Oil Prices

Let’s look at Carnival’s (CCL) actual net income, keeping in mind that Carnival Corp is the parent company of cruise lines like Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Cunard Line, P&O Cruises, and of course Carnival Cruise Line.

On the company’s earnings call today, Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein gave some insight into the brand’s ability to keep profits growing despite the major energy headwinds, saying:

“Net income of $569 million was more than 20% higher than the prior year, despite a nearly 30% increase in our fuel price.”

Walking away with a 20% profit jump when your fuel bill spikes by almost a third is a pretty impressive feat. It shows that the company is finding ways to run smarter and save money where it counts.

The Battle for Efficiency

A major part of that savings came directly from the engine rooms and navigation bridges.

Carnival did not just luck into these numbers. They actively cut back on how much fuel their ships burn.

CEO Josh Weinstein emphasized this focus on efficiency during the call, pointing out that this quarter’s success builds on previous conservation efforts:

“Fuel efficiency improved by more than 5%, building on last year’s over 6% efficiency gain and further supporting our cost performance. What stands out most is that we achieved these results despite operating through a period of extreme geopolitical volatility, consumer sentiment at historically low levels, and unusually high fuel prices.”

David Bernstein later clarified exactly how much this specific green initiative padded the bottom line, adding that part of their financial outperformance “came from improvements in depreciation expense and fuel consumption, where we delivered an over 5% year-over-year reduction.”

Back in 2022, Carnival signed a major fleet-wide deal to aggressively roll out air lubrication systems.  This is a tech that basically pumps a continuous layer of tiny bubbles under the ship’s hull so it glides through the water with way less friction.  This means better fuel efficiency.

On top of that, they are using automated “Power Saver Packs” across the fleet. These are upgrades that overhaul the ship’s heating and air conditioning systems to run much more efficiently.

Even small changes, when rolled out across more than 90 ships across all brands, can make a big difference.

Guidance

While Carnival did move their full-year earnings expectations up by a tiny penny, they also had to admit that ongoing global tensions are forcing itinerary changes in Europe. And this is putting pressure on their upcoming revenue.

David Bernstein noted that “Cruise costs without fuel per ALBD are now expected to be up approximately 1.3% on a normalized basis…” for the full year.

When investors see upcoming costs creeping up while future growth is being trimmed, they get a little nervous.

What This Means for Your Next Cruise

For the average cruiser, this is exactly what you want to hear. When a cruise line figures out how to absorb a 30% spike in oil prices through pure efficiency and smart cost control, it protects the consumer from higher fare prices, or at least it should.

It means they don’t have to slap high fuel surcharges onto your booking or hike up other prices to keep their heads above water.

Just a couple months ago StarDream Cruises announced they were adding a $19 to $26 per person fuel surcharge for their Asian itineraries. The big 3 cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian) have stated they have no plans to add a fuel surcharge.

So far, it looks like Carnival is filling ships (at 104% occupancy from this earnings report), passengers are spending money, and the fleet is fairly lean.

A cruiser had his passport stolen in Rome just days before he was supposed to hop on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. He missed the first day of his vacation but still managed to catch up with the ship and board successfully at the second port.

Here’s how it all happened and how you can make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

At Cruise Fever, we get questions all the time about passports. The most common point of contention is whether or not you should carry it with you off the ship. And in most cases, it really depends on the port.

The cruiser in this case shared the whole experience on a Reddit thread in r/Cruise, hoping it would help others who might face the same nightmare situation.

 “I had a hard time finding any advice online that was helpful, so posting in case someone in the future experiences this and needs help,” he wrote.

His bag was on the ground at an outdoor cafe table while he sat on a low wall reading the menu. We might see this as the first problem.

Someone at the next table used their leg to subtly pull the bag closer. “I never saw or heard anything until I realized the bag was gone.”

And of course, the traveler’s passport and other important items were in the bag.

The timing could not have been worse. It was an American holiday weekend, which meant the U.S. Embassy was closed.

The emergency hotline mostly led to automated recordings, and the live operators he managed to reach were not very helpful. He had no choice but to wait until Monday morning to go to the embassy in person.

Once at the embassy, things moved much faster. “The process was simple enough,” he said. He brought a police report, his driver’s license, a photo of the stolen passport, and his travel plans.

They issued an emergency passport the same day. He quickly flew to Catania, caught up with the ship, and guest services helped him check in.

He also learned an important lesson about cruise lines: You need to notify them right away so they hold your reservation.

They would not confirm he could board later until they knew he had a replacement passport physically in hand.

What to Do If This Happens to You

If you lose your passport abroad right before or during a cruise, you must stay calm and act quickly. Here are the exact steps you need to take:

• File a police report immediately: You will need this official documentation for the embassy and potential insurance claims.
• Contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or consulate: Go as soon as they open. Bring photos of your documents, any secondary ID you still have, and your full travel itinerary.
• Notify your cruise line or travel agent right away: Keep detailed notes and be persistent, as different customer service reps may give different answers. They must know you have valid travel documents before they will clear you to board at a later port.

One traveler who went through something similar years ago said that while getting in touch can be stressful, the embassy staff are typically very helpful once you actually get through to them.

Real-World Advice from Fellow Cruisers

From the comments in the original thread, experienced cruisers offered real-world advice for protecting your belongings in high-theft areas (like Rome).

One traveler wrote, “I usually just keep my bag/sling on my lap at restaurants with high theft.”

Another recommended, “Bags go between my feet and wrapped around one of my legs.”

Many suggested ditching traditional bags entirely in favor of a theft-resistant crossbody bag with locking zippers, a neck pouch worn under your shirt, or a thin money belt or fanny pack concealed under clothing.

“Always keep your passport, credit cards, and all your money on your body,” one person advised.

Protecting Your Documents

As a travel writer who has covered the cruise industry and global tourism for years, I would add two important things to this list:

First, always make color copies of your passport and important documents before you leave home. Store digital copies securely in your email or on a cloud drive accessible from your phone.

Having these digital backups makes getting a replacement at an embassy significantly faster.

Second, never underestimate the value of travel insurance that covers trip interruption and document replacement. It can provide peace of mind (something you overlook until you start stressing out) and often covers the extra costs of last-minute flights and hotels required to catch up with your ship.

The original poster didn’t say how much money was spent to catch up with the ship in this case, but I’m sure it wasn’t cheap since it was last minute.

Popular European ports like Rome, Barcelona, and Paris are famous for highly skilled pickpockets.

While a photo of your passport on your phone might work at some tourist attractions, countries like Italy require you to carry actual, physical ID. Do not take chances with it.

Losing your passport in a foreign country can be scary, but this story proves it does not have to end your vacation or be the end of the world.

File the report, get to the embassy early, communicate constantly with the cruise line, and use smarter ways to carry your valuables. A little extra caution goes a long way.

My biggest tip is just to always be aware of your surroundings, especially in crowded or extra touristy areas. Assume your bag or wallet is a target.

This doesn’t have to ruin your vacation though. You still want to marvel at ancient ruins and majestic sites without constant worry. That’s why making a habit of keeping your bag or wallet protected should become second nature.