Cruise Ship News

Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has signed an agreement with Jotun to implement Hull Skating Solution (HSS), becoming the first cruise operator to use this robotic proactive hull cleaning technology. With this commitment, Carnival continues to utilise innovation and technology to reduce emissions and protect biodiversity.As one of the world’s largest and most influential cruise brands, Carnival’s adoption of HSS to its vessel Carnival Pride marks an important shift for the wider industry.

Wärtsilä and Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, have entered into an 8-year Lifecycle Agreement covering four cruise vessels within the Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line fleets, including two newbuild vessels currently under construction. The agreement marks the first service contract between the companies covering Carnival Corporation’s LNG-fuelled cruise ships. Under the agreement, Wärtsilä will provide a comprehensive lifecycle maintenance solution for the vessels’ Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines and related equipment.

Dutch shipyard Concordia Damen announced it has received a contract from TUI River Cruise for two CDS River Cruise 135 vessels. These cruisers are of in-house design and have been tailored to TUl's needs.TUI River Cruises' fleet is currently expanding from six to 10 ships, which will operate across Europe, the Rhine, Nile and the Douro. The two river cruisers that Concordia is constructing are designed for the UK market.These two newbuilds are constructed with methanol as a future fuel in mind. Each ship will contain 94 cabins for 188 guest capacity. Delivery is expected in 2028.

AIDA Cruises’ vessel AIDAmar docked at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam’s Botlek location for her annual bottom survey while carrying around 2,000 passengers on board.The vessel departed the German port of Warnemünde on July 3, for a five-night voyage, and entered the yard’s drydock number 6 on July 5. Once she was in position, the drydock was emptied, allowing yard personnel to carry out the inspection.During the inspection, visitors were welcomed to an exhibition detailing the history of Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam and historic projects…

MSC Cruises and MEYER WERFT have issued the following joint statement regarding the current status of negotiations on the major contract for MEYER WERFT to build four next-generation cruise ships, plus two options:“In December 2025, MEYER WERFT and MSC Cruises announced a letter of intent for the construction of four innovative cruise ships, plus two options, at MEYER WERFT. In the meantime, concrete planning for the ships’ design and negotiations for the conclusion of the relevant contracts have reached an advanced stage.

Dutch specialized shipbuilder Concordia Damen has delivered the Century Star to Century Cruises. The vessel is the first river cruise ship that the China-based cruise line has had built specifically for the European market and marks the start of a series of three sister ships. The Century Star will sail on the Danube from September 2026, with itineraries on the Rhine to follow at a later date.The vessel was built in collaboration with United Waterways, which assists Century Cruises in adapting to European operational standards, including regulations, safety management, crew and hospitality.

American Cruise Lines christened American Maverick in Newport, Rhode Island last week during the ship’s inaugural 9-Day New England Islands cruise, sailing roundtrip from Providence, Rhode Island. The celebration took place on board with guests, crew, community partners, and many employees from the Line’s headquarters in Connecticut. American Maverick is the newest small cruise ship in the country and the latest in the company’s growing fleet of ships exclusively designed for cruising the U.S.A., featuring many amenities surpassing those of the finest riverboats in the world.

Marlink, a leader in managed services for business-critical digital solutions, has been selected by TUI Cruises to deliver digital experiences for guests, crew and ship operations through a fully managed hybrid connectivity and digital services platform for Mein Schiff Flow, the latest addition to the cruise operator’s fleet. Scheduled for christening in Trieste, Italy, on 20 June 2026, Mein Schiff Flow will enter service with a fully integrated connectivity environment combining Starlink LEO services…

NYK, Yanmar Power Solutions and ENEOS have agreed to install a hydrogen fuel cell system on a new dining cruise vessel scheduled to enter service in 2027, as the companies seek to advance the use of hydrogen in the maritime sector.The vessel will replace Lady Crystal, which currently operates in the Tennoz Isle area of Tokyo as part of the NYK Group's passenger cruise business.Under the project, Yanmar Power Solutions will design the hydrogen fuel cell system, while hydrogen storage…

Royal Caribbean has celebrated the keel-laying of its seventh Oasis Class vessel at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The soon-to-be-named ship will join the revolutionary Oasis Class lineup in 2028. The vessel follows Oasis of the Seas (2009), Allure of the Seas (2010), Harmony of the Seas (2016), Symphony of the Seas (2018), Wonder of the Seas (2022), and Utopia of the Seas (2024).

In Basel today, June 11, 2026, NEPTUN WERFT officially delivered the river cruise ships Viking Annar and Viking Fjolvar to Viking. The technical handover of the vessels by the project management had already taken place yesterday, June 10, in Lelystad in the Netherlands.At 135 meters, the Viking Annar is a vessel of the Longship series. It accommodates 190 passengers and 53 crew members and operates on the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers. The first guests are scheduled to board in Amsterdam on June 22.The Viking Fjolvar is currently the last river cruise ship of the Seine series.

