Cruise Lines Tighten Enforcement — On Prices, Protocols, and Itineraries

Explora Journeys is pulling EXPLORA I and EXPLORA V from Middle East and Red Sea itineraries for the 2027-2028 season, replacing them with new South America and Mediterranean deployments that include 20 maiden ports. The move follows the ongoing conflict in the region and amounts to a full multi-season redeployment, not a minor date shift. Advisors with clients holding or considering 2027-2028 Explora bookings tied to the original Middle East programs should reach out now — marketing angles, port highlights, and pricing on the new itineraries will differ substantially, and clients who booked specifically for Gulf or Red Sea ports will need rebooking conversations. There's an upside: 20 maiden ports gives advisors a genuinely fresh product to sell, particularly in South America, where Explora has had limited prior presence.

Royal Caribbean is canceling Port Day Casita reservations made at incorrect prices — as low as $120–$200 — across all three Icon-class ships: Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, and Legend of the Seas. Affected guests are refunded, and the amenity is relisted at its correct, higher price. This is a pricing-system error, not a promotion, and Royal Caribbean has been consistent about voiding mispriced bookings rather than honoring them. Advisors should flag any Casita reservation booked at an unusually low price before final payment, since these will not survive to embarkation, and get ahead of client frustration by explaining the booking was never valid. For clients still shopping, the message is simple: current Casita pricing reflects the intended rate, and there's no error-fare workaround worth chasing on these three ships right now.

A year after eliminating it, Royal Caribbean has reinstated the exemption allowing one adult in a cabin to book the non-alcoholic beverage package while a cabinmate takes the Deluxe Beverage Package — a request advisors hear often from mixed-preference couples and families. The catch: the exemption now runs through a formal approval process, with significant penalties for guests who use the workaround and then have the non-alcoholic-package holder drink alcohol anyway. Advisors selling beverage packages need to walk clients through the new approval step at time of booking rather than leaving it to be sorted out onboard, since misuse now carries real consequences instead of a quiet warning. Positioned correctly, this is a useful selling point for split-preference cabins that were previously stuck paying for two full alcohol packages or skipping them altogether.

Carnival issued two guest-facing advisories this week that advisors with affected clients should relay immediately, since neither is fleet-wide and both are easy to miss without checking sailing-specific notices. A quick heads-up to booked clients on these sailings avoids embarkation-day surprises and unnecessary early trips to the terminal.

• Carnival Miracle (Seattle, Sept. 17, final Alaska sailing): guests must follow their assigned arrival appointment exactly — Pier 91 is simultaneously hosting another line's ship and a routine Coast Guard inspection, and early arrivals risk being turned away.
• Carnival Magic (Miami, Sept. 13) and Carnival Paradise (Tampa, Sept. 14): both require a full in-person muster drill, with all guests gathering together at a set time instead of the usual self-guided e-muster check-in.