Thirteen passengers aged between 18 and 20 have been charged following a violent fight aboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Smeralda during an overnight sailing to Palermo.
The confrontation involved two groups of young passengers and reportedly began close to the ship’s nightclub before spreading through corridors and into an elevator area. Italian media reported that tables, chairs and other objects were used during the disturbance.
One passenger was taken to hospital for medical examinations after the incident, although serious injuries were reportedly ruled out.
Fight Spreads Through Cruise Ship
The altercation took place while Costa Smeralda was sailing between Naples and Palermo. According to Italian reports, one group involved was from the Lecce area in southern Italy and had joined the cruise in Civitavecchia, while the other was from Sicily and had embarked in Palermo.
The dispute is reported to have started after a comment was directed towards a young woman near the ship’s nightclub. What began as a verbal argument subsequently escalated into a physical confrontation.
The disturbance did not remain confined to the area where it began. Those involved moved through the ship’s corridors before the confrontation continued near the elevators.
During the incident, one young passenger was reportedly attacked while lying unconscious on the floor. Crew members intervened to bring the situation under control and authorities were notified.
Video footage of the disturbance subsequently circulated online, showing parts of the confrontation aboard the ship.
Police Review Surveillance Footage
Officers from the Maritime Border Police began investigating after Costa Smeralda arrived in Palermo.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from aboard the ship to reconstruct the sequence of events and establish the identities of those believed to have been involved.
Thirteen passengers, all aged between 18 and 20, were subsequently reported to the authorities in connection with aggravated brawling. Italian reports published on 15th September 2026 confirmed the investigation and the action taken against the young passengers.
The passenger who required medical attention was transported to hospital for checks following the confrontation. Medical examinations reportedly found no serious injuries.
Costa Smeralda is one of the largest ships in the Costa Cruises fleet. The Italian-flagged vessel measures approximately 337 metres in length and operates Mediterranean cruises that include regular calls at Italian ports.
Royal Caribbean International has selected retired U.S. Air Force General Lori J. Robinson as godmother of Legend of the Seas, the cruise line’s third Icon Class vessel.
The historic appointment celebrates Robinson’s trailblazing military career whilst honouring American veterans through a naming ceremony scheduled for Veterans Day 2026.
General Robinson’s selection marks a significant moment for both Royal Caribbean and the wider cruise industry. The retired four-star general served the United States Air Force with distinction for 37 years, beginning her career in 1981 and continuing through her retirement in 2018.
During her decorated service, Robinson shattered numerous glass ceilings and achieved several historic firsts within the American military establishment. Her leadership positions included serving as commander of Pacific Air Forces from 2014 to 2016, overseeing operations across one of the world’s most strategically important regions.
Robinson’s most groundbreaking achievement came when she became the first woman to lead a major combatant command in U.S. military history. This unprecedented appointment demonstrated not only her exceptional capabilities but also represented a watershed moment for women in military service worldwide.
Veterans Day Ceremony Adds Profound Significance
The naming ceremony for Legend of the Seas will take place on 11th November 2026 at Fort Lauderdale, Florida – a date that carries deep meaning beyond the maritime tradition.
This date coincides with Veterans Day, the annual American observance honouring all military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
The timing transforms what would already be a significant event into something far more meaningful. By scheduling the ceremony on Veterans Day, Royal Caribbean creates an opportunity to recognise generations of service members whilst celebrating its newest vessel.
“I am deeply honoured to be named godmother of Legend of the Seas and take part in such a special tradition for Royal Caribbean alongside my family,” Robinson stated.
“Having the ship’s naming ceremony on Veterans Day makes this especially meaningful to me, and I look forward to recognising the generations of men and women who have served.”
Legend Of The Seas Journey To Fort Lauderdale
Legend of the Seas officially entered service on 4th July 2026, another symbolically significant American date. The 248,663-gross-tonne vessel spent its inaugural season sailing European waters, showcasing Royal Caribbean’s latest innovations to Mediterranean and Northern European markets.
The ship is scheduled to reposition from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale with a 13-night transatlantic crossing departing 25th October 2026. This voyage will transport Legend across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at its Florida homeport on 7th November 2026 – just four days before the naming ceremony.
Following its arrival, Legend will operate one preview cruise before the official naming event. This 3-night voyage departs 8th November and includes a call at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s exclusive private island destination in the Bahamas, before returning at 6:00 a.m. on 11th November, perfectly timed ahead of the ceremony.
The Godmother Tradition In Maritime History
The tradition of selecting a godmother for a ship dates back centuries in maritime culture. This custom carries deep significance within seafaring communities, with the godmother serving as a symbolic guardian who bestows blessings and good fortune upon the vessel, its crew, and all who sail aboard.
As godmother, General Robinson will perform the ceremonial duties during the naming event, officially blessing Legend of the Seas and wishing prosperity for all future voyages. She will be joined by Royal Caribbean executives, crew members, and specially invited guests at the Florida port for this momentous occasion.
The godmother role transcends mere ceremonial function – it creates a lasting bond between the individual and the ship. Many cruise lines maintain ongoing relationships with their godmothers, who often return for milestone celebrations and special events throughout a vessel’s service life.
Distinguished Company Among Icon Class Godparents
General Robinson joins an impressive roster of godparents for Royal Caribbean’s revolutionary Icon Class series. Each selection reflects the cruise line’s commitment to partnering with individuals who embody excellence, achievement, and inspiration across diverse fields.
Icon of the Seas, the class’s inaugural vessel which launched in January 2024, named international football legend Lionel Messi as godfather.
The Argentine superstar, widely considered amongst the greatest footballers of all time, brought global attention to Royal Caribbean’s largest ship when it debuted.
Star of the Seas, the second Icon Class vessel which entered service earlier in 2026, selected Kellie Gerardi as godmother. The research astronaut and science communicator represents the intersection of exploration, innovation, and inspiration – values that align closely with Royal Caribbean’s brand identity.
Legend Of The Seas Specifications And Features
Legend of the Seas represents the third iteration of Royal Caribbean’s groundbreaking Icon Class design. At 248,663 gross tonnes, the vessel continues the line’s tradition of building progressively larger and more innovative ships whilst introducing refinements based on operational experience from its sister ships.
The ship accommodates 5,610 guests at double occupancy, offering one of the industry’s highest passenger capacities. This scale allows Royal Caribbean to deliver an extraordinary range of dining venues, entertainment options, and recreational facilities that would be impossible on smaller vessels.
Legend incorporates the signature features that have made the Icon Class celebrated within the cruise industry. These include multiple neighbourhood concepts, revolutionary entertainment venues, diverse dining options ranging from casual to specialty restaurants, and cutting-edge recreational facilities that push the boundaries of what’s possible at sea.
The vessel’s design emphasises both energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, incorporating the latest technologies to minimise its ecological footprint whilst delivering an exceptional guest experience. Royal Caribbean has invested heavily in sustainable cruising initiatives across its fleet, and the Icon Class represents the pinnacle of these efforts.
Fort Lauderdale Caribbean Programme Launches
Following the naming ceremony, Legend of the Seas will operate a special 3-night “Legend Naming Cruise” departing 11th November. This celebratory voyage offers guests the unique opportunity to sail aboard the newly christened vessel immediately after the official ceremony, creating a memorable connection to the historic event.
The ship will then commence its regular Caribbean programme on 14th November 2026. Legend will sail a series of Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale throughout the winter season, offering guests access to the region’s most popular destinations and Royal Caribbean’s private island experiences.
This deployment strategy mirrors the successful approach Royal Caribbean has employed with Icon and Star of the Seas. By positioning these massive vessels in the Caribbean market, the cruise line ensures strong demand from both North American cruise enthusiasts and international travellers seeking warm-weather getaways.
Legend’s Fort Lauderdale season will continue through April 2027, when the vessel is scheduled to reposition back to Barcelona. This transatlantic crossing will mark the beginning of Legend’s second European summer season, establishing a pattern of seasonal deployments that maximises the ship’s appeal across different markets.
Industry Impact And Future Implications
General Robinson’s appointment as godmother reflects Royal Caribbean’s evolving approach to these high-profile selections. Whilst cruise lines have traditionally chosen celebrities, royalty, or company executives for godparent roles, there’s growing recognition of the value in partnering with individuals whose achievements extend beyond entertainment.
By selecting a retired military general – and particularly one who broke such significant barriers during her service – Royal Caribbean makes a statement about the values it wishes to project.
This choice resonates particularly strongly given current conversations about diversity, leadership, and breaking through traditional limitations.
The timing of the ceremony on Veterans Day also demonstrates sophisticated brand positioning. Royal Caribbean operates in a competitive market where differentiation matters, and creating meaningful connections with specific communities can generate lasting loyalty and positive associations.
For Legend of the Seas, the naming ceremony represents an important milestone in the vessel’s operational life. Whilst the ship has already been welcoming guests since July, the official naming with its godmother blessing provides a formal christening that maritime tradition considers essential for a vessel’s good fortune.
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Ambassador Cruise Line has become the first cruise operator to partner with Nectar, allowing members of the UK loyalty programme to both collect points on cruise bookings and use existing points towards the cost of a holiday.
The partnership covers Ambassador’s available cruise seasons, including its no-fly sailings from seven regional UK ports and its winter Caribbean fly-cruise programme.
Customers can collect up to 150,000 Nectar points on eligible cruise bookings, equivalent to as much as £750 in Nectar value. Members can also redeem points against their cruise fare, including using enough points to cover the entire eligible cost of a booking.
The arrangement applies across Ambassador’s Saver and Ambassador Fare options, as well as full-priced upgrades and applicable flight classes on Caribbean fly-cruise bookings.
Customers can link their Nectar account through Ambassador’s website. Points can also be collected when booking through the cruise line’s Guest Reservations team or at the Future Cruise Desk aboard its ships by providing a Nectar ID.
Nectar Expands Into Cruise Holidays
The agreement marks Nectar’s first partnership with a cruise line and expands the loyalty programme’s existing range of travel and leisure rewards.
Ambassador currently operates Ambience and Ambition on its UK no-fly programme, with departures from London Tilbury, Newcastle, Dundee, Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol Royal Portbury and Portsmouth.
Its itineraries include destinations such as the Norwegian Fjords, Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Caribbean and Africa, with a mixture of shorter cruises and longer voyages.
Renaissance, which joined Ambassador following its merger with French operator Compagnie Française de Croisières in January 2025, is being used for the company’s Caribbean fly-cruise programme.
The ship is scheduled to operate from Bridgetown, Barbados, during the 2026-27 winter season, with 14-night fly-cruise holidays running between 29th October 2026 and 1st April 2027. The programme includes direct Virgin Atlantic charter flights from London Heathrow and Manchester, as well as repositioning cruises at the beginning and end of the season.
