Diplomacy

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection became the first cruise line to be awarded a Five-Star rating from Forbes Travel Guide.

Ritz-Carlton’s second yacht, Ilma, earned the distincted milestone in the 2026 Star Awards by Forbes Travel Guide.

Ilma’s Five-Star recognition reflects The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s commitment to delivering a highly personalized and refined experience at sea, where thoughtful design, service, and space work in harmony.

The ship offers one of the highest space and employee-to-guest ratios in the cruise industry. The ship accommodates up to 448 guests in 224 suites, each with their own private ocean-view terrace.

Ernesto Fara, President & CEO of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, gave the following statement:

“From day one, we set out to redefine travel at sea through a highly personalized approach rooted in service, care, and attention to detail.

“Ilma’s recognition as an industry first underscores a new era of ultra-luxury voyages and reflects years of dedication from our Ladies and Gentlemen, both on board and ashore, who deliver exceptional experiences for our guests every day.”

Amanda Frasier, President of Ratings, Forbes Travel Guide, added:

“Our coveted Five-Star award is not given; it is earned through our exacting, incognito evaluation process.

“The Five-Star recognition is not just about delivering an exceptional guest experience, but about delivering it consistently from reservation service to disembarking – earning the guest’s trust and confidence. This doesn’t occur by happenstance, but through dedication and coordination. We congratulate the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection on this impressive achievement.”

A recent check of the CDC’s website for cruise ship inspection scores revealed that three luxury vessels received a perfect 100 before closing out 2025.

Sometimes these reports are delayed on the website, and I check it regularly to see what ships have been inspected in recent history.  This morning, I saw that some of these reports from inspections performed a couple months ago were now live.

While most people are walking around their cruise ship and enjoying their vacation, there is a group a very hard-working crew members making sure everything from the galley to the water systems remain as clean as possible.

Three ships, in the more luxurious category of cruising, earned a perfect score from the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).

Perfect Trio

The surprise inspections take place when a ship enters a U.S. port.   These three inspections took place within just a few days of each other.

• Seabourn Encore (Seabourn Cruise Line) – December 2, 2025
• Oceania Vista (Oceania Cruises) – December 3, 2025
• Seven Seas Grandeur (Regent Seven Seas) – December 4, 2025

Historic Inspection Scores

I also looked back at the past inspection scores for all three ships, and one ship’s scores really stood out.

Oceania Vista (built in 2023): This ship has maintained a streak of perfection, earning a perfect 100 in every single CDC inspection since its debut, with perfect scores in September 2023, December 2024, May 2025, and December 2025.

Seven Seas Grandeur (built in 2023): Grandeur previously earned a 100 in October 2024 and a strong 96 in February 2024.

Seabourn Encore (built in 2016): This Seabourn ship saw a jump in its score at the end of the year, climbing to a perfect 100 in December after a previous score of 90 in April 2025.

Where These Ships Sail Now

While cruise ship inspections take place in U.S. ports, these ships sail all over the world.

Oceania Vista is currently on a 77-day sailing that began in California, and is now sailing the coastline of South America, visiting Chile for the next week.  The ship is scheduled to arrive back in San Diego in early March.

Seabourn Encore is on the other end of the globe on a 14-day sailing out of Singapore.  The ship visits Vietnam tomorrow and is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on February 15.

Passengers on Seven Seas Grandeur are just ending their one-way, 16-day sailing from Los Angeles, California to PortMiami in Florida.  The ship actually just arrived this morning and is set to depart Miami on an 11-day sailing this afternoon.

Disney Cruise Line released their ship deployments for the summer of 2027 today that include Disney Wish sailing in Europe for the first time.

These newly announced cruises will open for bookings for Castaway Cay Club members on February 16, 2026 and to the general public a week later on February 23, 2026.

The cruises will visit the Caribbean, Alaska, Asia and Europe with select sailings having Marvel Day at Sea or Pixar Day at Sea.

Here is a look at Disney Cruise Line’s 2027 summer deployments.

Disney Wish will offer three- to ten-night cruises in Europe that include visits to Italy, Croatia and Norway.

Disney Magic and Disney Wonder will sail to Alaska from Vancouver. Both cruise ships will offer seven-night itineraries with Disney Magic also having six- and eight-night options.

Disney Dream will return to Port Canaveral for the summer of 2027. The ship will sail three- and four-night cruises to The Bahamas. The cruises will visit the cruise line’s private ports in The Bahamas, Castaway Cay and Lighthouse Point.

Disney Fantasy will continue sailing from Port Canaveral on four- and five-night cruises to The Bahamas and Caribbean. The ship will also offer a 10-night cruise to the Southern Caribbean.

Disney Treasure will sail week-long cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral.

