Diplomacy

Princess Cruises continues to elevate their culinary offerings and one of their ships was just named the “World’s Best Culinary Cruise Ship” in 2025.

The prestigious World Culinary Awards named Royal Princess the Best Culinary Cruise Ship for 2025. The culinary community, industry experts and consumers voted to name the ship the best in global gastronomy.

Royal Princess offers a variety of dining options and venues that include:

• Crown Grill, Princess Cruises’ signature steakhouse
• Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria
• Chef’s Table Lumiere
• The Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar
• Caymus Winemaker’s Dinner
• Alfredo’s Pizzeria

Sami Kohen, Princess Cruises Vice President of Food and Beverage, gave the following statement:

“Being honored as the world’s best culinary cruise ship is an incredible achievement and a true testament to the dedication and creativity of our entire food and beverage team.

“From our culinary and wine partnerships to our focus on fresh, locally inspired ingredients, we’re proud to deliver memorable dining moments that create exceptional sailing memories.”

Royal Princes is currently offering cruises from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. In the spring of 2026, the ship will head north for cruises to Alaska from Seattle.

A cruise ship that is currently on a cruise from Montreal to Boston reported a norovirus outbreak to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).

Oceania Cruises Insignia reported to the CDC that 11.6% of passengers have reported being ill during the current sailing. This is 74 of the 637 passengers on board. So far, only one crew member has reported getting sick during the cruise.

Cruise lines are required to report to the CDC anytime 2% or more of guests and crew members get sick on a sailing. If the number crosses 3%, it is considered an outbreak and posted on the CDC’s website.

The CDC is reporting that the predominant symptoms on board are diarrhea and vomiting. The causative agent is also reported to be norovirus.

In response to the outbreak, the following measures are being taken on the cruise ship.

• Increased cleaning and disinfection
• Collecting of stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing
• Sick passengers have been isolated
• Consultation with the VSP regarding monitoring the situation and review of the outbreak response and sanitation procedures

This is the 20th cruise ship outbreak reported to the CDC this year. Out of the 20, 15 were from norovirus.

Oceania Insignia departed from Quebec on October 16 and is scheduled to arrive in Boston on October 27.

Cruise ports visited on the cruise include Saguenay, Baie-Comeau, Havre St. Pierre, Corner Brook, Sydney, Halifax, Saint John and Portland.

Virgin Voyages, the adults-only cruise line, is changing the name of their Caribbean itineraries to make them easier to understand.

While the names of the itineraries will be changing, the ports and experiences on board the ship will remain the exact same.

Starting today, the first three Caribbean itineraries have been renamed with 14 more changes coming through the rest of the year.

The three itineraries that were renamed today are:

• Western Caribbean Charm to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• San Juan, Samana & Bimini to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Costa Mayan Caves & Honduran Waves to Western Caribbean Cruise

The 14 remaining itineraries that will change names later this year are:

• Cayman Coves & Jamaican Waterfalls to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Western Caribbean: From Miami to Bimini to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Resilient Valentine’s Voyage to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Cayman Isles & Jamaican Miles to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Resilient New Year’s Ahoy! to Western Caribbean & Bimini New Year’s
• San Juan Sunrises & Dominican Dreams to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• PR, DR & Bimini: Valentine’s Voyage to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Resilient New Year’s Ahoy! to Western Caribbean & Bimini New Year’s
• Cozumel, Grand Cayman & Bimini to Western Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Antigua Waves & Grand Turk Caves to Eastern Caribbean Cruise
• Brilliant Valentine’s Voyage to Eastern Caribbean Cruise
• Puerto Rican Nights & St. Croix Delights to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• November Nights in the Eastern Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club
• Grand Turk, Puerto Plata & Bimini to Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Beach Club

The cruise line said in an email to travel agents that they are changing the names of itineraries to make them easier for them to sell to clients and easier for cruisers to understand.

The updates will roll out region by region. The refreshed names focus on regions and key highlights, creating a simpler, more intuitive way for guests to book a cruise.

Celebrity Cruises has officially welcomed its newest ship into the fleet with Celebrity Xcel set to take her maiden voyage next month.  In addition to this news, Celebrity has also announced the name of the next Edge-class ship, coming in 2028.

Celebrity Xcel Delivered

Celebrity Xcel was delivered to the cruise line at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France today.  The vessel is the fifth in the popular Edge Series and will offer 7-day sailings out of Port Everglades for the next several months.

In April 2026, Xcel will take a 15-day cruise to Barcelona, where the ship will sail the Mediterranean through October 2026.  After this she will sail back to Florida and offer PortMiami sailings into 2027.

