Cruise
Port of Marseille Fos boosts shoreside electric power capacity. Cruise & Ferry Review
Holland America Line has announced a $500 million fleet refurbishment program, branded Evolution, covering six vessels and described by the company as the largest fleet update in its 153-year history. President and CEO Beth Bodensteiner made the announcement Tuesday at Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami Beach, with Oosterdam set to be the first ship through the program (Cruise Industry News). Seatrade Cruise confirms the scope runs bow to stern across the older units in the fleet, with further details on phasing and scope expected as the program progresses.
MSC Group's Cruise Division is advocating for the six cruise ships currently positioned in the Persian Gulf to be repurposed as evacuation vessels for the thousands of seafarers stranded aboard commercial ships in the region. Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago raised the proposal publicly during Tuesday morning's State of the Cruise Industry session in Miami Beach, framing it as a practical humanitarian solution given the assets already in the area (Cruise Industry News). The proposal adds a concrete operational dimension to an ongoing geopolitical situation that has already prompted TUI Cruises to redeploy Mein Schiff Flow from a planned Middle East season to Northern Europe for winter 2026-27 (Cruise Industry News).
Norwegian Cruise Line has reached a settlement with multiple US states over allegations that the company used misleading sales tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic, agreeing to new marketing conduct rules following the issuance of more than $3 billion in refunds (Cruise Hive). The settlement closes a regulatory chapter that had been hanging over the line since the pandemic period, when consumer complaints centred on how future cruise credits and refund options were communicated to passengers who had bookings cancelled.
The Port of Marseille Fos has expanded its shoreside electrical infrastructure to support simultaneous connections to three cruise ships, each drawing power equivalent to a town of 13,000 residents, Cruise and Ferry Review reports. Following a testing phase that began in late 2025, the 60-hertz connections will be commercially available in 2026 under a Smoke-Free Port Call initiative, enabling ships to shut down their combustion engines for the full duration of a port call. The development positions Marseille Fos among the more capable European ports for cold ironing as regulatory pressure on port emissions intensifies across the continent.
A new economic impact study commissioned by CLIA and the Singapore Tourism Board has found that cruise tourism generated $10 billion in total economic output across Southeast Asia in 2024, representing five percent of global cruise industry output (Cruise and Ferry Review). The inaugural regional assessment recorded spending of $2,564 per passenger visit, 2.4 times the global average, underlining the premium profile of cruise visitors to the region despite accounting for only two percent of global passenger volume. The findings are likely to reinforce ongoing investment in cruise infrastructure across Singapore, Vietnam, and other regional port hubs.
Senior executives across the four major cruise conglomerates addressed demand resilience, fuel cost volatility, and geopolitical disruption at Seatrade Cruise Global's opening sessions in Miami Beach, with the overall tone more confident than market conditions might suggest (Cruise Industry News). A separate European CEO panel covered decarbonisation progress, fragmented EU regulation, and the political narrative around over-tourism, with executives arguing the industry is ahead of other transport sectors on emissions but facing uneven fuel infrastructure across port markets (Seatrade Cruise). Crystal's announcement of 2028 itineraries, including the inaugural Mediterranean season for newbuild Crystal Grace, also emerged from the conference week (Cruise Industry News).
Norwegian Cruise Line settles with multiple states over misleading COVID‑era cruise marketing, agreeing to new rules after issuing more than $3 billion in refunds. Norwegian Cruise Line Settles with States Over COVID Sales Tactics
Holland America Line today announced a $500 million Evolution refurbishment program to upgrade six vessels across its fleet. The initiative was announced by the company’s President and CEO, Beth Bodensteiner, during an industry event in Miami Beach. According to Bodensteiner, the program will be the largest fleet update program in the company’s 153-year history. The...
MSC Cruises is pushing the idea that the six cruise ships stuck in the Persian Gulf could be used to move thousands of seafarers to safety that are stranded on the commercial ships in the area. Speaking in Miami Beach on Tuesday morning, MSC Group’s Cruise Division’s Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said the situation was...
Built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, Ambience entered service as Regal Princess in 1991 with Princess Cruises, featuring a distinctive curved superstructure inspired by the bottlenose dolphin and designed by architect Renzo Piano. After transfer to P&O Cruises Australia in
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Oil demand decline in second quarter forecast to be largest.... Maritime Sustainability News
No relevant ferry and passenger ship technology stories were available in today's article set. The single submission covered broad energy market disruption and geopolitical shipping constraints with no specific ferry or passenger vessel technology content to report.