Amir Rasekh, Managing Director at Nectar360, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to help members get more value from Nectar. Our partnership with Ambassador Cruise Line gives customers another way to turn everyday loyalty into memorable experiences.
“For the first time, Nectar members can use the points they collect through everyday spending towards a cruise holiday. Whether they’re collecting points on a booking or using points towards their next trip, this partnership gives customers another exciting way to get value from Nectar”
Gordon Nardini, Chief Marketing Officer at Ambassador Cruise Line, said: “We’re delighted to become Nectar’s first cruise line partner, offering millions of members a brand-new way to turn the points they collect into unforgettable holidays.”
Nardini described the agreement as one of Ambassador’s most significant brand partnerships since the cruise line launched five years ago.
Sainsbury’s Campaign And Cruise Competition
The partnership is being promoted through an in-store campaign beginning on 16th September and continuing until 13th October 2026 across 300 Sainsbury’s stores.
Ambassador advertising is set to appear at several points within participating stores, including entrance gates, displays, payment terminals and travel money screens, putting the cruise line in front of Nectar members while they shop.
Ambassador and Nectar are also marking the launch with a competition offering one Nectar member a cruise for two people in 2027.
The winner will be able to select either a no-fly cruise or fly-cruise of up to 14 nights. Full entry details are due to be released on 16th September 2026 through Nectar.
Ambassador was founded in 2021 and initially focused on adult-only no-fly cruises from the UK. Its fleet has since expanded to three ships following the January 2025 merger with Compagnie Française de Croisières.
The cruise line offers two principal fare types. Saver Fare covers accommodation, full-board dining and entertainment, while Ambassador Fare adds the Expedition Drinks Package alongside gratuities and service charges.
The Nectar agreement gives Ambassador another route to reach customers outside the traditional cruise market while allowing existing guests who are Nectar members to earn points from their holiday spending.
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A crew member told me there were 9,700 people on board Legend of the Seas when I spent a week sailing on the world’s biggest cruise ship. That’s around 7,200 guests plus another 2,500 crew.
That sounds like far too many people to fit comfortably on one ship, right? Before we went, I genuinely wondered whether the whole experience would feel crowded, chaotic and exhausting.
By the end of the week, I had my answer.
This Was My Second Cruise On Legend Of The Seas
I’d actually sailed on Legend of the Seas before, but under very different circumstances. My first trip was a preview sailing before the ship entered normal service, with a (relatively!) small number of travel agents, journalists and content creators on board.
On that first cruise, there were hardly any children either. So while I’d seen what the ship had to offer, I hadn’t really experienced what it was like during a normal family cruise.
This time was very different. We were sailing in August with thousands of families on board, and every cabin was occupied.
Some of my concerns looked justified almost immediately. By 9am, rows of sun loungers had already been claimed with towels, while two of the ship’s six water slides stayed closed for the entire cruise. On some days, only two slides were operating, which meant queues could stretch to an hour.
But what surprised me over the following seven days was how rarely the ship actually felt overwhelmed by all those people.
Embarkation Was Much Easier Than Expected
Getting more than 7,000 passengers onto one ship sounds like it should be chaotic, but embarkation in Barcelona was incredibly quick. We barely queued and were on board before we knew it.
My first job was to open the Royal Caribbean app and book the shows, which immediately caused a slight panic because many of the times we wanted were already showing as unavailable. I booked whatever was left and assumed we’d just have to work around it.
As it turned out, that wasn’t really necessary. The shows themselves were never as full as the app suggested, and we eventually managed to see everything we wanted.
We sailed on 30th August, which turned out to be an unusually good week for us. Most children in the UK were about to return to school, but mine weren’t due back until 7th September, and going just one week later saved us more than £1,000 on the cruise fare alone. Flights were considerably cheaper too.
It also meant there were very few British families on board. Most guests seemed to be Spanish, which made sense given that we were sailing from Barcelona and Spanish schools generally return later than those in the UK.
Announcements and some entertainment were in both English and Spanish, and the queuing culture was a little different from what I’m used to. At drinks machines, people tended to gather around rather than form an orderly line, and elevators could occasionally become a bit of a free-for-all.
As a British person who has effectively been trained from birth to queue properly, it took a little getting used to, but it wasn’t a major issue.
Most Activities Were Much Easier To Use Than I Expected
One of my biggest questions before the cruise was whether we’d actually be able to use everything we’d paid for.
Legend of the Seas has an almost ridiculous number of activities, including Crown’s Edge, rock climbing, ice skating, mini golf, the FlowRider surf simulator, a carousel and the huge Category 6 water park.
With 7,200 guests on board, I assumed there would be long queues for everything. There weren’t.
The kids used the climbing wall, tried the FlowRider and played mini golf without any real problems. My daughter also became slightly obsessed with the carousel in Surfside, where the animals are ducks rather than horses.
Apparently, riding one duck wasn’t enough. She needed to try every single one. Fortunately, there was barely ever a queue, so she managed it.
The kids also loved the ice skating. You can only reserve one skating session through the app, but if people don’t turn up for their booked slot, the crew will often let other guests take the spare spaces.
Ours ended up skating three times during the week simply by turning up and asking if there was room.
That became a useful lesson for the rest of the cruise too. If something appears fully booked in the app, it is still worth checking in person because people reserve activities and then change their plans all the time.
We Never Found Skipper The Dog
One thing Royal Caribbean promotes quite heavily on its Icon Class ships is the resident dog.
Legend of the Seas has a Golden Retriever called Skipper, whose official job title is Chief Dog Officer, and naturally my children were desperate to meet her.
Not Skipper, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, her appearances aren’t listed in the daily programme. From what I’d heard, you simply have to get lucky and happen to bump into her somewhere around the ship.
We tried.
We looked around Central Park, the AquaDome and the Royal Promenade, and spent quite a lot of time keeping an eye out in quieter areas where we’d heard she sometimes appeared. We even found Skipper’s toilet.
But during our entire seven-night cruise, we never actually saw Skipper. So if your children have seen the adverts and are imagining that they’ll spend the cruise hanging out with a Golden Retriever, I definitely wouldn’t choose the ship for that reason alone. You might see her, but there’s no guarantee.
One of the biggest tricks on a ship this size is doing things when everyone else isn’t.
If most guests are planning a lazy morning and activities later in the day, we’ll usually do the opposite. We’d get the active stuff done early, then slow down later when more people started appearing.
For most things, this worked brilliantly, but the big exception was the water park.
Category 6 has six slides, and I’d been especially keen to try them because I’d broken my toe on my previous Legend of the Seas cruise and hadn’t been able to use any of them.
This time, two months later, I was finally ready!
Unfortunately, two of the slides never opened during the entire week, and they also looked like two of the best ones.
Some days were even worse, with four of the six slides closed. That meant hundreds of people who had planned to spread themselves across a six-slide water park were suddenly being funnelled onto just two.
That’s when the queues became ridiculous. At times, the wait was around an hour for a single slide. We’d stand there for 20 minutes, barely move, then decide it simply wasn’t worth it.
The slides themselves were good, but I don’t think any water slide is good enough to justify standing in the sun for an hour without a hat or sunglasses.
We tried going at around 8pm one evening because the water park stays open until 9pm. The queue was shorter, but then we discovered another problem: once the sun starts going down, standing around soaking wet gets surprisingly cold.
Eventually, we found the perfect time: 9am.
As soon as the slides opened in the morning, the weather was already warm and there was hardly anybody waiting. We could actually enjoy them rather than spend half the morning standing in a queue.
So, if Category 6 is important to you, go as soon as it opens.
I wouldn’t book Legend of the Seas purely for the water park, though. The slides are excellent when they’re operating, but our cruise proved that you can’t assume all six will be available.
Some Of The Paid Extras Were Surprisingly Good Value
Crown’s Edge worked out much better. It normally cost around $45 per person on our sailing, which I thought was pretty expensive for something that only lasts a couple of minutes.
On embarkation day, though, Royal Caribbean was offering it for just $17 each, so I booked all four of us straight away. And we loved it.
That became something of a theme during the cruise. Royal Caribbean has a reputation for upselling once you’re on board, and there is certainly no shortage of opportunities to spend extra money, but some of the offers were genuinely very good.
One day, a chef approached us while we were eating in the Windjammer and offered us a discounted galley tour. We got 30% off, the kids went free and it included a bottomless brunch afterwards.
I had seven mimosas, so I definitely wasn’t complaining about the value!
We also saw speciality restaurants discounted by as much as 50%, which led to one of the strangest things about sailing with 7,200 guests…
Some of the paid restaurants were virtually empty!
The Restaurants Were Much Quieter Than I Expected
One evening, we ate at Pier 7 in Surfside. It cost just $25 per adult, while the children could order from the adult menu free of charge, which I thought was an excellent deal.
Apparently, nobody else agreed, because we were the only people in the restaurant for the entire evening.
It felt incredibly strange to be on the biggest cruise ship in the world, surrounded by thousands of passengers, yet sitting in a speciality restaurant completely by ourselves.
Perhaps speciality dining would have been busier on a sailing with more American guests. Maybe European passengers were simply less inclined to pay extra when so much food was already included?
Whatever the reason, overcrowding certainly wasn’t a problem there. And the venue where I expected it to be worst – the buffet – was nowhere near as bad as I’d imagined either.
Thousands of people all trying to eat breakfast at the same time sounds horrific, but we never struggled to find a table in the Windjammer.
It could look busy when we first walked in, but the restaurant is enormous. We’d simply carry on towards the back and almost always find somewhere.
There’s also another buffet that I think many families overlook. Surfside Eatery is smaller and has less choice than the Windjammer, but it was quiet almost every time we visited. If you just want to get the kids something quickly without walking around a huge buffet looking for somewhere to sit, it’s really useful.
We Hardly Used The Main Dining Room
We ate very well throughout the cruise, despite only going to the main dining room once. The meal we had there was good, but as a vegetarian I still think Royal Caribbean’s main dining menus can be a little restrictive.
The line used to have a separate vegan menu, which gave you plenty more options. Now, you may only have one or two vegetarian choices on the standard menu. If that night’s main option happens to be something you don’t like, you’ll need another plan.
Fortunately, Legend of the Seas makes that very easy. Sorrento’s was probably our most visited dining venue because the pizza is excellent, while El Loco Fresh became another regular stop for tacos, nachos and quesadillas.
Pearl Cafe is also very easy to miss. It’s tucked away behind The Pearl and is brilliant when you want to grab something quickly without going anywhere near the buffet.
Legend Of The Seas Works Brilliantly For Kids
One thing I really like about the ship is how playful it feels. There are slides that take you from one deck to another in places such as Surfside and near the pool decks. They serve absolutely no practical purpose beyond being much more fun than using the stairs.
