Posts in category: Diplomacy

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.

This past week, Celebrity River Cruises opened their 2028 sailings for bookings after their inaugural 2027 season sold out in minutes.

Celebrity River Cruises will have their first five of 20 ships in service for 2028. The cruises will range from six- to eight-days in length and kick off on March 16, 2028.

The five river ships Celebrity will have in service for 2028 will be:

• Celebrity Boundless
• Celebrity Compass
• Celebrity Roamer
• Celebrity Seeker
• Celebrity Wanderer

Here is a look at the different sailings and itineraries that each ship will offer in Europe. All ships will visit the Christmas markets during the holiday season.

Celebrity Boundless

Celebrity Boundless will debut on September 16, 2028, a seven-night cruise on the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest.

The ship will offer seven-night cruises on the Danube through the end of the year including sailings to the Christmas markets in late November and all of December.

Celebrity Compass

Celebrity Compass will be one of two ships to kick off the season on March 16, 2028.

Throughout the year, the ship will sail six-, seven-, and eight-night cruises that range from visiting the Belgian tulips in the spring to the Christmas markets in December.

Cruises will take place on the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers.

Celebrity Roamer

Celebrity Roamer will be the fourth ship in the fleet and debut on July 22, 2028, a seven-night cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland.

The ship will sail its maiden season on the Rhine and will be christened on the September 9 sailing.

The ship will also visit the Christmas markets later in the year and every cruise is a seven-night voyage.

Celebrity Seeker

Celebrity Seeker will be the second ship that will kick off the 2028 season on March 16.

Celebrity Seeker will sail six- and seven-night cruises on the Danube, Main and Rhine through the season.

Celebrity Wanderer

Celebrity Wanderer will be the third ship in Celebrity’s river fleet when it debuts on April 22, 2028. The inaugural cruise is a seven-night Belgian Tulips cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels, Belgium.

The majority of the cruises on the ship in 2028 will be week-long sailings between Basel, Switzerland and Amsterdam.

The ship will be christened on the September 9, 2028 sailing.

A festive, music-focused cruise ended in heartbreak this week with the sudden passing of one of the 100 performers on board, Ken Peplowski.

According to a blog post from Signature Cruise Experiences, the clarinetist and saxophonist died on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, while sailing aboard Celebrity Summit.

Peplowski was a headlining star of The Jazz Cruise ’26, a 7-day sailing from Port Everglades that brought dozens of musicians together for the special cruise. News of the tragedy came on the final day of the trip as the ship prepared for its return to Florida.

A Final Performance

Some knew there was a problem when on Sunday afternoon the 66-year-old failed to show up for a 4:00 PM program with a quartet led by his close friend, pianist Shelly Berg.

After a search of the ship, he was found dead in his cabin.

Community Shares Grief

The tragic news traveled quickly online, where fans shared what happened. One member of the r/Jazz community on Reddit posted a comment after the news broke, writing, “Sad news—just heard Ken Peplowski died today after playing a set on the jazz cruise yesterday. RIP to a great player.”

Commenters praised the musician’s talents and expressed their sadness over the news. 

“My husband and I were on the jazz cruise with Ken. Our hearts are broken. He brought joy and kindness to a world that is desperately in need of both. That, along with his unparalleled talent as a musician and leader, are such a wonderful legacy”, one comment read.

Another comment came from a cruiser that was on the same ship:

“I’m on the jazz cruise. Ken and I talked for a few minutes a couple of days ago and I asked him how he was doing and he said he was doing very well and he was in remission from cancer. He didn’t die from the cancer. He had a heart attack last night I saw him perform a wonderful concert with Paco D’Revera and Anat Cohen – three amazing clarinetists…”

Facing a Difficult Battle

While the official cause of death is still being determined, cruisers who were fans of the musician confirmed that Peplowski had been fighting multiple myeloma since 2021.

This rare form of blood cancer is often fatal. Despite his health struggles, he remained a popular musician on stage, even hosting a party during the cruise to showcase one of his albums.

Ken’s Bio

Ken Peplowski was a jazz musician known for his skill on both the clarinet and tenor saxophone. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he started his professional career at just 10 years old playing in a family polka band.

He really became popular and well known when in 1984 he joined Benny Goodman’s final band. Over the next 40 years, Peplowski recorded more than 50 of his own albums.

A strong winter storm disrupted a few cruise ships in The Bahamas over the last few days.   And now some damage left behind at Royal Caribbean’s private island is only allowing one ship at a time to dock.

A Pier at Half-Capacity

Normally, the pier at Perfect Day at CocoCay can handle two ships at the same time. But after some strong winds and rough seas over the last weekend, not all scheduled ships were able to dock at the private destination.

The storm was powerful enough to tear away the catwalks (the metal walkways used by crew members to secure mooring lines) on the eastern side of the pier.

The catwalks fell into the sea, and until they are recovered, that side of the dock is off-limits.

Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection had to alter their schedules and were not able to visit the island, and instead enjoyed cruises to nowhere.

Letter Sent to Guests

While one side of the pier remains fully operational, the other side is effectively shut down due to underwater obstructions.

In a letter sent to guests aboard Freedom of the Seas, the Captain explained,

“Due to this past weekend’s winter storm, which included strong winds and heavy seas at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas, catwalks fell into the sea on the eastern side of the pier.  Unfortunately, divers have not been able to locate all of them, which prevents us from safely docking the ship at Perfect Day at CocoCay.“.

Until the sunken catwalks are retrieved, the cruise line can’t risk a ship’s hull or propeller hitting some of the debris.

Passengers on Freedom of the Seas went to Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic today instead of CocoCay.

Which Ships Are Impacted?

While Freedom of the Seas was not allowed to dock at the island, Wonder of the Seas was able to use the undamaged side of the pier yesterday.

Today, Utopia of the Seas is calling on CocoCay but Celebrity Reflection, which was originally scheduled to visit the private island, is visiting Freeport instead, according to tracking data at CruiseMapper.

Tomorrow, February 5, Liberty of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas are scheduled to stop at CocoCay.  There has been no official word on whether or not one of these ships may need to sail somewhere else, but we will keep this article updated if we hear anything.

We also don’t’ have an exact timeline for these repairs. Replacing structures like this in the middle of the ocean isn’t as super simple and quick as you might think.  Of course, better weather conditions will definitely help.

If you are scheduled to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay soon, keep a close eye on your cruise app. Royal Caribbean will notify you of any changes 24 to 48 hours in advance if possible.

At the end of the letter Royal Caribbean sent to impacted guests, the cruise line encouraged cruisers to keep the letter they sent, saying it could be used for insurance purposes.