Cruise Radio: Weekly Cruise News & Travel Tips

Ben reviews a seven-night Celebrity Beyond cruise from Miami to the Caribbean. We cover his Sunset Veranda stateroom, dining, entertainment, sea days, crowds, and what it's like sailing Celebrity's Edge-class ship with a seven-month-old. Ben shares his thoughts on the four main dining rooms, Oceanview Cafe, onboard entertainment, and whether a Sunset Veranda is worth the extra cost compared to an...

A review of Carnival Venezia in 2026. Staff writer Richard Simms joins us with cruise news, including Carnival Corporation's record earnings and strong 2027 bookings, changes to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises' cancellation policies, Princess Cruises raising prices on its Plus and Premier packages, and the latest on a federal operation involving cruise ship crew members. Kristy reviews an ei...

This week on Cruise Radio, Hank reviews a seven-night Holland America Zuiderdam cruise from Boston to Quebec City. We cover his aft-facing veranda cabin, dining, specialty restaurants, entertainment, sea days, and what it's like sailing on the 24-year-old Holland America ship. Hank shares his experiences in Portland, Halifax, Sydney, and Charlottetown, including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic...

A review of Disney Destiny in 2026. Margie reviews a four-night Disney Destiny cruise from Port Everglades with her family. We cover her veranda stateroom, Disney's rotational dining, entertainment, pools and water attractions, adults-only spaces, and the ship's Heroes and Villains theme. Margie shares what it's like cruising aboard Disney Destiny with children and grandchildren, including the Fro...

A review of Norwegian Spirit. Ben reviews a 16-night Norwegian Spirit cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu, combining Alaska, five sea days, and Hawaii. We cover the renovated ship, his balcony cabin, dining, entertainment, casino, thermal spa, and what it's like spending more than two weeks aboard Norwegian Spirit. Ben also shares his experiences in Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Haines, Maui,...

A review of Carnival Pride. Chris reviews a seven-night Carnival Pride cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda. He shares what it's like to sail on the nearly 25-year-old ship, including his interior cabin, dining, entertainment, crowds, the casino, and the overall condition of Carnival Pride. In Bermuda, Chris visits Snorkel Park Beach and Horseshoe Bay and shares tips for exploring the island with a fa...

A 2026 review of Celebrity Xcel.  This week on Cruise Radio, Joe reviews a seven-night Celebrity Xcel Mediterranean cruise from Athens to Barcelona. We cover his Sky Suite in The Retreat, Luminae dining, entertainment, the new Bazaar, crowds, sea days, and Celebrity Xcel's secret speakeasy. Joe also shares his experiences in Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, and Valletta, including a visit to Ephesus,...

A review of Carnival Luminosa. Terrell reviews a 10-night Carnival Luminosa cruise from San Francisco to Alaska. We cover his Cloud 9 Spa stateroom, dining, entertainment, sea days, and what it's like sailing Carnival Luminosa to Alaska. Terrell also shares his experiences in Juneau, Skagway, Endicott Arm, and Ketchikan, including whale watching, getting close to the glacier, and a Deadliest Catch...

A seven-night MSC Meraviglia cruise from Brooklyn, New York, with a focus on the MSC Yacht Club experience. We cover priority embarkation, his upgraded Yacht Club balcony stateroom, butler service, the private Top Sail Lounge and pool deck, dining, drinks, thermal spa access, and whether the premium experience is worth the price. Jason also compares MSC Yacht Club with Norwegian's Haven and Royal...

A seven-night Norwegian Jewel cruise review from Philadelphia to Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jacob shares what it was like sailing from Philadelphia's developing cruise terminal, including the unusual hotel check-in and shuttle process, as well as his first impressions of the 21-year-old Norwegian Jewel. We cover his interior cabin, a frustrating plumbing issue, the main dining room and buff...

A review of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander.  This week we get a full review of Margaritaville at Sea Islander following a four-night cruise from Tampa to Cozumel. Sue joins us after her 42nd cruise to share why Islander exceeded her expectations and how the former Costa ship has been transformed into Margaritaville at Sea's newest Tampa-based cruise ship. Staff writer Richard Simms has cruise...

Sharon joins us to review an eight-night Southern Caribbean cruise aboard Celebrity Silhouette from Port Everglades to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. We discuss embarkation in Fort Lauderdale, her solo inside stateroom, dining around the ship, and what Celebrity Silhouette is like during busy sea days. Sharon shares her experience at the Oceanview Cafe, Murano, and Tuscan Grille, along with some of...