On this day in 1912, the RMS Titanic sank at 2:20 AM after striking an iceberg, with the Cunard liner Carpathia rescuing 710 survivors from the lifeboats.
General Shipping
AD Ports Sees New Opportunities in Black Sea Market. Maritime Executive
Global seaborne crude shipments have fallen 16% since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, with BIMCO data cited by gCaptain underlining the scale of disruption now rippling through tanker markets. The Trump administration is compounding that pressure by allowing a 30-day sanctions waiver on Iranian oil at sea to expire later this week, a move that will tighten the enforcement net further, gCaptain reports. U.S. Central Command said no Iran-linked vessels successfully transited in or out of Iranian ports during the first 24 hours of the blockade, and a U.S. Navy destroyer turned back two Iran-linked tankers in the Gulf of Oman, according to Maritime Executive.
The enforcement picture is complicated by diplomatic pushback, with Saudi officials lobbying the White House to abandon the blockade to prevent a new cycle of escalation that could destabilise the broader Gulf region, Maritime Executive reports. President Trump separately indicated that U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan within days, after weekend negotiations collapsed and prompted Washington to impose the port blockade, according to gCaptain. The combination of military enforcement, expiring waivers, and active diplomacy leaves tanker operators and oil traders facing an unusually compressed window in which to assess fixture and routing decisions.
Security risks are spreading beyond the strait itself. A bulk carrier was hit by projectiles in the Arabian Sea off the Omani coast last week in an incident that signals the geographic expansion of maritime threat zones in the region, gCaptain reports. The attack underscores that vessels transiting the broader Arabian Sea corridor, not only those approaching or exiting Hormuz, now face elevated risk, a development that will pressure war-risk underwriters and prompt operators to reassess routing across a wider arc of the northwest Indian Ocean.
On a separate front, UAE-based AD Ports has moved into the Black Sea market barely a month after DP World divested its stake in Ukraine's Pivdennyi port, Maritime Executive reports. The entry signals continued appetite among Gulf-based port operators for exposure to the region despite the ongoing conflict, and reflects broader competition among UAE majors to secure strategic positions along key bulk and container corridors. The timing also suggests that DP World's withdrawal has created openings that rivals are moving quickly to fill.
Barely a month after DP World sold its stake in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, another UAE-based operator, AD Ports, has entered the region t...
Global seaborne crude oil shipments have fallen 16% since the start of the Iran war, according to the BIMCO, highlighting the scale of disruption rippling through energy and tanker markets as...
A bulk carrier was struck by projectiles in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman last week, marking another incident as security risks continue to spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
Port of Marseille Fos in France has boosted its shoreside electric power capacity so it can provide 60 hertz power connections to three cruise ships – each with a power requirement equivalent to a town of 13,000 people – simultaneously. Following a testing phase that began in late 2025, the new connections will be available in 2026 and will allow cruise ships to turn off their combustion engines for the entire duration of their port call. Rolled out as part of a ‘Smoke-Free Port Cal
Cruise tourism in Southeast Asia generated $10 billion in total economic output in 2024, five per cent of global cruise industry output, according to research by Tourism Economics for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board. The inaugural Economic Impact Assessment of Cruise Tourism for Southeast Asian countries found that the region recorded $2,564 per passenger visit, 2.4 times the global average, while accounting for 2 per cent of gl
Designing cruise ship interiors that resonate with different cultural markets is a complex challenge. Guest expectations and social behaviours vary widely from one region to another, so international design studios like SMC Design must take a deeply considered, market-specific approach on each project. “Designing for different markets is something we see as a creative opportunity rather than a constraint.” says Andrew Brown, managing director at SMC Design. “Each region brings its own cu
Guests on Sun Princess had a submarine for company in the Mediterranean recently, though no action was required. Mystery Submarine Spotted Lurking Near Sun Princess in the Mediterranean
Holland America Line has announced a $500 million revitalization project covering six ships, with Oosterdam the first to be renovated. Holland America’s $500 Million Overhaul Will Transform 6 Ships From Bow to Stern
Saudi officials are pushing the White House to abandon the brand-new blockade of Iranian shipping, hoping to avoid a new cycle of escalation that cou...
The U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping is unfolding successfully so far, according to U.S. Central Command, including enforcement along the Gulf of O...
“Cruise lines have been waiting for the availability of a certified system for a long time, and having the credibility of ZOE validated by Lloyd’s Reg...
The executives leading the major cruise corporations point to the business demonstrating its resilience as they believe cruising has finally evolved i...
With cruise visitation to Prince Rupert projected to more than double in 2026, the recent Cruise Connect stakeholder event arrived at a pivotal moment...