Disney Destiny will offer three-, four-, five-, and seven-night cruises to The Bahamas and Caribbean from Port Everglades. Select voyages will include visits to both Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

Disney Adventure, the cruise line’s largest ship, will continue sailing from Singapore on three- and four-night cruises. The sailings will have no port stops.

Marvel Day at Sea will return to Galveston, Texas, aboard Disney Magic and, for the first time, will be featured on two seven‑night itineraries visiting The Bahamas.

Pixar Day at Sea will be available on five‑night sailings aboard Disney Fantasy from Port Canaveral.

Update: Carnival Cruise Line sent the following update message to guests who are booked on the February 7, 2026 sailing on Carnival Sunshine:

“Carnival Sunshine 02/07/2026 (now departing 02/08/2026): Carnival Sunshine is expected to arrive in Norfolk tomorrow morning, Sunday, February 8. See your email for full details and revised embarkation plans.

“Follow your original Terminal Arrival Appointment for check in. You must be at the cruise terminal no later than 3:00 PM. We appreciate your patience and understanding. See you soon!”

Original Article: A Carnival cruise ship was unable to return to its homeport today due to the port being closed because of weather.

Carnival Sunshine was scheduled to arrive back in Norfolk, Virginia this morning after a six-night cruise to The Bahamas.

Due to weather, the port has been closed and the ship will not be able to return until tomorrow. The eight-night February 7, 2026 sailing will be shortened by one day.

Carnival Cruise Line is asking guests who are booked on today’s sailing to not arrive at the cruise terminal until they receive a revised embarkation timeline from the cruise line.

The latest Carnival Cruise Line update on the sailing is as follows:

“Due to unfavorable weather, the Port of Norfolk will be closed Saturday, February 7, and the ship will be delayed returning from the current voyage. We are now expecting to arrive Sunday, February 8, shortening your sailing.

“Please do not proceed to the cruise terminal until you have received our final operational update with revised embarkation timelines.

“We will be back in touch by 3:00 PM (ET), Saturday, February 7. Please see your email for more details. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Guests who are on the cruise can sign up for text updates by texting CCL5 to 278473 (CRUISE). They should also receive email updates straight from Carnival.

Carnival said that they expect to provide the next update by 3:00 pm this afternoon.

The original eight-day February 7 sailing was scheduled to stop at Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Amber Cove, to go along with four sea days.

Cruise Fever will have all updates on today’s sailing on Carnival Sunshine when they are provided by Carnival Cruise Line.

A select group of guests, set to sail on Royal Caribbean’s ship Oasis of the Seas, have been sent a very enticing offer.  All they have to do is cancel this upcoming trip that is scheduled for February 7, 2026.

According to the letter sent to future cruisers on the first Oasis-class ship, the cruise line is “looking to see if you and your travel party have flexible travel arrangements.”

For travelers that still want to cruise after all those months of planning, the letter said they can just ignore the email and get ready for their cruise.  And since the cruise sets sail tomorrow, this offer would have to be for those who don’t mind some last-minute changes.

To sweeten the deal, Royal Caribbean is offering a 100% refund for the canceled cruise, on top of a pretty big future cruise credit.

“Cancel your booking and receive a 100% refund, PLUS a 50% Future Cruise Credit to book an alternative Royal Caribbean sailing,” the letter stated.

This credit towards another cruise in the future would be for 50% of what the cruise fare was for the Oasis of the Seas booking, but you can see how this kind of offer, for basically half-off a future cruise, would be tempting. 

The future sailing could be on any Royal Caribbean ship or sailing as long as it departs no later than February 7, 2027.

“Please note that this special offer is valid for a limited time and subject to availability,” Royal Caribbean’s letter stated, as not every guest received this offer and only so many slots were available.

Other Expenses Compensated

You might think this kind of offer is only attractive to those who already live in Florida right near the port in Fort Lauderdale.  

But Royal Caribbean is making sure travelers aren’t left out of pocket for the “extra” logistics that come with a big trip. The offer includes a full reimbursement for any non-refundable, pre-purchased travel expenses.  This could include things like airline change fees, non-refundable flight tickets, or prepaid hotel stays in Fort Lauderdale.

They are even refunding things like shore excursions, drink packages, and spa treatments. 

Guests interested in canceling for the full refund and half off the next cruise just had to fill out a survey to register.

The letter never stated that the ship was oversold or overbooked, but this is often the case when these types of offers go out.  Cruise lines prefer to fill every cabin, and they try to compensate for the fact that not every guest shows up for the sailing.

Oasis of the Seas is a 5,400-passenger ship at double capacity with a max capacity of around 6,700.  With that number of passengers there are almost always a few that don’t quite make it to the port on embarkation day.

Travelers who decide to cancel aren’t just canceling a weekend trip though.  The cruise in question is an 8-night sailing out of Port Everglades that sails to Aruba and Curacao as well as Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay.

