Hurricane Simon closes Puerto Vallarta; Royal Caribbean and Virgin rework Mexican Riviera calls
Puerto Vallarta's harbor is closed to cruise traffic, and ships are skipping the port. Voyager of the Seas is down to Cabo San Lucas, called at twice on an 8-night sailing. Virgin's Brilliant Lady dropped all three Mexican ports and substituted California.
Compensation differs by line. Royal Caribbean is offering onboard credit of $50, $100 or $250 per stateroom depending on category, plus 20% off Cabo excursions. Advisors with Pacific Mexico clients sailing this week should call them proactively, confirm the revised itinerary and compensation terms, and check upcoming sailings for further changes. Royal Caribbean has also changed another itinerary again after a hurricane forced a ship to turn back.
- Voyager of the Seas: Cabo San Lucas only, twice, on an 8-night sailing
- Brilliant Lady: all three Mexican ports replaced with California
- Royal Caribbean: $50/$100/$250 OBC per stateroom, 20% off Cabo excursions
Costa Favolosa drops two Norway ports; €100 credit offered
Weather cancelled Leknes and Bodø on a 14-night Norway sailing of Costa Favolosa. Costa replaced them with an overnight in Trondheim, a new Kristiansand call and a sea day. Guests receive €100 onboard credit each (maximum two per cabin), and Costa excursions are refunded automatically.
Late-season Norway carries a known weather-disruption risk. Advisors can use this sailing to set client expectations on port substitutions and what compensation looks like.
MSC halts new Kenyan crew boardings through Oct 31 amid Ebola outbreak
MSC has paused new Kenyan crew joining its ships through Oct 31 as a precaution, after Kenya's first imported Bundibugyo Ebola death. The CDC reports about 9,000 cases in the fast-growing outbreak in the DRC.
No itinerary impact has been reported. Advisors should watch for staffing strain or port health screening on Africa-adjacent sailings, and be ready for client questions about health risks.
Princess opens 2028-29 Americas season with Amazon return; Crown Princess homeports in Melbourne
Princess has opened planning for 250+ Americas departures in 2028-29. The lineup includes its first Amazon sailings since 2014, with a Santarém call, and a 64-day Circle South America voyage on Coral Princess.
Crown Princess will homeport in Melbourne for 2028-29. Itineraries are due Oct 28, and public booking opens Nov 11. Advisors can start building a long-lead world-cruise and Australia pipeline now.
NCL warns of phishing emails using real booking data
NCL is investigating fraudulent emails that use accurate reservation details, including names, booking numbers and amounts paid, and threaten to cancel paid bookings. That suggests a possible data exposure.
Legitimate NCL emails come only from @ncl.com, @e.ncl.com and @nclcorp.com. Advisors should warn NCL clients and expect worried calls. Verify any questionable message through official channels.
Royal ONE Visa offer takes 10% off Celebrity sailings
A new Royal ONE Visa card promotion offers 10% off Celebrity Cruises. The source gives few details, so advisors should check whether it stacks with agency-booked fares and how it interacts with commission-protected rates. Direct-card promotions can pull bookings away from the agent channel.
Carnival Corp. extends Seatrium partnership; three ships booked for Q4 2026
Seatrium has renewed Carnival's favoured-customer contract, with work on three vessels scheduled in Q4 2026. The ships and dates were not identified. Dry-docks can bring itinerary or amenity changes and repositionings, so advisors should watch for refurbishment notices and affected sailings.