Royal Caribbean has officially welcomed Legend of the Seas. After nearly two years of construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, the third Icon Class ship is now ready to make its July 2026 European debut.To mark the milestone, more than 1,200 crew members and partners came together for a legendary ceremony led by Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley, and Meyer Turku CEO Casimir Lindholm.The delivery is part of the company’s long-term framework agreement with Meyer Turku…

Fincantieri and Viking celebrated the delivery of “Viking Mira” at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona.The ceremony was attended by Jeff Dash, Viking’s Executive Vice President and Head of Business Development, Giorgio Gomiero, Senior Vice President Operations of Fincantieri and Gilberto Tobaldi, Director of the Ancona Shipyard.With a gross tonnage of approximately 54,300 tons, “Viking Mira” features 499 staterooms and can accommodate up to 998 passengers. The vessel, which will offer itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe…

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a setback on Thursday to four American cruise operators that contested $440 million in combined judgments after being accused of unlawfully using docks in Cuba that were seized in 1959 by former leader Fidel Castro's communist government.The justices, in an 8-1 ruling, set aside a lower court's decision to throw out the judgments against Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean Cruises and MSC Cruises. The cruise operators were sued by a U.S.

The hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius was due to dock in Rotterdam on Monday morning for disinfection, with Dutch authorities preparing quarantine arrangements for the 25 crew members and two medical staff remaining on board.Local authorities said quarantine facilities had been set up for some of the non-Dutch crew, though it was not clear yet if they would stay there for the full recommended 42-day quarantine period.The Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship had been carrying around…

Tourism in the Antarctic Peninsula is a niche but booming industry powered by deep-pocketed adventure-seekers travelling thousands of miles to marvel at penguin colonies and take "polar plunges" in sight of icebergs.But growing numbers of visitors bring risks including disease, invasive species and pollution to the delicate ecosystems of Antarctica and the remote sub-Antarctic islands that teem with bird life, sea lions and whales.The outbreak of a deadly strain of the hantavirus…

The arrival this weekend of a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus is reviving memories for residents of Spain's Canary Islands of the quarantines they experienced during the Covid pandemic.The MV Hondius, carrying 150 people, is expected to reach Tenerife on Saturday, where it will dock after Spain agreed to requests from the World Health Organization to receive it despite protests from the local government.The archipelago was one of the first places in Europe to undergo quarantines during the early days of the pandemic.

A luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak and marooned since Sunday off the coast of Cape Verde was set to leave for Spain on Wednesday after three people, two of them seriously ill, were evacuated.The MV Hondius, with nearly 150 people on board, is expected to dock in Spain's Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, within three days, Spain's health minister said, adding that those still on board were not presenting any symptoms of the disease.Once in Tenerife, if they are still healthy…

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that it suspects some rare human to human transmission of the deadly hantavirus took place between very close contacts on board a luxury cruise ship hit by seven confirmed or suspected cases.Human to human transmission is not common, and the U.N. health agency reiterated that the risk to the wider public was low from a disease typically spread from contact with infected rodents.A Dutch couple and a German national have died, while a British national was evacuated from the ship and is in intensive care in South Africa…

Norwegian Cruise Line cut its annual profit forecast on Monday, as the cruise operator battles surging fuel costs linked to the war in the Middle East and tepid demand for its sea voyages, sending its shares down 7% in morning trading.Global oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. More than $50 billion worth of crude oil supply has been lost since the start of the war, according to Reuters calculations as of mid-April.Rivals Carnival and Royal Caribbean have also highlighted potential hits from rising fuel costs…

Medics were working on Monday to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly hantavirus after a suspected outbreak on a luxury cruise ship held off West Africa carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers, officials said.Around 150 people were still stuck on the vessel after three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died, and others fell ill, including a Briton who left the vessel and was being treated in South Africa, authorities added.Hantavirus, which can cause fatal respiratory illness, can be spread when particles from rodent droppings or urine become airborne.

Orient Express Corinthian, the world's largest sailing yacht, has been named in Saint-Nazaire, France.The vessel is the result of a collaboration between Orient Express and Chantiers de l'Atlantique. She is the first cruise ship equipped with the SolidSail wind propulsion system, developed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Her three rigs, each spanning 1,500 m² and rising to over 320 feet, are fully automated and capable of delivering 100% wind-powered propulsion in favorable conditions. Rotating through 360 degrees, they maintain optimal trim on any point of sail, whatever the wind direction.

Three people have died and one case of hantavirus has been confirmed among passengers on a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.Six individuals were affected in the incident, of whom three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa, it said in a post on X.The WHO did not name the vessel or its operator, although a source familiar with the situation said it was the MV Hondius, travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde."WHO…