Surfside itself is bright, colourful and designed completely around families, although I think much of it is probably best for children under around eight. Mine were nine and eleven when we sailed, so they’re starting to outgrow parts of it.
Adventure Ocean was a different story, though. They’ve used plenty of kids’ clubs on previous cruises, and both said this was one of the best they’d experienced.
Even the entrance has interactive screens that make the whole thing feel more exciting before they’ve actually reached the club. And what surprised me most was how easy it was to get them in.
Adventure Ocean operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and you can’t reserve sessions in advance. I’ve sailed on ships before where arriving after the session has started means being told it’s already full, so on a ship carrying thousands of children, I expected queues of parents waiting outside the doors.
That never happened. Not once during the week were our children turned away.
Sometimes my son went several times in the same day, and we’d arrive an hour after a session had started to find there was still space. Impressive!
Would it have been the same a week earlier, right in the middle of the British school holidays? I don’t know. But on our sailing, Adventure Ocean was remarkably easy to use.
WOW Bands Were Worth Buying For The Kids
We also bought both children WOW Bands for $15 each, and I found them genuinely useful because they allowed the kids to move around the ship with a little more independence. They could go and get themselves a snack or head somewhere nearby without constantly needing one of us beside them.
Using the Royal Caribbean app, we could also keep an eye on where they were. On a ship this enormous, giving tweens or teenagers some freedom without completely losing track of them was easily worth $15 to me.
I would set some spending rules first, though! There are plenty of shops aimed at children and they’re not cheap. The same applies to the arcade, where games cost around $3.50 each on our sailing.
I’ve heard stories of children running up enormous bills because parents didn’t realise purchases were being charged straight to the cabin account. You have to be careful.
Fortunately, there was so much else to do that we never really felt the need to use the arcade anyway.
The Sun Lounger Situation Was Annoying
The pool decks were one area where the number of passengers did occasionally become noticeable.
Early in the morning, everything was lovely and quiet. By around 9am, though, plenty of sun loungers already had towels on them.
Not people. Just towels.
One morning, several loungers had been left like this for well over an hour, so I asked a crew member whether she could remove the towels. And she said she couldn’t.
I then asked what would happen if I moved them myself. She smiled and said: “then I wouldn’t see anything”. So I moved them.
About an hour later, two people came back and were absolutely furious. They said they’d only gone for lunch for an hour and believed they should have been allowed to reserve the loungers while they were away.
(They had definitely been gone longer than that.)
But I think that exchange highlighted the bigger issue. A lot of people simply don’t realise that leaving a towel on a lounger while you disappear for lunch isn’t really okay.
There weren’t many obvious signs during most of our cruise, and I didn’t hear regular announcements warning people not to reserve loungers. If you’re used to hotels where guests put towels down in the morning and return hours later, you might assume the same rules apply at sea.
The problem is that a cruise ship doesn’t have enough poolside loungers for every guest. If you’re not using one for an hour or two, somebody else should be able to.
Interestingly, Royal Caribbean became much stricter about this on our final day, which was our only sea day. Signs suddenly appeared around the pool deck stating that loungers couldn’t be reserved, and it made a noticeable difference.
Even with everyone on board, we still managed to find somewhere to sit, get into the hot tubs and find quieter areas away from the busiest pools.
So although all those abandoned towels initially looked like proof that the ship was overcrowded, the reality was more complicated.
Based on our overall experience though, you might not get a lounger directly beside the pool, but there were always other places available.
This, for me, is the biggest reason Legend of the Seas works. It’s not simply enormous. It’s divided into so many different areas that everyone naturally spreads out.
One family might be in Surfside, while another is watching the ice show. Some guests are wandering through Central Park or the Royal Promenade, while others are in Category 6, Adventure Ocean, the casino, the FlowRider, Crown’s Edge or one of dozens of restaurants and bars.
You almost never have all 7,200 passengers trying to use the same space. There were several points during the cruise when we genuinely looked around and wondered where everyone was.
Sometimes It Barely Feels Like A Cruise Ship
There is a downside to that design, and that is that Legend of the Seas is very inward-facing.
Many of its main public areas look into the ship rather than towards the ocean, and you can spend surprisingly long periods on board without actually seeing the sea.
Whether that’s a good or bad thing will depend entirely on what you want from a cruise. If your favourite thing is sitting somewhere quiet and watching the ocean go past, there are other ships I’d choose first.
Likewise, if you want sea views every time you sit down for lunch, Legend isn’t necessarily the best fit. But if you want to wake up every morning wondering which of 50 different things you’re going to do first, that’s where this ship makes far more sense.
One of my favourite quieter places was the AquaDome at the front of the ship. During the daytime, it was often incredibly peaceful and became one of my favourite places to relax. Then, in the evening, it completely transforms…
The Entertainment Is Some Of The Best I’ve Seen At Sea
The AquaTheater performances inside the AquaDome are absolutely incredible, with divers launching themselves from high above the pool.
Then there’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
This wasn’t just my favourite show on the cruise. It’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at sea, and probably one of the best I’ve seen anywhere. I’ve seen quite a few by now, so that’s high praise!
The ice skating production is brilliant too, and having skated on the same rink ourselves earlier in the cruise really makes you appreciate how talented the performers are.
Legend of the Seas also has an America’s Got Talent show featuring performers connected with the TV series, which was excellent.
The biggest compliment I can give the entertainment is that I’d already seen all of these shows on my previous Legend cruise… and I went back to watch them all again.
There wasn’t a single one where I thought, “I’ve seen that already, I’ll do something else.”
And remember all those unavailable reservations when we first boarded? They weren’t a problem at all. The shows themselves were never completely full. People reserve seats and then don’t turn up, so even if the app says something is fully booked, I’d still go to the venue and ask.
We got into everything we wanted.
Our Balcony Cabin Worked Well For Four
We stayed in a traditional ocean-view balcony cabin with a proper outside balcony rather than an Infinite Balcony where the window lowers.
I’ve stayed in Royal Caribbean cabins overlooking the inside of the ship before, but personally I prefer being able to step outside and see the sea.
Now, I’ve got to be honest: for four people, the cabin wasn’t enormous. The sofa converted into a double bed for the children, which I don’t think is ideal. I really don’t understand why Royal Caribbean seems to prefer double sofa beds over bunks in so many family cabins, because two children sharing a bed isn’t always practical.
Our cabin steward left the sofa bed made up throughout the cruise, which reduced the floor space quite a bit. I’m sure he would have folded it away each morning if we’d asked, but we didn’t really want to make extra work for him.
He did make some excellent towel animals, though!
Most importantly, the cabin was incredibly quiet. That’s worth checking before you book because on my previous Legend cruise, I’d stayed directly underneath Crown’s Edge and could regularly hear people screaming as they went past above the cabin.
A quick look at the deck plans before choosing your room can make a big difference.
We Barely Got Off The Ship
Probably the most unusual thing about our cruise was that we hardly went ashore, and for the most part that was by design.
Normally, if I’m sailing around the Mediterranean, I want to explore the destinations. That’s a huge part of the appeal.
But on this cruise, every time we arrived in port it felt like we had to make a choice: do we go out and explore, or stay on the enormous ship we’ve paid all this money to experience? Most days, we stayed, and it was brilliant.
The activities were quieter, the pools were calmer and we could make much better use of everything while thousands of other guests were ashore.
On one day, we did use the tender boats and I was impressed by how easy the process was. You could reserve a tender time through the app if you needed to get off at a specific time, but there was still plenty of availability on the morning itself.
I would say that, if visiting as many different destinations as possible is the most important part of your holiday, Legend of the Seas probably wouldn’t be my first choice.
There’s nothing wrong with the itinerary, to be clear. It just feels slightly wasteful to pay so much for a ship like this and then spend most of your days away from it. For me, Legend makes much more sense when the ship itself is the destination.
So, Did 9,700 People Feel Like Too Many?
For most of the week, I kept waiting for the moment when I’d decide that Legend of the Seas was simply too crowded, and it never really came.
The sun lounger situation was annoying, and the water slide closures were disappointing. Royal Caribbean definitely needs to get that sorted because running two slides in a water park designed for six creates annoying queues.
There were occasional moments when it was obvious that thousands and thousands of other people were on board. But those moments were the exception.
We never struggled to find somewhere to sit, didn’t spend ages waiting for elevators and the kids were never turned away from Adventure Ocean. We managed almost every activity we wanted to do without long queues and saw every show we wanted.
Even on our only sea day, the ship never felt uncomfortably busy, and there were actually several occasions where we looked around and asked, “Where is everyone?”
That’s probably the most impressive thing about Legend of the Seas. Royal Caribbean hasn’t just built an enormous ship and filled it with thousands of people. It’s built enough different places for those people to spread themselves around.
We had a fantastic week, and I was genuinely sad to get off.
I’ve now sailed on Legend of the Seas twice. Would I pay to sail on her for a third time? Absolutely.
I do want to try one of their smallest ships though, to compare…
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Norwegian Cruise Line moved embarkation for Norwegian Jade to an alternative terminal in Whittier, Alaska, after a fire involving a tour boat prompted the cruise ship to leave the Chugach Glacier Gateway Cruise Terminal on 14th September 2026.
The fire broke out at around 11am local time while Klondike Express, operated by Phillips Cruises & Tours, was moored at the dock. The US Coast Guard said there were no passengers aboard the tour vessel at the time.
Norwegian Jade was also alongside when the incident began and moved safely away from the terminal. No damage to the 2,402-guest cruise ship was reported, while authorities said there were no injuries.
Emergency crews released Klondike Express from the pier so that the vessel could be moved away from the dock. The fire was subsequently extinguished, although images released by the Coast Guard showed fire damage to the tour boat.
Klondike Express operates sightseeing cruises from Whittier into Prince William Sound.
Multi-Agency Response To Whittier Fire
Girdwood Fire and Rescue joined Whittier Fire, Anchorage Fire and LifeMed Alaska in responding to the incident.
Footage released by Girdwood Fire and Rescue showed thick black smoke rising from the dock as Norwegian Jade moved away from the terminal. Klondike Express could also be seen being moved from the opposite side of the structure.
Access to Whittier was temporarily restricted during the emergency response. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the road connection used to reach the community, was closed for several hours to help emergency personnel access the area.
Girdwood Fire and Rescue and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced shortly before 2pm local time that the tunnel had reopened.
Officials had not announced the cause of the fire by 15th September.
The incident also required Norwegian Cruise Line to change where passengers boarded Norwegian Jade for the ship’s 14th September departure.
Norwegian Cruise Line said:
“The safety and security of our guests, crew and the communities we visit are always a top priority. We are aware of a fire at the Chugach Glacier Gateway Cruise Terminal in Whittier, Alaska where one of our ships was scheduled to have guests embark from. As emergency personnel continue to respond to the situation, access to the area remains restricted. As a result, we will proceed with our embarkation process from an alternate location, Whittier Alaska Cruise Ship Terminal 1.”
