Storms and booking glitches disrupt current sailings while 2028 deployments open

Back-to-back Pacific storms Polo and Rachel (Rachel a Category 2 at 100 mph) are cancelling calls at Cabo, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and La Paz. Carnival Panorama is reduced to Ensenada twice, with $300 onboard credit per cabin. Carnival Miracle and Cunard's Queen Elizabeth lost Cabo, and Navigator of the Seas was changed earlier. Virgin's Brilliant Lady has a pending reroute on its Oct. 3 Los Angeles sailing.

Advisors with clients on Pacific Mexico sailings this week should reach out now and confirm each line's compensation and future cruise credit policy. Atlantic basin is quiet, with no tropical cyclones listed by the NHC.

Guests who paid extra, about $300 in one reported case, to choose exact staterooms on Ovation of the Seas' Aug. 14 and Oct. 12 sailings are being reassigned to guarantee (GTY) status, attributed to occupancy adjustments. Compensation is inconsistent: some received upgrades or onboard credit, others nothing.

Advisors should audit Ovation bookings with paid cabin selection and press Royal Caribbean for an upgrade or credit on clients' behalf, documenting the original selection fee.

Royal Caribbean put four 2028 Alaska ships on sale to the public Oct. 1, after the Crown & Anchor presale: Ovation (replacing Quantum) and Voyager from Seattle, plus Serenade and Anthem from Vancouver or Seward. Anthem's one-way sailings pair with Cruisetours. Europe 2028-29 follows in about two weeks.

Carnival also opened bookings Oct. 1. Carnival Adventure relocates from Australia to Seattle for 18 seven-night Alaska sailings. Legend sails from San Francisco. Spirit runs a Tampa-to-Seattle Panama Canal Journeys sailing plus 11 Hawaii sailings from Long Beach.

This opens the early-booking and group window for 2028 Alaska and Hawaii.

The fourth World Class ship, 215,863 GT, has floated out at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, on track for 2027 delivery. It will sail alternating 7- and 14-night Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral, with Terminal 10 being expanded for $95M. The inaugural season is bookable now.

Port Canaveral also expects Carnival Festivale in May 2027, an Excel-class ship with 1,000 connecting rooms and 6- and 8-night Caribbean sailings, which suits multi-generational groups. The port expects 23 homeported ships.

The season includes Explora III and L'Austral in October, Silver Nova, Beachcomber (Margaritaville at Sea), and Carnival Firenze in February. Hero of the Seas (August 2027) and Norwegian Aura (June 2027) are the new-build debuts for summer 2027. Much of the list is luxury or niche, but it is useful for planning Miami-based new-ship inventory.

Royal Caribbean sailings from Los Angeles and San Diego on Ovation, Voyager and Serenade are reported as low as $199 to $400 per person for November to January. The evidence is anecdotal, but it points to heavy discounting. Expect clients to ask for price matches, and verify that these fares are commissionable and reservable before quoting.

Oceania launched its first full Mediterranean winter season: 17 voyages of 9 to 26 days from Nov. 2027 through March 2028, from Barcelona, Rome, Athens and Istanbul. That gives premium clients an off-peak Europe product.

Holland America opened 27 2028 sailings on Volendam and Zuiderdam to Canada and New England, with the most Montréal calls of any line. Zuiderdam is the second ship in the $500M Evolution program.

Margaritaville at Sea added 30 2028 itineraries, including first calls at Limón and Colón on eight-night Tampa sailings, plus an all-three-ABC-islands cruise.

NCLH priced an upsized $950M private notes offering, raised from $750M, a sign of investor appetite. Princess launched a ChatGPT app on Sept. 28 for searching sailings and comparing itineraries; advisors should ask how bookings through it are attributed. Carnival will hold full in-person muster drills on six Oct. 8-12 sailings (Spirit, Luminosa, Legend, Radiance, Firenze, Miracle), so tell affected clients.