This week’s edition of Cruise Hive’s news update is chock full of developments across the industry. Stay on top of it all by reading our coverage of Norwegian Cruise Line unveiling a rebranding campaign, Royal Caribbean cancelling all calls to Labadee through 2026, and an unlucky cruise guest missing his ship after arriving at the wrong departure port.
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Guest Embarrassed After His Items Are Confiscated
A Carnival Cruise Line guest was shocked to learn that security officials confiscated his Leatherman multi-tool and laser pen/flashlight, items that he had packed in a suitcase and routinely brought on his cruise vacations.
Sailing aboard a recent Carnival Spirit cruise, crew members had delivered only two of the three pieces of luggage the guest and a companion were sailing with. Curious, the guest went to a crew area where luggage is sorted and asked about his missing suitcase.
After finding it, the bag was scanned and some items were identified as suspicious. The guest was asked to open the bag, and the offending items were found and confiscated.
The guest posted on brand ambassador John Heald’s Facebook page, informing him of the incident he described as embarrassing and degrading. While Heald offered no specific advice to the guest, he did ask others to comment on items they’ve had confiscated.
Plenty of people responded, telling Heald about various items they’ve had taken from them, such as travel fans, flashlights, an electric toothbrush, and hair curlers, among others.
Norwegian Cruise Line Reveals Major Rebranding
“It’s Different Out Here.” That’s the marketing tagline of Norwegian Cruise Line’s new brand identity, a theme that was used by the line back in the 1990s.
The campaign, which also features a new color on the line’s logo — black instead of the former blue, will have promotional materials with the phrases “Out Here, the Memories Make Themselves,” “A Vacation Shouldn’t Be Able to Tell Time,” and “Restore Your Factory Settings.”
The national marketing campaign was introduced on Facebook, Instagram and X, and features a “For All Maritime” television commercial that references the concepts of flexibility and guest choice rather than strict rules.
The rebranding comes at a pivotal time for Norwegian Cruise Line, which has taken bold steps in recent years. The addition of its Prima-Plus class of ships brings larger vessels into the fleet — Norwegian Aqua debuted in April 2025, Norwegian Luna is due out in April 2026, and Norwegian Aura will enter service in May 2027.
Also, the line has invested in a major $150 million overhaul of Stirrup Cay, its private island in the Bahamas, where a new pier was added to accommodate two ships at a time, enhancements were made to the pool and other areas, and the new Great Tides Waterpark is set to open in summer 2026.
MSC Poesia Cancels 10-Night Sailing in February
With less than a month to go before setting sail, guests booked on an MSC Cruises’ ship found out they won’t be cruising after all.
The cruise line has cancelled MSC Poesia’s February 13, 2026 voyage from Southampton, UK, to Valletta, Malta. The 10-night trip was to call at Lisbon, Cadiz, Barcelona, Marseille, and Rome.
MSC Cruises cited operational reasons for the cancellation, however, since the ship had a scheduled dry dock coming up at the Palumbo Shipyard in Malta, it is likely the change is tied to that project.
Affected guests on the cancelled voyage are receiving a full refund and a Future Cruise Credit equal to 50% of the cruise fare they paid. The credit is valid on any future MSC Cruises voyage.
The 2,550-guest ship is slated to have the line’s MSC Yacht Club, two dining venues, and a lounge added during the dry dock. The ship currently has no cruises scheduled between February 13 and April 6, 2026.
Guest Misses Cruise After Arriving at Wrong Port
Port Canaveral. Port Everglades. What’s in a name?
One cruiser found out the hard way when he mixed up his departure port, arrived at the wrong one, and missed out on his Caribbean voyage.
Sharing his sad story on social media as a warning to others, the guest explained that he was booked to sail on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas from Port Canaveral. But he mistakenly thought Port Canaveral was in Fort Lauderdale.
Port Canaveral is in Central Florida, about a three-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale, where Port Everglades is located, in South Florida.