Cruise Ship Terminal 1 is located on West Camp Road, approximately two-thirds of a mile from the affected terminal across the water.
At the time of the cruise line’s statement, there was no confirmed impact on Norwegian Jade’s wider itinerary. Norwegian Cruise Line said any further changes would be communicated directly to passengers.
Norwegian Jade Continues Final Alaska Sailings
The affected departure was the final southbound Alaska sailing of Norwegian Jade’s 2026 season.
The seven-night one-way itinerary was due to take the ship from Whittier to Vancouver, with scenic cruising near Hubbard Glacier and calls at Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan before reaching Vancouver on 21st September.
Norwegian Jade is then scheduled to depart Vancouver on 21st September for another journey through Alaska as the ship heads towards Japan for its winter programme in Asia.
The next cruise ship scheduled to visit Whittier after Norwegian Jade is Royal Princess on 24th September. Royal Princess has experienced engine problems during its current voyage, resulting in itinerary adjustments, but as of 15th September there had been no announced change to the ship’s 19th September departure that is scheduled to include Whittier.
The Whittier incident came one week after a separate small fire involving another Norwegian Cruise Line ship. A fire was reported aboard Norwegian Aura on 7th September while the vessel was under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. No injuries or significant damage were reported in that incident.
Vanessa Phillips boarded MSC Seascape on 30th August 2026 to confront a former associate she alleges took nearly $1,100 from her for a cruise booking before cutting off contact ahead of the sailing.
The confrontation took place during the ship’s seven-night Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston, Texas, after Phillips booked herself onto the same voyage as Armonte Wilson. Video later posted online showed Phillips approaching Wilson while he was in one of the ship’s hot tubs and repeatedly demanding an explanation and the return of her money.
Phillips said she had previously met Wilson during an MSC Cruises sailing in December 2025. The pair subsequently discussed travelling together in August, but Phillips alleges the arrangements developed into a fraudulent booking involving an itinerary, booking information and invoices.
According to Phillips, she transferred payments totalling close to $1,100 before Wilson stopped communicating with her shortly before departure.
Phillips has since reported her fraud allegation to the FBI and said she intends to pursue other legal action. Wilson has publicly disputed her version of events.
Confrontation Takes Place On MSC Seascape
After losing contact with Wilson, Phillips contacted MSC Cruises while attempting to establish what had happened to the booking. She said she was told Wilson had paid $524 for the seven-night cruise.
Rather than abandoning her plans, Phillips made her own arrangements to travel aboard MSC Seascape when the ship departed Galveston on 30th August.
Once onboard, she enlisted the assistance of another passenger to arrange an encounter with Wilson that could be recorded.
“I never had plans to put my hands on this man. My intention was to get him to confess so that I can report him to all legal authorities, including cruise ship security,” Phillips said.
The resulting video shows Phillips approaching Wilson in a hot tub and asking repeatedly about the disputed money.
“What I want to know is, where’s my $1,100?” she asks. “You know you stole my $1,100.”
The exchange remained verbal in the footage, with no apparent physical contact. Wilson indicated that he wanted to contact ship security, while Phillips encouraged him to do so and said she wanted to accompany him.
The video ends after another passenger, who is not visible, questions why Phillips is bothering Wilson.
Phillips subsequently shared footage of the encounter on social media on 5th September. Within several days, her Facebook video had accumulated more than 2.5 million views and around 3,500 comments, while versions circulating on other platforms had reportedly surpassed 14 million views.
Wilson has also responded publicly through TikTok and Instagram, disputing Phillips’ allegations and addressing the monetary transactions. His response does not resolve the competing claims over what happened to the money.
Fraud Allegation Reported To FBI
Phillips said she reported the matter to the FBI as alleged fraud and was pursuing additional legal avenues following the cruise.
At the same time, she has sought to discourage social media users from targeting Wilson as footage of the confrontation spread online.
“I removed my explanation video because I do not want him doxxed or harrassed… I posted the receipts but was unaware certain information was present,” she said. “I do not condone bullying or harrassment [sic].”
The dispute centres on Phillips’ allegation that she paid Wilson almost $1,100 in connection with a cruise reservation that either did not exist as represented or from which she was subsequently removed.
Her decision to book the same MSC Seascape voyage ultimately brought the two face to face aboard the ship, but the filmed confrontation did not settle the financial dispute.
With Wilson contesting the allegations and Phillips saying she has referred the matter to federal authorities, the claims remain disputed.
The incident also highlights the risks of transferring cruise payments to individuals rather than completing transactions through established booking channels. Travellers arranging cruises through third parties can independently confirm reservations with the cruise line and retain invoices, payment records and other booking documentation in case a transaction is later disputed.
P&O Cruises passengers are about to notice some pretty major changes – and one of them has already caused outrage among loyal cruisers. At least, as close to “outrage” as British cruisers tend to get. Maybe it’s better to say they’re miffed?
Regardless – some of these changes feel long overdue, but as for others? Not everyone’s convinced.
Here’s a look at everything we know is changing, as well as speculation on something people have been asking for for a long time.
1. Children Will Be Allowed on Adult-Only Ships
For decades, Arcadia and Aurora have been known as the line’s quieter, adult-only ships. They’ve attracted loyal passengers who specifically wanted a calmer atmosphere away from the family entertainment and busy pool decks found on larger ships like Arvia and Iona.
But from late 2026, that changes.
P&O Cruises has confirmed that selected sailings on both ships will welcome children and families during peak holiday periods, including Christmas and summer holidays. In total, 20 cruises between December 2026 and September 2027 will become family-friendly.
I’ve booked myself and the kids on the first family-friendly sailing on Aurora in December, so I’ll let you know how that goes.
The cruise line says the move reflects growing demand for multi-generational travel, with more families wanting grandparents, parents and children to holiday together onboard.
Reaction from regular cruisers has been mixed. Some passengers think it’s a sensible way to open up more family cruise options from Southampton, while others worry it risks changing what makes Arcadia and Aurora special in the first place.
Importantly, both ships will still remain adult-only for most of the year. But it’s still a major shift for two ships that many passengers thought would never welcome children again.
2. Iona is moving to the Caribbean and Britannia is staying in Southampton
There’s a pretty major shake-up coming to where two of P&O Cruises’ biggest ships spend the winter.
From October 2027, Iona will head to the Caribbean for her first full winter season there, joining sister ship Arvia and operating 14-night fly-cruises until April 2028.
Photographer credit: Christopher Ison
Guests will be able to fly out and join Iona in Barbados, Antigua or St Kitts, with St Kitts being added as a new turnaround port for the season.
That’s quite a change for a ship that has spent her winters sailing from Southampton since she launched. And it means P&O Cruises will have its two newest and largest ships operating side-by-side in the Caribbean.
But while Iona heads for warmer weather, Britannia is doing the opposite.
For the first time since she launched in 2015, Britannia will be based in Southampton all year round. Her winter programme includes cruises to the Canary Islands and Mediterranean, as well as much longer no-fly Caribbean sailings for anyone who likes the idea of escaping the British winter without having to get on a plane.
It’s a fairly significant reshuffle. Britannia has traditionally been one of P&O Cruises’ main Caribbean fly-cruise ships, but that role is increasingly being handed over to the much newer Iona and Arvia.
For UK cruisers, though, it also means even more choice from Southampton throughout the winter – and the option to sail on one of P&O’s most popular family ships without flying.
3. There Are New Cabins That Sleep Five
P&O Cruises has now made cruising with three children considerably easier by introducing 50 new five-berth cabins across Iona, Arvia and Britannia.
There are 23 Conservatory Mini-suites on Iona and 15 on Arvia that can now sleep five, along with 12 Superior Deluxe Balcony cabins on Britannia.
Depending on the cabin layout, they include a fixed double bed, a double sofa bed and a pull-down berth, allowing two adults and three children to stay together in the same cabin.
The new options began appearing on sailings in July 2026, just in time for the summer school holidays.
It might seem like quite a small change when you consider the size of the ships, and with only 50 cabins available they could certainly sell quickly during school holidays. But for families with three children, it makes a huge difference.
For years, P&O Cruises built its reputation around quality cruising with affordable fares, with optional extras added later. That’s now changing in a pretty big way.
From 2026, P&O Cruises is introducing its first-ever all inclusive packages, bundling together drinks, WiFi and speciality dining into one upfront price. It’s a move that brings the line closer to rivals that already push more “holiday budget locked in” pricing.
There are two tiers available – Classic and Deluxe. Both include drinks packages, internet access and dining credit to spend in venues like Sindhu and Epicurean. The Deluxe option adds upgraded drinks and faster WiFi suitable for streaming and video calls, with extra speciality dining credit to spend too.
Prices start from £49 per person per day, and P&O says guests could save more than 30% compared to paying separately onboard.
It’s a huge change for the cruise line, but it shows how more and more people are enjoying the option to book their cruise and have everything paid for in advance, rather than the worries about having a large bill to settle at the end of the cruise.
Of course, it’s still optional. Ultimately it means more flexibility for cruisers, as guests have the choice of paying individually for what they’ll use or saving money with a pre-bought bundle. So this is definitely a good thing.
Ventura has always been one of P&O Cruises’ most popular ships, and after her huge 2026 refit, she’s looking much fresher and far more modern.
The refurbishment touched almost every corner of the ship, from cabins and restaurants to bars, theatres and pool decks. P&O has clearly tried to give Ventura a more contemporary feel without completely losing the ship’s familiar personality.
Cabins received updated carpets, curtains, lighting and furnishings, while public areas were refreshed with new colour schemes, fabrics and flooring. Restaurants including Sindhu, Bay Tree and Saffron all received redesigns, alongside upgraded bars like Red Bar, Havana and Metropolis.
There are practical changes too. The spa now includes a Japanese head spa experience first seen on Iona, the retail spaces have been revamped, and there are more tables for two in Cinnamon restaurant to improve Freedom Dining flexibility.
Even the arcade has been updated with new games and family attractions.
Rather than radically reinventing Ventura, the refit feels more like P&O making sure one of its most-loved ships can still compete with newer vessels like Arvia and Iona – while keeping the layout and atmosphere that regular guests already enjoy.
P&O Cruises seems to be pushing much harder into celebrity partnerships and branded entertainment experiences, and it’s a noticeable change from the more traditional cruise entertainment many passengers will remember.
One of the biggest new additions is a partnership with comedian Jason Manford, who is bringing his touring Manford’s Comedy Club concept onboard selected Arvia and Iona sailings in 2026. Across 35 cruises, guests will be able to watch intimate comedy performances in the Limelight Club, with comedians personally selected by Manford himself.