We discuss the latest cruise news, including passengers arrested after a prank aboard MSC Divina, Princess Cruises tightening its booking policies, Celebrity's gratuity increase, Norwegian canceling Norwegian Sky's farewell sailing, Carnival's new menu item, and Zac Brown Band's massive Margaritaville at Sea giveaway. Kevin shares his detailed review of a four-night Carnival Freedom sailing from P...

A review of Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas in 2026. Earlier this year, Matt took a seven-night Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas from Port Miami. Matt shares his experience navigating flight cancellations due to a Georgia storm and the Miami Marathon's impact on transportation. He praises the ship's cleanliness, exceptional dining in both the main dinin...

A review of MSC Seashore from Port Canaveral, Florida. Staff writer Richard Simms cover key cruise news, including arrests at Port Canaveral, a serious shore excursion injury highlighting travel insurance importance, a norovirus outbreak on the National Geographic Seabird, and Carnival's humorous response to a viral dining etiquette video. Holland America and Princess Cruises' charitable penny don...

Brilliance of the Seas transatlantic cruise review. Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas takes center stage this week as John shares his 23-night back-to-back cruise from Barcelona to Boston. The cruise combined an eight-night Western Europe sailing with a 15-night transatlantic cruise featuring Iceland, Greenland, Scotland, Portugal, Spain, and Atlantic Canadian maritimes. He discusses the sh...

Thinking about sailing Norwegian Jade? This week, Doug sits down with listener Ben to review an eight-day Pacific Coastal cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. They discuss the ship's interior staterooms, specialty dining, entertainment, thermal spa, public spaces, ports of call, and whether Norwegian's Free at Sea Plus package delivered good value. Ben also shares tips for sailing Norwegian Jade af...

We break down the biggest cruise news stories of the week, including Carnival Cruise Line revealing its next-generation Carnival Destiny, a teacher fired from her school district for booking cruises around cheaper sailings, the latest Ruby Princess illness outbreak, Royal Caribbean's cruise port setback near Rome, and why an LGBTQ charter cruise aboard Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady was denied entry...

Doug Parker interviews Chris, who recently returned from a 10-night Southern Caribbean cruise aboard Princess Cruises' Enchanted Princess, sailing roundtrip from Port Everglades. Chris shares why Enchanted Princess is his favorite cruise ship, discussing the Princess Premier package, specialty dining, entertainment, and the ship's relaxed atmosphere. He also reviews ports including Princess Cays,...

Doug Parker interviews Jan, who recently completed a 16-night repositioning cruise aboard Explorer Journeys' Explorer One, sailing from Barcelona to Miami. Jan shares his enthusiasm for the cruise line, highlighting the exceptional food, spacious suites, inclusive amenities, and intimate atmosphere. He describes memorable ports including Cadiz, Madeira, Antigua, Tortola, and San Juan, along with s...

Celebrity Solstice review and this week's cruise news. Steven shares his experience aboard Celebrity Solstice on a 16-night transpacific cruise from Sydney to Honolulu. We discuss the ship's renovation, dining, entertainment, sea days, ports of call in New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, and American Samoa, plus crossing the Equator and International Date Line. We also talk about an onboard power outage a...

Corey joins Doug to share his review of a five-night cruise aboard Carnival Sunrise from Miami, featuring visits to RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and Celebration Key. Taking advantage of a casino offer, Corey and his girlfriend booked an interior stateroom for her first cruise and explored everything from Carnival's newest private destinations to the ship's specialty dining venues. They discuss Fahrenh...

A review of Icon of the Seas.  Staff writer Richard Simms has cruise news. This week, we cover a record-setting day in Nassau as more than 33,000 cruise passengers arrived in port, ongoing chaos in Santorini as a controversial passenger distribution rule triggers another shutdown, and the tragic death of a pregnant fin whale believed to have been struck by Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas nea...

Marcus joins Doug to review a 7-night cruise aboard Marella Voyager, sailing roundtrip from Tenerife to the Canary Islands and Madeira. In this episode, he shares his experience aboard the former Celebrity Mercury, including an upgrade to an Executive Suite, dining at the ship's included and specialty restaurants, entertainment, and what it's like sailing on Marella Cruises for the first time. He...

A review of Norwegian Luna.  We cover recent cruise news, including the Anna Kepner murder case aboard Carnival Horizon, a video voyeurism arrest on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, a brawl at Nassau Cruise Pier, a $1.9 billion lawsuit against MSC Cruises, and new dining announcements from Carnival and Holland America. Tony shares a detailed review of his seven-night family cruise aboard Norw...