The decision to cancel an 8-day cruise at the last-minute isn’t an easy one, but getting all of your cruise fare back on top of a future cruise that’s 50% cheaper would be tempting for most. 

We don’t know how many guests received the email from the cruise line, but it was only sent to a select number of people.

Baltimore is no stranger to Carnival Cruise Line.  The company has been sailing out of the Maryland port for over 20 years.  But now, for the first time ever, Carnival will be homeporting two ships at once out of “Charm City”.

Yup, it’s official.  Carnival just announced that Baltimore will be homeporting two of their ships year-round. 

Starting in the fall of 2027, Carnival Miracle will head to Maryland to join her sister ship, Carnival Pride. This is a big move for the local residents of Baltimore.

It basically doubles the options for those who prefer to skip the airport and drive straight to the pier.

Itineraries for the Two Ships

• Carnival Miracle: Starting November 20, 2027, this ship will handle a mix of week-long and extended sailings. You can hop on a 7-, 8-, or 9-day cruise to The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean. They are also running 12- and 14-day “Carnival Journeys” that hit spots like Dominica, Guadeloupe, and St. Maarten.
• Carnival Pride: Baltimore residents are already used to seeing this ship in port and it’s not going anywhere. It’ll continue its popular 7-day sailings to The Bahamas and Bermuda. For the longer hauls, Pride will offer 12- and 14-day trips down to the Southern Caribbean, visiting places like Aruba, Curaçao, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua.

What Baltimore Residents Can Expect on Carnival Miracle

Carnival Miracle is an 85,942 gross ton Spirit-class ship with the cruise line.  It was the last vessel in this class, built in 2004, and is able to accommodate 2,124 passengers.  These vessels are pretty popular with Carnival cruisers and are known for having some of the best passenger to space ratios in the lineup.

Complimentary options include the Bacchus Dining Room, the Lido Marketplace buffet, Pizza Pirate, Guy’s Burger Joint, and BlueIguana Cantina. Specialty venues available for an additional fee include Nick & Nora’s Steakhouse and Bonsai Sushi.

The ship also has the popular Punchliner Comedy Club and Waterworks on board.

New York and Port Canaveral

Baltimore wasn’t the only cruise port in the news with Carnival today. Carnival Firenze, known for its “Fun Italian Style”, is also moving.

After spending time in Port Canaveral starting in fall 2027, the ship will head north to New York City for the summer in 2028. This gives Northeast residents the opportunity to experience the ship’s Italian-inspired decor and specialty dining before it returns to its Florida homeport.

A Big Win for Mid-Atlantic Cruisers

This news of doubling the ships in Maryland is a clear vote of confidence in the Baltimore cruise market. Residents of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and D.C. will have a relatively short drive to access a cruise vacation without the hassle of a flight.

President of Carnival Cruise Line, Christine Duffy, emphasized that Baltimore residents are getting even more options with this news of two ships coming to the area.

“Baltimore has been an important homeport for Carnival for more than two decades, and we’re excited to continue building on our year-round operations with the addition of Carnival Miracle.  By giving our guests more variety in itineraries and ships, we’re giving them more reasons to take a Carnival Cruise vacation,” Duffy stated.

Oceania Cruises celebrated the keel laying for their next new ship during in August 2027, Oceania Sonata.

The keel laying ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy. The time honored tradition marks the official start of construction on a new ship as the blocks begin to be assembled.

Oceania Sonata will be 86,000 gross tons in size and carry just 1,390 passengers.

The cruise ship will feature two new culinary experiences: the most exclusive fine-dining restaurant at sea, La Table par Maîtres Cuisiniers de France; and Nikkei Kitchen, which will specialize in a vibrant fusion of Peruvian flavors and refined Japanese culinary techniques and tastes.

Jason Montague, Chief Luxury Officer of Oceania Cruises, gave the following statement:

“Oceania Sonata embodies the next chapter in our legacy of redefining luxury travel, and we are proud to mark this occasion as we cement our position in the industry,.

“This milestone is the result of the extraordinary dedication and expertise of the Fincantieri team – shipbuilders, engineers, designers and countless others whose skill and passion transform our vision into reality.”

 Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager of Fincantieri Merchant Ships Division, added:

“The keel laying for Oceania Sonata marks an important milestone not only for Oceania Cruises and Fincantieri, but for the entire luxury cruise industry.

“This ship embodies the innovation and craftsmanship that define our longstanding partnership with Oceania Cruises. Leveraging our expertise, and the technical excellence refined through the successful construction of the Allura Class vessels, we are proud to bring Oceania Cruises’ vision to life once again with this remarkable new ship.”

Oceania Sonata will be the ninth ship and Oceania’s fleet. The cruise line has three additional sister ships, Oceania Arietta and two unnamed vessels, debuting in 2029, 2032 and 2035.