Another big name joining the line-up is Stephen Mulhern, who took up a summer residency in Iona’s Limelight Club in 2026. His new Live & Unbelievable! show combined close-up magic, illusions and audience participation, with Mulhern performing on four nights across three selected sailings. He also hosted family-friendly magic workshops on sea days, where passengers could actually learn some of the tricks themselves.
Alongside Jason Manford and Pete Tong, it’s another sign that P&O Cruises is putting much more emphasis on recognisable names and exclusive entertainment experiences that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find on a traditional cruise.
Rather than relying purely on traditional theatre shows and tribute acts, P&O Cruises increasingly seems to want moments that feel exclusive and social media-worthy – the sort of thing passengers specifically book a cruise to experience.
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7. Higher Drinks Prices
Cruise passengers probably won’t be shocked to hear that drinks prices are rising again onboard P&O Cruises, although the increases are fairly modest compared to some rivals.
A pint of beer has gone up from £5.95 to £6.50, cocktails are now typically around £9, and even soft drinks, bottled water and speciality coffees have edged up slightly. It’s one of those changes where most prices only move by a few pence here and there, but over a two-week cruise the total can definitely add up.
That said, P&O Cruises still sits in a relatively reasonable position compared with some premium cruise lines where cocktails can easily hit double figures and drinks packages cost substantially more.
The timing is interesting too because it comes shortly after P&O Cruises introduced its first-ever all inclusive packages. In many ways, the two changes go hand in hand. As onboard prices gradually creep up, the all inclusive bundles suddenly start looking more attractive for guests who regularly buy cocktails, coffees, wine and WiFi.
For passengers who only enjoy the occasional drink, the increases probably won’t feel dramatic. But for regular cruisers who know the old prices almost by heart, it’s another reminder that cruise holidays definitely aren’t immune from rising costs anymore.
Few things divide cruise passengers faster than the great sun lounger debate.
You know the scene. It’s barely 7am, half the loungers already have towels clipped to them, and somehow nobody actually appears to be using them. Hours later, the same empty chairs are still “reserved” while other passengers wander the deck searching for somewhere to sit.
Now P&O Cruises seems to be taking a firmer approach.
Passengers on recent sailings have spotted new warning covers placed over loungers reminding guests not to leave them unattended for more than 30 minutes. The message warns that belongings may be removed and taken to a designated collection point if loungers are left unused for too long.
The move has largely been welcomed by passengers frustrated with towel reserving, particularly during busy Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises where sea days can turn pool decks into a competitive sport.
Not everyone agrees with the exact timing though. Some guests think 30 minutes is too strict, especially for families grabbing lunch or queueing for drinks.
Still, it’s clear P&O Cruises wants to be seen actively dealing with one of cruising’s longest-running holiday annoyances – and judging by guest reactions online, plenty of people are happy to see it finally being enforced properly.
The cruise line has launched its largest-ever summer season, with a huge 215 cruises now on sale across the fleet. It’s a clear sign that demand for cruising from the UK is still booming, especially for passengers who want to sail from Southampton without the hassle of flying.
The programme covers 121 destinations across 29 countries, ranging from quick European getaways to longer cruises to the USA, Canada and Iceland. But once again, Norwegian fjords cruises are right at the heart of the schedule, with P&O clearly doubling down on one of its most popular destinations.
There are also more weekend departures than before, including Friday sailings designed to make shorter breaks easier for UK guests. And P&O is putting a bigger emphasis on longer port stays too, with dozens of overnight calls and late-evening departures planned across the season.
One of the more interesting additions is a new Arvia itinerary combining Spain, France and the Norwegian fjords in one sailing – not exactly the most obvious mix, but definitely something different.
Overall, the message is pretty clear. P&O Cruises is leaning heavily into flexible Southampton departures, varied cruise lengths and destination-heavy itineraries as it looks to keep attracting both loyal cruisers and newer passengers.
One small change could catch some cruise passengers out if they aren’t paying attention.
P&O Cruises is moving its final payment deadline further forward for new bookings, meaning some guests will now need to pay the balance of their cruise four months before sailing instead of three.
The updated policy applies to bookings made from March 2026 onwards for cruises departing from December 2026. Existing bookings won’t be affected, but anyone booking future sailings under the new rules will need to settle their balance 120 days before departure rather than the previous 90-day deadline.
It might not sound like a huge difference at first, but for families booking expensive summer cruises, that extra month could make budgeting feel noticeably tighter.
From P&O’s perspective, though, the move makes complete sense. Earlier payments reduce the risk of late cancellations and give the cruise line more time to resell cabins if plans change. It also brings P&O more in line with several other cruise brands that already use longer payment windows.
For passengers, it’s mostly just something to be aware of. Cruise booking timelines are gradually changing across the industry, and this is another example of cruise lines trying to lock in bookings and revenue earlier than before.
This one hasn’t officially been announced yet, so I’m putting it firmly in the “watch this space” category. But there’s now some pretty convincing evidence that P&O Cruises has been working towards a proper downloadable app.
At the moment, passengers have two separate online systems. My P&O Cruises is used before you sail for things like checking in, downloading boarding passes and booking extras, while My Holiday takes over once you’re onboard.
My Holiday does quite a lot. You can use it to check your onboard account, book dining and entertainment, join virtual queues, browse menus and organise your plans for the cruise. But it isn’t really an app in the way most passengers would understand one.
It’s actually a web app that you open in Safari or Chrome once you’re connected to the ship’s WiFi. There’s nothing to download from the App Store or Google Play, and much of the functionality only becomes available once you’re onboard.
That’s quite different from cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, MSC and Princess, where passengers can download an app before their holiday and use it throughout the whole journey.
But here’s where things get interesting…
Carnival UK, the company behind P&O Cruises, has previously worked with digital product agency Loomery to build a pilot app specifically for P&O Cruises.
According to Loomery, the prototype was designed to help passengers before and during their holiday, with features covering what to do before travelling, packing information, onboard restaurants and entertainment, getting settled once onboard and navigating the ship.
The company said it built the working pilot in just four weeks and that it was ready to be tested with passengers onboard Arvia.
On its own, a prototype doesn’t necessarily mean that a finished app is coming. Companies test digital ideas all the time and plenty never make it any further.
But there’s another, even stronger clue.
A Carnival UK job description for a senior digital role specifically refers to developing the roadmap for “MyHoliday (portal and future app)”.
That’s pretty difficult to interpret as anything other than P&O Cruises having plans, at least internally, for My Holiday eventually to become a proper app.
As of September 2026, P&O Cruises still hasn’t announced a launch date, confirmed exactly what the app would do or said whether the project will definitely reach passengers.
And its own current website still directs guests to the existing browser-based My Holiday platform rather than a downloadable app.
So I certainly wouldn’t say a P&O Cruises app is confirmed.
But this is no longer based purely on passenger rumours either. We know that a working prototype has been built for testing, and Carnival UK’s own recruitment material has explicitly referred to a future My Holiday app.
Considering how far behind P&O Cruises now feels compared with some rivals when it comes to cruise apps, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this is one of the next big changes we see.
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Final Word
Some of these changes are relatively small on their own. A drinks price increase here, a payment deadline tweak there. But taken together, they paint quite an interesting picture of where P&O Cruises seems to be heading.
The line is clearly trying to modernise while still keeping hold of the traditional cruise atmosphere that so many loyal passengers love. That balancing act won’t always be easy. Introducing all inclusive packages, celebrity entertainment partnerships and more family sailings feels very different to the quieter, more traditional version of P&O Cruises many guests first fell in love with years ago.
At the same time, cruising itself is changing fast. Passengers increasingly expect better technology, more flexible booking options, more choice onboard and experiences that feel a little more unique.
Whether you love the changes or hate them, one thing’s pretty obvious – P&O Cruises in 2028 is likely to look quite different from the P&O Cruises people were sailing with even five years ago.
MSC Cruises is changing fast – and some of its biggest developments are still to come. New ships, new destinations and major onboard changes are all on the way, with some set to transform the MSC experience completely.
But not every change will be popular. One new charge in particular could frustrate families.
Here are the biggest changes MSC Cruises passengers need to know about….
1. Even More World Class Ships
MSC Cruises isn’t slowing down when it comes to building mega-ships. In fact, the cruise line has now committed to at least six more World Class vessels, taking the programme all the way through to 2031.
The next ship to arrive will be MSC World Asia in November 2026, followed by MSC World Atlantic in 2027. But that’s only the beginning…
MSC has already confirmed another four World Class ships beyond that, with a new vessel scheduled to enter service in 2029, two ship sin 2030 and another in 2031.
The World Class ships have quickly become the centrepiece of the fleet. They’re among the largest cruise ships in the world, powered by LNG and packed with features that MSC simply couldn’t fit onto its older vessels.
World Europa introduced the concept in 2022, while World America launched in 2025 with several changes aimed specifically at the North American market.
MSC World Asia is expected to continue that evolution. The ship will carry over 6,700 passengers and feature an Asian-inspired design theme throughout many of its public spaces. She will also introduce some of MSC’s biggest family attractions yet, including an expanded Family Aventura district, new interactive game shows, a redesigned outdoor Harbour area and one of the largest pool complexes in the fleet.
For cruise fans, the bigger story is what comes next. With eight World Class ships now planned, MSC is clearly betting heavily on this design for the future of its fleet. That means more capacity, more innovation and plenty of opportunities for the line to keep refining what has become its flagship ship class.
2. A Brand-New Ship Class Is On The Way
As if eight World Class ships weren’t enough, MSC has also confirmed an entirely new generation of cruise ships.
Known as the New Frontier class, the first vessel is due to enter service in 2030 as part of a huge agreement with German shipbuilder MEYER WERFT. Four ships are already being planned, with options for two more.
What’s particularly interesting is that these ships won’t be bigger than MSC’s existing giants. Instead, they’ll focus on giving passengers more space. At around 180,000 gross tons and carrying roughly 5,400 guests, they’ll be similar in size to MSC Virtuosa but with nearly 1,000 fewer guests on board.
That could mean wider public areas, less crowded pool decks and larger accommodation options. MSC hasn’t revealed many details yet, but the numbers suggest guest comfort is a major priority.
The New Frontier project is also significant because it marks MSC’s first partnership with MEYER WERFT, the shipyard behind many ships for Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line. That fresh collaboration could bring some very different design ideas compared to MSC’s existing fleet.
Combined with the ongoing World Class programme, MSC now has one of the most ambitious shipbuilding pipelines anywhere in cruising.
MSC’s Yacht Club has become one of the cruise industry’s best-kept secrets. The ship-within-a-ship concept offers suite accommodation, private restaurants, exclusive sun decks, butler service and dedicated concierge support, creating a much more premium experience without leaving a mainstream cruise ship.