It was the January 12, 2026 departure of Utopia of the Seas, a 4-night cruise to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Realizing his error, the guest asked Royal Caribbean whether he could join the ship in Nassau if he flew there at his own expense.
But the line said that would not be possible. The guest’s request, it said, was denied by port authorities.
Since it was already noon when the guest realized his mistake, there was not enough time to travel to Port Canaveral to make the ship’s 4 p.m. departure.
For this guest, it turned out to be a better-luck-next-time situation.
Labadee Pulled From Itineraries Through 2026
Acting out of an abundance of caution, Royal Caribbean ships will not call at Labadee, Haiti, through 2026, the line confirmed.
Labadee is the cruise line’s private destination in the north of the island, about 85 miles from Port-au-Prince, where gangs have essentially taken over.
While Royal Caribbean began cancelling visits to Labadee in 2023, when the government all but collapsed, it had planned to include calls to the destination on several ships this year.
For example, Freedom of the Seas was set to call there on an itinerary departing May 2, 2026, and Adventure of the Seas was to visit during a cruise departing on September 12, 2026. Those port calls are now nixed, with replacement calls slated for Nassau and Grand Turk, respectively.
Star of the Seas will add a sea day instead of visiting Labadee or another destination on the ship’s May 3, 2026 departure. In all, the itineraries of more than a dozen Royal Caribbean ships are impacted.
Guests are being notified by email about the changes to their cruise itineraries.
While Labadee has its own security system, the US Department of State has a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory in place for the entire island of Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, potential terrorist activity, and other concerns.
New-Build Norwegian Aura Will Homeport in Miami
Chalk up another big win for PortMiami. Norwegian Cruise Line revealed that Norwegian Aura, its fifth Prima-class ship, will deploy to the South Florida port when she debuts in May 2027.
At 169,000 gross tons and with capacity for 3,840 guests in double occupancy, Norwegian Aura will be the largest in the fleet. Under construction at a Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the ship will sail 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages from PortMiami.
Featured port calls on the ship’s itineraries include Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel, plus the private destinations Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye.
Bookings have opened for sale. Norwegian Aura is the line’s third Prima-Plus-class ship, joining Norwegian Luna, launching in April 2026, and Norwegian Aqua, which entered service in April 2025.
Norwegian Aura will offer 1,976 staterooms and will feature 30% more suites than the other Prima vessels.
Her maiden voyage, a 7-night Mediterranean cruise from Trieste to Barcelona, departs on May 21, 2027, and calls at Malta, Salerno, and Rome. A 14-night transatlantic cruise follows, as the ship makes her way to PortMiami in mid-June 2027.
Points Choice Loyalty Plan Is Officially Unveiled
Speculation about Royal Caribbean Group’s new Points Choice loyalty program has been rampant for months on social media, following the cruise line’s hints in October 2025 that a new, better plan was on the way.
On January 15, 2025, the cruise line officially announced details of the new system, which takes effect with cruise departures on and after January 30, 2026.
Points Choice will allow guests sailing on the company’s three brands — Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, to apply their loyalty points to any of the three lines.
It means that rewards can be assigned to Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club, or Silversea’s Venetian Society, no matter where the points were earned.
An exchange table shows guests what their per-night points will earn based on cruise length and cabin category. For instance, guests booking Sunset, Owner, Aqua-Theater, or Oceanview Panoramic suites would earn two points per night in Crown & Anchor Society, eight points per night in Captain’s Club, or one point per night in Venetian Society.
Guests must request the transfer of points via a form available on the line’s app or web site before their sailing or up to 14 days after their cruise.
More Cruise Headlines
There are many more news and feature stories you won’t want to miss on Cruise Hive, including one MSC Cruises’ ship nixing a port call due to rough weather near Sicily, and another experiencing a burst pipe that flooded staterooms.
Also, Carnival Cruise Line opens bookings on 2027-28 West Coast sailings, and the Port of Galveston receives $8 million in grants. Finally, find out what Wave Season is all about and how it can save you money on your next cruise vacation.
Cruise News Update: Wrong Port, Cancellations, New Ship, and More