Cruise Fever will enjoy a sailing on Celebrity Xcel next month with a preview of what the ship has to offer, so stay tuned for more information on the ship.

“Celebrity Xcel represents the next bold step in our journey to transform the way the world experiences premium travel,” said Royal Caribbean Group president and CEO Jason Liberty. He added that the Edge Series has “reimagined what’s possible at sea.”

New Ship Announced

In a double-splash announcement, Celebrity also revealed some new details for the sixth Edge Series ship, Celebrity Xcite. The new ship is expected to set sail in 2028 and will “continue to elevate the guest experience,” according to the cruise line.

When Celebrity Edge was first launched in 2018, it was a huge hit with Celebrity fans and truly marked a shift in the cruise line’s positioning as a more premium experience.  With a sixth Edge class ship on the way, it’s clear that Celebrity is leaning into this popular series.

Royal Caribbean Group president and CEO Jason Liberty put it this way:

“With Celebrity Xcel now joining the fleet and Celebrity Xcite on the horizon, we’re continuing to set new standards for excellence and innovation…”

Royal Caribbean has announced construction has officially kicked off on their seventh Oasis class ship which will debut in 2028.

The first piece of steel was cut on Oasis 7 at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Representatives from Royal Caribbean and Chantiers de l’Atlantique attended the milestone event to commemorate the moment alongside the teams of innovators, naval engineers, architects, designers and more working to bring lucky number seven to life.

Royal Caribbean has yet to announce the name of this new ship or where it will be sailing to and from.

Oasis class ships are around 230,000 gross tons in size and currently the second largest class in the world, only behind the Icon class, also from Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean said that Oasis 7 will deliver unparalleled experiences across thrills and chill; ways to dine, drink and celebrate; show-stopping entertainment and more that will be revealed at a later time.

The Oasis class from Royal Caribbean ushered in the ear of mega cruising when they first debut over 15 years ago.

Viking became the first cruise line to have more than 100 ships (river, ocean and expedition) in their fleet  when they christened another nine new river ships that will sail in Europe, Egypt and Asia.

The simultaneous christening ceremony took place in Basel, Switzerland for the nine new ships. Four Longships (Viking Annar, Viking Dagur, Viking Eldir and Viking Honir) will sail the cruise line’s most popular itineraries on the Rhine, Danube and Main rivers.

The two new ships for Egypt, Viking Thoth and Viking Amun, will sail on the Nile River on Viking’s Pyramids and Pharaohs itinerary.

Viking Nerthus, Viking Gyda and Viking Tonle will offer cruises on the Seine, Douro and Mekong rivers.

Godmothers and godfathers for the new ships are:

• Allison Becker, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Nerthus
• Sara Conley, Senior Vice President of Brand, Creative and Communications, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Dagur
• Chitra Goswami, Senior Vice President of Finance, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Gyda
• Yumi Kim, Senior Vice President of Finance, Europe, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Eldir
• Michelle Patterson, Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Annar
• Laura Perlman, Senior Vice President of Marketing Planning, International & Product, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Tonle
• Michele Saegesser, Vice President, Trade Development and Training, Viking—Godmother of the Viking Honir
• Youssef Fouad Amin, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, Sherry Nile Cruises—Godfather of the Viking Thoth
• Sherif El Banna, Chief Executive Officer, Cosmos Egypt—Godfather of the Viking Amun

The christening ceremony took place on Viking Honir with the eight other cruise ships connecting virtually, since they are located across five other countries.

Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, gave the following statement:

“Today we are proud to name our newest river ships and to honor the nine distinguished members of our extended Viking family serving as their godparents.

“We have always been quite a bit different from others in the travel industry—we like to be contrarian. Over the last 28 years, we have grown from four ships to more than 100—a fleet size that no other line has achieved—and we have done so because of our innovative approach.

“First, we modernized river voyages; then we reinvented ocean voyages and perfected the expedition experience. We look forward to continuing our leadership in experiential travel in the years to come.”

Over the next five days, Royal Caribbean is offering flash deals on 15 of their cruise ships with prices starting at $289 per person, including taxes and fees.

This latest flash sale from Royal Caribbean starts today, October 14, 2025 and runs through October 28, 2025.

It includes cruises in 2026 to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda and Mexico across cruise ships on all of their classes. The deals are offered on select cruises on the following ships:

• Anthem of the Seas
• Brilliance of the Seas
• Enchantment of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Freedom of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Icon of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Jewel of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• View Best Prices on Royal Caribbean

Cruises leave from both the East and West Coast with homeports ranging from Miami to San Juan to New York to Los Angeles.

Prices for this flash deal is per person, based on double occupancy. You can see a complete list of sailings included in this offer here.