The cruise line has confirmed that both MSC Musica and MSC Orchestra will receive Yacht Club areas during scheduled refurbishments, with work due to be completed by 2027.
That might not sound like a huge announcement, but it means every ship in the Musica class will offer Yacht Club. More importantly, it brings the concept to some of MSC’s smaller and more traditional ships rather than limiting it to newer mega-ships.
Once the upgrades are complete, Yacht Club will be available on 19 ships across the fleet.
The move reflects just how popular the concept has become. Yacht Club has helped MSC compete more directly with premium cruise lines while still offering access to the entertainment, dining and facilities of the wider ship. Expanding it across more vessels gives passengers greater choice when deciding where and how they want to sail.
And with future World Class ships also expected to feature Yacht Club, the luxury enclave looks set to remain a major part of MSC’s long-term strategy.
4. MSC Is Getting A Second Private Island
Private islands have become one of the biggest battlegrounds in the Caribbean cruise market, and MSC Cruises is preparing to make a major move of its own.
The company has announced plans for Sandy Cay, a brand-new private island destination in The Bahamas that will open in 2028.
Located close to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Sandy Cay is being positioned as a quieter and more exclusive experience. While Ocean Cay focuses on a mix of beaches, activities and environmental projects, Sandy Cay is expected to offer a more relaxed atmosphere centred around pristine beaches and natural surroundings.
The island will be available to guests sailing with both MSC Cruises and luxury sister brand Explora Journeys.
MSC says the destination takes its name from the bright white aragonite sands found throughout the area and will continue the company’s nature-focused approach to private destinations.
The launch is particularly significant because it gives MSC something very few cruise lines can match – two private island experiences in the same region. As private destinations become increasingly important to Caribbean itineraries, Sandy Cay gives MSC another way to stand out from the competition.
5. Ocean Cay Is About To Get Much Bigger
Before Sandy Cay opens, MSC has plenty of plans for Ocean Cay itself.
The cruise line has unveiled a major expansion project that will transform the private island over the next couple of years, with completion expected in late 2027.
One of the biggest changes will be a pier extension that allows two ships to dock at the island simultaneously. That’s a major operational improvement and should help support MSC’s rapidly growing Caribbean presence.
Guests will also find four new dining venues, taking the total number of places to eat on the island to seven. A new speciality restaurant is planned alongside additional buffet and food market-style options.
Families are getting plenty of attention too. Seakers Cove will be redeveloped into a dedicated family beach area featuring a playground, splash pad, ropes course and organised activities.
Adults won’t be forgotten either. MSC is creating a new adults-only beach retreat called Paradise Sands, designed as a quieter escape during the day and a sunset-focused venue in the evenings.
Perhaps most interestingly, Ocean Cay’s environmental focus will continue expanding through a new Marine Conservation Experience, allowing guests to learn more about coral restoration and marine research projects taking place around the island.
Taken together, the upgrades represent one of the biggest investments MSC has made in a private destination since Ocean Cay first opened in 2019. Combined with the arrival of Sandy Cay a year later, it’s clear the Bahamas will play an increasingly important role in the cruise line’s future plans.
6. MSC’s First Beach Club Is Coming To The Bahamas
MSC isn’t stopping at private islands. The cruise line is also planning its first dedicated beach club in The Bahamas, giving guests another exclusive place to spend a day ashore.
The MSC Beach Club will be created on a 20-acre section of the former Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Grand Bahama. It’s part of a much larger investment in the area, including a major new cruise development centred around Billy Cay in Freeport Harbour.
For guests, the beach club should mean a more resort-style day ashore, with MSC able to control the whole experience from arrival to beach time. That’s becoming a huge trend in cruising, with lines increasingly creating their own private or semi-private destinations rather than relying only on traditional port calls.
The bigger picture is even more interesting. MSC Group’s wider Grand Bahama plans include a new cruise terminal complex, multiple berths, restaurants, shops, entertainment areas and transport links around the island. The new port is expected to be open to other cruise lines too, so it won’t just be an MSC-only facility.
Between Ocean Cay, Sandy Cay and now the MSC Beach Club, the cruise line is clearly making The Bahamas a central part of its future Caribbean plans.
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7. MSC Is Expanding Into New Destinations
MSC is also pushing into new regions, with several big itinerary changes giving passengers more choice than ever.
The biggest new addition is Alaska. MSC Poesia began the cruise line’s first-ever Alaska season from Seattle in May 2026, sailing seven-night itineraries to destinations including Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Victoria, alongside scenic cruising through Endicott Arm.
MSC has clearly been confident enough in the move to commit to Alaska for the longer term, with sailings already confirmed through summer 2028.
The second big move is in the Southern Caribbean. From November 2026, MSC Opera will begin year-round sailings from La Romana in the Dominican Republic. This is the first time MSC has offered a year-round Southern Caribbean programme.
Guests will be able to choose seven-night cruises or longer 14-night “butterfly” itineraries, with ports including Catalina Island, Martinique, Virgin Gorda, Antigua, St Maarten, St Kitts and Tortola.
And there’s an even bigger change coming in winter 2027-28.
MSC World Asia will move to the Southern Caribbean, sailing seven- and 14-night cruises from Martinique, Guadeloupe and Barbados. Meanwhile, MSC World Europa will remain in the Western Mediterranean rather than moving to the Middle East as previously planned.
For UK passengers, many of these cruises will also be available with Fly and Cruise packages that bundle flights, transfers and the cruise together.
Taken together, these moves show MSC expanding well beyond its traditional Mediterranean and Caribbean strongholds – while also committing much more heavily to regions where it previously had little or no presence.
8. Dining Is Getting More Flexible
Food is another area where MSC is making changes, particularly on ships sailing from the US.
MSC Seashore has recently added two new complimentary grab-and-go venues. The Chicken Man, located on Deck 18, serves chicken tenders, fries and chicken sandwiches near the pool deck. Red Cactus BBQ & Ribs, on Deck 8, offers breakfast and lunch, with dishes such as pulled pork hash, brisket, barbecue chicken, ribs, macaroni cheese and coleslaw.
The key word here is complimentary. These aren’t extra-charge speciality restaurants, but included venues designed to give passengers more casual options without heading to the buffet or main dining room.
MSC has also introduced “Dine on Your Time” on MSC Seashore and MSC Seaside. Rather than being tied to a traditional fixed dining sitting, Bella and Fantastica guests can choose a more flexible time for dinner, subject to availability.
It may sound like a relatively small change, but it represents a shift away from MSC’s traditionally structured dining model.
If the idea proves popular, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more flexible dining and complimentary quick-service venues appear on other ships in future.
9. There’s Now An AI Concierge
MSC’s next big tech change is an AI-powered concierge, built into the MSC for Me app.
The complimentary service works like a 24-hour digital concierge. Guests can ask questions, reserve restaurants, book spa treatments and excursions, check their onboard account and get personalised recommendations for activities and entertainment.
It can now do more practical things too, including submitting housekeeping requests, asking for fresh towels, changing pillow or bed preferences and checking the weather for upcoming ports.
The service is available through your own phone or tablet while connected to the ship’s Wi-Fi, and you don’t need to buy an internet package to use it. It’s also linked to your booking, so it knows things such as your cabin type, experience level and drinks package and can tailor its answers accordingly.
MSC originally launched the system after a trial involving more than 170,000 passengers and over one million messages. The trial achieved a 93% satisfaction score, and MSC announced plans to make the service available fleetwide by the end of May 2026.
It feels like a significant step up from Zoe, MSC’s older cabin-based voice assistant. Instead of talking to a device in your cabin, MSC Concierge travels around the ship with you on your phone and can actually carry out useful tasks rather than simply answering basic questions.
10. Families Are Getting Bigger, Bolder Spaces
MSC has always been a popular choice for families, but MSC World Asia looks set to take things much further.
One of the headline additions is The Spiral @ Tree of Life, an 81-metre dry slide that twists down through 11 decks. MSC says it will be the longest dry slide at sea, giving passengers a much more exciting way to travel between different parts of the ship.
The ship will introduce the Family Aventura District, bringing together several family-friendly spaces including The Clubhouse, The Harbour and Doremiland kids’ club. It’s designed as a proper activity hub rather than just a collection of separate venues.
Another huge addition is The Harbour, an outdoor family zone with an Asian-inspired design. It will include Cliffhanger, an over-water swing ride positioned around 164 feet above sea level, plus a two-level ropes course, Sky Rails, water slides, splash areas and places to grab food and drinks.
Inside, the MSC Luna Park Arena will host interactive game shows and competitions using digital floor technology. The Clubhouse will offer roller skating, bumper cars, sports sessions, LEGO family activities and junior versions of popular onboard games.
It all sounds very high-energy, but that’s exactly the point. MSC is clearly trying to build ships where families can spend a whole week on board without hearing “I’m bored” by day two.
11. Baby Care Now Comes With A Catch…
There is one family change that won’t please everyone.
MSC has quietly moved its Baby Care service from a free model to a paid one. Previously, parents could leave babies with trained youth staff during two complimentary two-hour sessions each day, usually in the morning and early evening.
Now, the service offers longer availability of up to eight hours per day, which could be useful for parents who want more flexibility. But it’s no longer included in the cruise fare.
The frustration isn’t just about the charge itself. Some guests have said they weren’t clearly told about the change before booking, which is a problem when childcare can be a major factor in choosing a cruise.
MSC hasn’t publicly listed clear pricing details either, making it harder for families to budget before they sail.
So while MSC is investing heavily in bigger and better family spaces, parents travelling with babies should check the latest Baby Care details carefully before booking. The facilities may still be useful, but they may no longer be the free perk some cruisers remember.
12. Southampton Is Getting A Different Ship
UK cruisers will see a major change too, as MSC prepares to swap the ship it bases in Southampton.
MSC Virtuosa has become a familiar sight on the south coast, but from summer 2027, MSC Meraviglia will take over the cruise line’s Southampton programme.
The ship is scheduled to operate 19 cruises from Southampton during the 2027 season, with itineraries ranging from six to 14 nights. MSC has already confirmed that Meraviglia will return again in summer 2028, with 21 Southampton sailings planned.
For regular MSC cruisers in the UK, that means a noticeably different onboard experience. Meraviglia is slightly older than Virtuosa and has its own mix of restaurants, entertainment and facilities, while still offering many of the features MSC passengers will recognise.
It’s also a strong sign that MSC remains committed to the UK market. Rather than pulling back from Southampton, the cruise line is continuing to offer a full programme of no-fly cruises for British passengers – just with a different ship at the centre of it.
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Final Word
MSC has never been a cruise line that thinks small, but the scale of what’s planned over the next few years is remarkable even by its standards.
By the start of the next decade, the fleet could have grown by more than ten ships, guests will have access to multiple private destinations in The Bahamas, and entirely new ship designs will be sailing alongside the already enormous World Class vessels. Add in AI technology, expanded Yacht Club access and new itinerary options, and it’s clear MSC is investing heavily in almost every part of the guest experience.
