1. Carnival Cruise Line has announced that as of May 1, it will be raising its daily gratuity rate, as well as things like drink packages and specialty dining charges.
2. Royal Caribbean announced the name of its sixth Oasis-class ship during its steel cutting ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, France.
3. After two years without cruises, the first major cruise ship — Holland America’s Koningsdam — called in Canada on Saturday.
4. Celebrity Cruises has taken delivery of its third Edge-class ship, Celebrity Beyond.
5. As repairs continue after Norwegian Escape ran aground in the Dominican Republic in mid-March, Norwegian Cruise Line canceled another voyage on the ship.
Featured Article: Cruise Lines Need To Stop Playing The Daily Gratuities Game
This week’s featured article is an opinion piece by staff writer Richard Simms. He goes over how most cruise lines charge their guests the daily gratuity/service charge, and how he thinks they should handle those charges instead.
Featured Video: Cruise News Today
This week’s featured YouTube video is the cruise news from Thursday, April 7. Doug goes over Celebrity Beyond’s delivery at the shipyard, Carnival Sensation being beached at the scrapyard, and Norwegian Cruise Line announcing the cruise industry’s first collection of NFTs.