Hawaii Storm, Route Cuts, and a Mexico Fee Hike Force a Rebooking Day

Tropical Storm Lala pushed Honolulu Harbor to Port Condition Zulu, closing the port and forcing Norwegian Spirit to ride out the weather at sea; disembarkation and the next embarkation have slipped to August 17. Pride of America's return remains unsettled — Hilo and Kailua-Kona calls are canceled and time in Kauai has been shortened, with the ship's full schedule still not confirmed. NCL is offering affected guests a choice: extra days at sea or a prorated refund, rather than a blanket compensation package. Advisors with Hawaii clients on either ship should reach out today — confirm which remedy the client wants, rebook connecting flights and hotels tied to the original disembarkation date, and set expectations that Pride of America's onward port calls may keep shifting as the storm clears the islands.

Royal Caribbean has pulled Navigator of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas from previously announced West Coast deployments, canceling booked sailings as the line redirects capacity toward a record Asia and Australia push for 2027-2028. Guests already booked on the affected West Coast sailings need to be moved onto alternative itineraries, and Royal Caribbean is offering compensation as part of the switch. This is a live rebooking job, not a future-planning note: advisors should pull their books now to identify anyone holding a Navigator or Ovation West Coast reservation, get ahead of the line's compensation offer before terms narrow, and start pricing replacement sailings while comparable inventory is still open. The bigger story — a record two-year Asia/Australia deployment — will matter for 2027-2028 sales, but today's task is protecting existing bookings.

As part of a settlement, Mexico has doubled its per-passenger cruise port fee from $5 to $10 — and unlike many port fees, it applies to every guest on an itinerary that calls in Mexico, whether or not they go ashore. That makes it a near-universal add to the taxes-and-fees line on Western Caribbean and Mexican Riviera bookings, not a niche surcharge tied to a single port or line. Advisors quoting new itineraries touching Mexico should update fare breakdowns now, and it's worth a heads-up to clients with fares already locked in, since the fee typically isn't guaranteed by an old quote. The increase is modest per person, but it touches nearly every mass-market Caribbean and Mexican Riviera sailing, so the aggregate effect on published fare-plus-taxes totals is broader than any single line's promotion this week.

Margaritaville at Sea's Islander has reshuffled its port schedule for the September 5 Tampa departure: Aruba's call shifts to 2-11 p.m. and Curacao's to 7 a.m.-5 p.m., with both stops losing an hour of port time versus the original plan. Guests who booked independent shore excursions around the original morning-in-Aruba, full-day-in-Curacao windows may find their tours no longer line up with the ship's new call times. With the sailing less than three weeks out, advisors with clients booked on this departure should reach out now to flag the change, check any independently booked tours or transfers against the revised times, and help rebook anything that no longer fits before the client arrives at the port with a mistimed excursion voucher.

Celebrity is swapping ships for its 2028 Japan season: Celebrity Solstice, at 2,850 guests, takes over from the smaller Millennium, which repositions to Alaska for the same season. That's a real capacity change two years out — more cabins to sell in Japan, and a different, larger-ship experience for that itinerary, while Alaska gains a Millennium-class ship it didn't have. Advisors selling 2028 Japan or Alaska don't need to act on live bookings yet, but this is useful intel ahead of on-sale: expect Japan pricing and cabin categories to shift with the bigger ship, and start thinking about how a Millennium-class Alaska itinerary compares to what's currently offered there. Early awareness here is the advantage — get ahead of clients who ask about 2028 Japan or Alaska before full fares are published.

Fred. Olsen is offering £150 of onboard spending credit per cabin on select Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral sailings departing October 2026 through May 2027, for bookings made by September 30. It's a dated, bookable incentive rather than a future-season preview: advisors with clients considering Mediterranean, Canaries or Northern Lights itineraries in that window have a concrete reason to close the sale this month rather than wait. Worth flagging to clients who are undecided, since the credit adds tangible onboard value without discounting the fare itself. With the booking deadline a little over six weeks out, work this into any live Fred. Olsen conversations now, and mention it proactively to past guests of the line who might be shopping for a fall or winter sailing.