Of course, not every change will be universally popular. The introduction of charges for Baby Care shows that expansion and innovation don’t always come without trade-offs.
Still, if you’re an MSC fan, there’s plenty to look forward to. The challenge may simply be deciding which of these new ships, destinations and experiences to try first.
Cruise ships have always had rules. The difference now is that Royal Caribbean actually seems determined to enforce some of them, at least more than they ever did before.
From drink package loopholes to wearable tech and onboard behaviour, the cruise line has become noticeably stricter in recent years – and some passengers are only finding out once they’re already on board.
Not all of the changes are controversial though. In one surprising area, the company is actually making life easier for loyal passengers…
1. Sharing Drinks Packages
This is probably the clearest example of Royal Caribbean tightening the rules – although there’s now been an interesting U-turn.
For years, passengers found ways around the cruise line’s policy requiring all adults in the same cabin to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package if one person purchased it.
In some cases, guests could call customer services and explain that one traveller didn’t drink for medical, religious or personal reasons. Royal Caribbean would sometimes make an exception and allow that person to buy the cheaper non-alcoholic package instead.
Let me be clear – I’m not saying that everyone who did this was cheating the system. Absolutely not, I trust that many of those phone calls were absolutely genuine.
But the exemption became widely discussed online as a workaround, and Royal Caribbean said that requests for exceptions had increased while passengers were continuing to share drinks packages, which isn’t allowed.
So, on 1st August 2025, Royal Caribbean stopped routinely granting these exceptions. If one adult bought the alcoholic package, every adult of legal drinking age in the same stateroom and on the same booking was generally required to buy it too.
There’s now a formal Beverage Package Accommodation Request for passengers who can’t consume alcohol because of a disability, medical condition or pregnancy.
If Royal Caribbean approves the request, the affected passenger doesn’t have to buy the alcoholic package, although they will still be required to purchase a non-alcoholic beverage package.
This isn’t quite a return to the old system, though.
The new exemption is much more narrowly defined. Simply not drinking, wanting to save money or preferring not to buy the package isn’t enough, and the current accommodation process specifically lists disability, medical conditions and pregnancy as the qualifying reasons.
Approval isn’t guaranteed either, and Royal Caribbean has made it very clear that supplying false or misleading information could have serious consequences.
So while couples where one person genuinely can’t drink now have an option again, the loophole that people previously used to mix and match packages has effectively been closed.
And sharing a drinks package remains strictly against the rules.
In other words, Royal Caribbean has found a sensible middle ground: there’s protection for passengers who genuinely can’t drink alcohol, without reopening the much broader exemption system that became so easy to abuse.
Every cruiser knows the frustration – you arrive at the pool ready for a sea day only to discover rows of empty loungers “reserved” by towels, books and flip-flops that haven’t moved for hours.
Royal Caribbean has technically had rules against chair hogging for years, but enforcement now seems far more visible than it once was. Crew members on busy sailings are increasingly removing unattended belongings from loungers that have been left unused for extended periods.
It’s not difficult to see why. Ships are getting bigger, passenger numbers are climbing, and pool decks can become chaotic on warm-weather itineraries.
Also, Royal’s newest ships have so much to see and do, that it’s easy for someone to reserve a sun lounger and wander off to do an activity or grab a bite to eat, but then become distracted and end up spending hours away from the poolside.
However, on my latest cruise on Legend of the Seas, I only saw the signs telling people not to reserve deck chairs on sea days. On port days, it was still a bit of a free-for-all, with lots of people putting towels out early in the morning.
This is one of the lesser-known changes, but it has caught out quite a few tech-savvy cruisers.
Royal Caribbean has been taking a tougher stance on travel routers and networking devices that create personal WiFi hotspots onboard. These gadgets are often used by passengers who want to connect multiple devices through a single internet package.
From a passenger perspective, it feels harmless enough. From the cruise line’s perspective, it can interfere with onboard systems and create cybersecurity concerns.
As more people cruise while working remotely – or travel with phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and cameras all needing internet access – these kinds of devices have become increasingly common.
But Royal Caribbean appears to be making it clear that unofficial onboard networks aren’t something it wants spreading across its ships.
Technically, travel routers have been on the banned list since late 2024, but it’s only more recently that more and more people are talking about the ban being enforced.
Ultimately, they want you to pay for more WiFi connections. Same as with the drinks packages – anything that could impact the bottom line of the cruise line won’t be allowed.
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4. Smart Glasses And Wearable Cameras
Cruise lines are becoming noticeably more cautious about wearable recording technology.
Smart glasses with built-in cameras have triggered growing privacy concerns across the travel industry, especially in places like pools, spas, casinos and family areas where passengers may not realise they’re being filmed.
MSC Cruises was one of the first cruise lines to introduce specific restrictions around smart glasses onboard, but it didn’t take long for Royal Caribbean to catch up and ban them in February 2026.
Cruise lines are far less relaxed than they once were about passengers constantly recording content around the ship, especially when it’s not obvious to other guests that they might be being filmed. Someone walking around with a GoPro is a lot more conspicuous than someone just wearing glasses, after all.
And it’s not just a safety thing – cruise lines like Royal Caribbean don’t want everyone to be able to film if there’s something going wrong onboard that they don’t want publishing online! Something like…
5. Fighting And Disorderly Behaviour
This should go without saying, but recent incidents suggest cruise lines are no longer willing to quietly deal with onboard fights behind the scenes.
Videos of passengers arguing, brawling and being escorted off ships have spread widely online over the past few years, and Royal Caribbean appears increasingly prepared to take immediate action against disruptive behaviour.
There’s very little tolerance, and guests are often kicked off the ship at the next port of call, even if they have later calmed down and tried to apologise over a drunken ‘mistake’.
And to be clear, this isn’t just fights we’re talking about. Excessive drunken behaviour, threatening conduct and other types of disturbances are attracting faster intervention from security teams than many seasoned cruisers remember from years ago. No three strikes, no second chances. The message from Royal Caribbean is clear – off you go, good luck getting home, we don’t want you onboard anymore.
And again, part of that is likely because cruise ships now operate under constant social media scrutiny. One viral incident can generate headlines around the world before the ship has even reached its next destination.
Royal Caribbean has quietly trimmed one of the small perks that many regular cruisers had come to expect.
Since March 2026, the cruise line has removed Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cups from both the Deluxe Beverage Package and the Refreshment Package. Guests can still buy the cups, but they’re no longer included as standard.
That matters because the cups unlock access to Royal Caribbean’s Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, which are found on most ships and allow passengers to create hundreds of different drink combinations using touchscreen dispensers.
Soft drinks themselves haven’t disappeared from the packages. Canned and fountain sodas are still included. The change only affects access to the self-service Freestyle machines.
Passengers who want to use them now need to purchase a Freestyle cup separately for a one-off fee of $4.99.
It’s hardly a holiday-ruining change, but it does reflect a broader trend across the cruise industry. Features that were once bundled into larger packages are increasingly being separated out and charged for individually, even when the extra cost is relatively small.
Royal Caribbean’s approach to Labadee shows how much more cautious cruise lines have become around security concerns.
The company suspended visits to its private destination in Haiti throughout 2025 due to unrest in the country, with affected sailings rerouted to alternative Caribbean ports instead. That suspension has now carried through into 2026.
The port has been on-again, off-again, but for now it seems like a long-term plan to avoid Labadee visits until there are no concerns at all over the safety of guests. Which seems sensible.
Royal Caribbean has made clear that it hopes to return once it believes it’s safe to do so, but the situation highlights how seriously cruise operators now treat itinerary risk and passenger safety concerns.
Years ago, cruise lines were sometimes criticised for pushing ahead with controversial port calls during periods of instability. Increasingly, companies seem more willing to change itineraries entirely rather than risk negative attention or passenger unease.
Labadee’s fun – let’s hope things calm down and more guests get to enjoy the destination in future.
Not every crackdown is bad news for passengers. In fact, this is one where the cruise line is cracking down on a wider issue, making sure that it goes against the flow and actually makes things better for guests!
While Royal Caribbean has been tightening rules in some areas, it’s also made a major change designed to simplify loyalty benefits across its cruise brands.
Royal Caribbean Group recently announced a new initiative called Points Choice, launching in 2026, which allows passengers to decide where loyalty points earned on cruises are applied across Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
Under the new system, guests sailing with one brand will be able to choose which programme receives the points from that cruise. A Royal Caribbean passenger sailing on Celebrity, for example, could apply those points toward Crown & Anchor Society status instead.
The company says existing benefits and status matching will remain unchanged. It’s essentially the opposite of a crackdown – a sign that while cruise lines are becoming stricter operationally, they’re also trying to make life easier for valuable repeat customers.
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Final Word
Royal Caribbean isn’t suddenly becoming the “fun police”. But it is becoming a bit more controlled, security-conscious and structured than it used to be.
Some of these changes are probably overdue. Few passengers genuinely enjoy chair hogs or having to put up with onboard fights. But others are more down to the reality that modern cruising has changed dramatically thanks to social media, remote working and increasingly packed mega-ships. And those updated drink package rules have definitely split opinion.
Regardless, the days of cruise lines quietly overlooking certain behaviours seem to be fading fast. Royal Caribbean has a fun, family-friendly reputation to protect, after all.
Don’t be surprised if there are more policy tweaks in future with that in mind. Will I still be allowed to film content onboard my cruises? Who knows!
Royal Caribbean has spent years convincing people that cruise ships can be more than just floating hotels. This is the cruise line that put surf simulators, zip lines and ice skating rinks at sea – and somehow made them feel normal.
Even people who don’t regularly sail with Royal Caribbean usually know its ships by name. That’s not an accident.
And while loyal cruise fans love arguing over whether Royal Caribbean is overrated, there are definitely areas where the line genuinely leads the industry. In some cases, rivals are still trying to catch up.
Love them or not, Royal Caribbean understands spectacle better than almost anyone else at sea!
1. They Build Ships That Feel Like Floating Cities
Royal Caribbean’s biggest achievement isn’t just building enormous ships. It’s making those ships feel like destinations in their own right.
The Oasis-class ships genuinely changed what people expected from mainstream cruising. Instead of one central pool deck and a few lounges, these ships introduced entire neighbourhoods with completely different atmospheres.
You can move from the greenery and calm of Central Park to the loud energy of the Boardwalk in a matter of minutes. Some areas feel family-focused, others feel almost resort-like and others barely feel like cruise ships at all.
And then the Icon Class came, at almost 20% bigger again – it’s absolutely crazy how big these ships are, but also how well they seem to flow.
That variety is what Royal Caribbean does so well. You can spend a full week onboard and still discover places you somehow missed earlier in the cruise.
In fact on the Icon-class ships I’d say there’s no chance you could do even close to everything onboard in a week.
No cruise line understands the power of “look at this” moments quite like Royal Caribbean.
This is the company that decided cruise ships should have surf simulators, observation capsules suspended above the ocean and diving shows performed in an open-air aqua theatre at the back of the ship.
Some attractions are genuinely impressive, others are slightly ridiculous. Overall though, most are memorable. And that’s the point – Royal Caribbean understands that modern cruising competes with theme parks, resorts and major city breaks now. The line wants passengers constantly finding things they can photograph, film and talk about afterwards.
Even people who claim they’d never use the attractions often end up trying them at least once, or even just telling family and friends about them when getting home – “not that you’d get me on there”, they may add!
3. Their Entertainment Is Often The Industry Benchmark
Royal Caribbean’s entertainment typically feels closer to Las Vegas or a major resort than traditional cruise ship productions. The line invests heavily in large-scale shows and it shows onboard. Full Broadway musicals, ice skating productions and AquaTheater performances all help Royal Caribbean stand apart from many other cruise lines.
The AquaTheater shows especially still feel really unique within cruising. Watching divers perform acrobatics at the back of a moving ship sounds absurd until you actually see it happening.
What Royal Caribbean also gets right is variety. You’re rarely limited to one theatre show each evening. On larger ships, there’s usually live music, comedy, pub entertainment, game shows and multiple production options happening at the same time.
That gives the ships a much busier, more energetic atmosphere at night, and – while it’s a cliché – it means there’s always something for everyone to enjoy.
4. Perfect Day At CocoCay Changed The Industry
Private islands existed long before Royal Caribbean launched Perfect Day At CocoCay, but CocoCay is probably the place that changed expectations more than any other.
Years ago, a private island stop was usually a pleasant extra. You’d spend a few hours on a beach, grab some lunch, maybe do an excursion and then head back to the ship. Nobody was booking a cruise specifically because of the private island.
These days it’s very different. Plenty of passengers actively look for CocoCay itineraries, and it’s easy to see why. The island has become an attraction in its own right, with enormous pools, a waterpark, beach clubs, swim-up bars and enough going on that some guests would happily spend longer there if they could.
The interesting part is what happened afterwards. Once Royal Caribbean proved people would choose cruises based around a private destination, other cruise lines started investing heavily in their own. Suddenly everyone wanted a beach club, a private resort or a purpose-built destination that passengers couldn’t get anywhere else.
Whether you love private islands or think they’re a bit artificial, CocoCay changed the direction of the industry. Cruise lines aren’t spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these projects by coincidence.
5. They’re Probably The Best Cruise Line For Active Families
Royal Caribbean has spent years building ships that are packed with things to do, and families are probably the biggest beneficiaries of that.
On some cruise lines, the challenge isn’t finding activities. It’s finding enough activities to fill seven days, particularly if you’re travelling with older children or teenagers. Royal Caribbean rarely has that problem. Between the waterslides, sports courts, climbing walls, surf simulators, arcades and organised activities, there always seems to be something happening somewhere.
What the line generally gets right is that all of this activity doesn’t completely take over the ship. Families are a huge part of Royal Caribbean’s audience, but there are still plenty of spaces that don’t feel dominated by children.
That balance becomes more noticeable on longer cruises. Parents can have a drink in the Solarium, grandparents can find somewhere quieter to relax, and teenagers can disappear off and do their own thing for a few hours without anybody feeling like they’re compromising their holiday.
For a lot of families, that’s a big part of the appeal. Everyone gets to spend time together, but nobody is expected to do everything as a group all day long.
6. Their Ships Handle Crowds Better Than You’d Expect
One thing that surprises a lot of first-time Royal Caribbean passengers is how the biggest ships don’t necessarily feel the busiest.
When you look at the numbers, they probably should. The biggest ships carries more than 7,000 guests at full occupancy, which sounds like the sort of holiday where you’d spend half your time standing in queues.
But those passenger numbers only tell part of the story. These ships are absolutely enormous, and people naturally scatter themselves around them. Some are around the pools all day. Others disappear into Central Park with a coffee. You’ll always find people watching sports, sitting in bars, wandering the Royal Promenade or heading off to whatever show is starting next.
I think that’s one of the reasons Royal Caribbean’s neighbourhood concept works so well. The ship rarely feels like one giant shared space because everyone is using it differently.
Of course, you’ll still hit busy periods. The Windjammer before an excursion-heavy port day can be chaos, and the newest attractions always attract a queue. But I’ve sailed on smaller ships that felt far more crowded simply because everybody ended up in the same places at the same times.
Considering the scale of Royal Caribbean’s biggest vessels, the passenger flow is actually pretty impressive. It’s not something most people think about when booking a cruise, but you’d definitely notice if they got it wrong.
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7. Royal Caribbean Makes Cruising Feel Modern
One reason Royal Caribbean appeals to so many first-time cruisers is that it rarely feels tied to old cruise traditions.
That’s not a criticism of the lines that lean into that side of cruising. Plenty of people love formal nights, grand dining rooms and the feeling of stepping into a world that hasn’t changed much in decades. But Royal Caribbean has largely positioned itself as something different.
The newer ships often feel closer to modern resorts than traditional cruise ships. Technology is a bit part of the experience, the atmosphere is generally relaxed, and there’s very little sense that passengers are expected to cruise in a particular way.
You can spend the entire week dressing casually, eating in a different venue every night and planning everything through an app if you want to. For people who have never cruised before, that removes a lot of the uncertainty that used to come with booking a cruise holiday.
In many ways, Royal Caribbean doesn’t ask guests to adapt to cruising. It adapts cruising to fit the way people already holiday.
8. They Understand Multi-Generational Cruising Better Than Most
Planning a holiday for three generations of the same family sounds straightforward until you actually try it.
The challenge isn’t finding things that people enjoy. It’s finding enough different things that everyone can enjoy themselves without feeling like they’re constantly making compromises for somebody else.
That’s where Royal Caribbean’s larger ships come into their own. There aren’t many holidays where grandparents can spend an afternoon relaxing with a book, teenagers can vanish off to sports courts and arcades, younger children can head to kids’ clubs, and everyone can still meet up later for dinner as if they’ve spent the day together.
The sheer amount of choice helps. Nobody has to spend the entire cruise following the same schedule.
It’s one of the reasons Royal Caribbean works so well for larger family groups. People can do their own thing when they want to, without feeling like they’ve booked separate holidays.
9. Their Solarium Areas Are Among The Best At Sea
When people talk about Royal Caribbean, the conversation usually revolves around surf simulators, waterslides, zip lines and all the other attractions that make the headlines.
The Solarium tends to get overlooked a bit, which is a shame because it’s often one of the nicest spaces on the ship.
Part of that is simply the atmosphere. While the main pool decks can be lively from morning until evening, the Solarium feels calmer without becoming stuffy or overly quiet. It’s somewhere you can sit for an hour with a coffee, read a book or just watch the ocean go by without much going on around you.
The design helps as well. On some ships it’s enclosed beneath glass, while others blend indoor and outdoor spaces together, but they generally feel like areas that have been properly thought through rather than added as an afterthought.
For all the attention Royal Caribbean gets for its biggest and loudest attractions, some of its best spaces are actually the ones where very little happens at all.
10. Their Private Suites And Suite Areas Are Excellent
It’s easy to think of Royal Caribbean purely as a mainstream cruise line, but the company has become increasingly strong at the premium end of the market as well.
The Royal Suite Class on newer ships offers a very different experience from the standard cruise. Dedicated restaurants, private lounges, exclusive sun decks and upgraded service levels create a level of separation that feels much closer to luxury cruising than many people expect from Royal Caribbean.
Some of the suites themselves are genuinely spectacular too. Whether it’s the Ultimate Family Suite with its slides and games or the sprawling multi-level suites found on the newest ships, Royal Caribbean clearly enjoys pushing boundaries here just as much as it does elsewhere onboard.
What the line generally gets right is that these premium spaces don’t overwhelm the rest of the ship. Passengers staying in standard cabins rarely feel like huge portions of the vessel have been taken away from them.
That’s not always an easy balance to strike, particularly on modern ships where suite guests are increasingly paying for exclusivity.
11. Royal Caribbean Has Become The “Safe Choice” For First-Time Cruisers
When friends or family ask experienced cruisers which cruise line they should try first, Royal Caribbean is one of the names that comes up again and again.
Part of that comes down to familiarity. Even people who have never cruised before usually know something about Royal Caribbean, whether it’s the giant ships, the surf simulators or simply the fact they’ve seen the adverts.
But the bigger reason is that the line occupies a very comfortable middle ground. It’s lively without feeling like a party cruise. Family-friendly without being aimed exclusively at families. Modern without being intimidating.
Most first-time cruisers can find something that suits them onboard, which isn’t as easy as it sounds when you’re dealing with passengers of different ages, interests and budgets.
There are certainly more luxurious cruise lines, more traditional cruise lines and more adventurous cruise lines. As an all-round introduction to modern cruising, though, Royal Caribbean is a difficult recommendation to argue against.
Royal Caribbean’s Pricing Frustrates Some Loyal Guests – But People Keep Paying
If there’s one complaint that comes up repeatedly among long-time Royal Caribbean passengers, it’s price.
The newest ships in particular can be eye-wateringly expensive once everything is added up. Drink packages, speciality dining, internet access, excursions and private destination upgrades can quickly push the final bill much higher than the headline fare suggests.
And yet demand remains remarkably strong. Part of that is because Royal Caribbean has spent years building ships that people genuinely want to experience. Icon of the Seas isn’t marketed as just another cruise ship. It’s presented as an attraction in its own right, and plenty of passengers seem willing to pay a premium to see what all the fuss is about.
Whether that remains sustainable long term is another question entirely. Cruise passengers are loyal up to a point, and there will always be competitors offering cheaper alternatives.
For now, though, Royal Caribbean appears to have positioned itself as the cruise line many people aspire to try, even if they’re grumbling about the price while they book.
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Final Word
Royal Caribbean doesn’t do subtle cruising particularly well.
The ships are huge, the attractions are ambitious and the entire experience is designed to feel bigger, busier and more exciting than traditional cruising ever used to be.
But that’s also exactly why the line remains so influential. No mainstream cruise company has done more to redefine what modern cruising looks like. Even cruise lines that compete directly with Royal Caribbean often end up chasing trends the company introduced years earlier.
For now, the cruise line does have broad appeal – the older ships in the fleet are a bit smaller, and well-suited to guests looking for an enjoyable, varied cruise without too much going on. That might change in future though if those older ships are phased out.
But if you want huge ships packed with entertainment, activities and enough variety to keep almost anyone happy for a week, very few cruise lines do it better.
