Welcome to 2026 and this week’s recap of the major cruise developments, all covered by Cruise Hive. Highlights in this edition include stories about the first cruise ship to dock at Great Stirrup Cay’s brand new pier, Port Canaveral again winning the title of Best US Cruise Homeport, and how one teenager learned a life lesson onboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship.
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First Cruise Ship Docks at Great Stirrup Cay
The new pier at Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay, a private island destination in the Bahamas, officially welcomed its first cruise ship, Norwegian Getaway.
The 4,000-guest ship docked on December 28, 2025, making it the first of many that will no longer have to tender guests ashore. Ships operated by sister brands Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will also have use of the pier, which can accommodate two ships simultaneously.
Another Norwegian ship, Norwegian Gem, called at the island on December 28, but that ship continued using tender boats. The cruise line has not explained why the second ship couldn’t use the pier, but it is likely because some operational kinks were still being worked out.
The construction of the two-ship pier began a year ago and is part of an overall enhancement of the destination.
Calling the upgrades a transformational investment in Great Stirrup Cay, parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings also added the 28,000-square-foot Great Life Lagoon, the adult-only Vibe Shore Club, and Hammock Bay, featuring — you guessed it, dozens of hammocks where guests can relax.
Still to come, in summer 2026, is the opening of the Great Tides Waterpark, with 19 thrill rides, play spaces for kids, a cliff-jumping experience, and a lazy river.
Mom Saves Child Who Fell Into Harbor at Private Island
A mother’s instinct immediately came into play when her 4-year-old child fell off the cruise ship pier and into the water at Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key on December 21, 2025.
The two were guests aboard the 2,984-guest Carnival Sunrise, which had docked for the day at the private destination on Grand Bahama Island. Apparently, the two were walking to or from the ship when the incident happened.
It isn’t clear how the child ended up in the water near the 101,509-gross-ton ship, but that didn’t matter to Mom, who jumped right in and got hold of the youngster.
Ship’s crew members also sprang into action, racing to the scene, throwing life rings into the harbor, and positioning a ladder so that the two could climb out of the water. The activity was videotaped by a guest onboard Carnival Conquest, which was docked next to Carnival Sunrise.
Neither appeared to be injured when they emerged from the water. Fellow cruisers who had gathered at the scene applauded their safe return to dry land. Posted on social media, the video went viral, with more than 1.4 million views and 3,400 comments.
The ship was sailing a 4-night Bahamas cruise from PortMiami.
Expedition Ship Grounds on Reef in South Pacific
Cruise ships rarely become grounded, but that’s what happened to Coral Adventurer, a 120-guest ship that got stuck on a reef in Papua New Guinea on December 27, 2025.
The ship is based in Cairns, Australia, and after several unsuccessful attempts to free the vessel using tugboats, her 80 guests were evacuated on smaller watercraft to Lae, Papua New Guinea, and then returned by air charter to Australia. No injuries to guests or crew were reported.
It isn’t clear how the ship became grounded, but she was listing six degrees to port while stuck on the reef. The location of the ship was at Dreghafen Point, a region known for higher reefs and strong currents — apparently even local fishermen sometimes avoid the area.
Finally, on December 30, 2025, a larger tug was able to free the ship. The incident is under investigation by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
Coral Adventurer is an expedition ship owned by Coral Expeditions. The ship sails to destinations in Australia, the South Pacific, and the Asia-Pacific region.
More than 100 Become Ill on Celebrity Cruises’ Ship
A holiday cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse turned out to be a big disappointment for dozens of guests and several crew members who were victims of a gastrointestinal bug.
In all, 104 cases of the illness were confirmed — 95 passengers and nine crew members, with symptoms that included vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. The illnesses were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as required, but no definitive cause has been identified.
Cruise ships must notify the CDC when 3% or more of the people onboard experience an illness. In this case, 3.1% of guests and .7 of the crew were affected.
The ship was sailing an 8-night voyage that departed on December 20, 2025 from Port Everglades. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary featured calls at Antigua, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Sanitizing efforts and the isolation of the ill guests and crew were immediately implemented and, undoubtedly, an intense disinfection process was implemented before Celebrity Eclipse departed on her next cruise.
Typically, stomach bugs are spread through direct contact with contaminated surfaces. It’s always best to frequently wash hands and to avoid touching surfaces in public areas.
Another Feather in Port Canaveral’s Cap
Cruisers just love sailing from Port Canaveral, the Central Florida port that’s close to the state’s popular theme parks and serves as a homeport for several of the industry’s top cruise brands.
How do we know? Port Canaveral was voted Best US Cruise Homeport in the 2025 Cruise Hive Awards — for the sixth consecutive year!
Port Canaveral has, at least for now, overtaken PortMiami as the World’s Busiest Cruise Port, welcoming over 8.6 million guests in 2025. In the Cruise Hive Awards results, Port Canaveral garnered 27.3% of the votes, far more than PortMiami’s 17.2%.
Aside from its proximity to the theme parks in Orlando, Port Canaveral also is nearby the Kennedy Space Center, the Brevard Zoo, and other regional attractions.
Cruise brands operating from the port include Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
The port is known for its convenient parking options and timely embarkation systems, such as facial recognition technology, which speeds up the process for guests eager to begin their at-sea vacations.
MSC World America Named ‘Best Overall’ Cruise Ship
MSC Cruises’ MSC World America entered service in April 2025 and can already claim a badge of honor: The 6,700-guest ship was voted Best Overall Cruise Ship in the 2025 Cruise Hive Awards.
The award category is a competitive one, where readers write-in their vote rather than choose from a list. MSC World America received 4.8% of the vote, a respectable percentage compared to the second-place vote-getter, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, which earned 2.8%.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Aqua came in a close third, with 2.5%.
The 16-deck ship is the largest in the MSC Cruises’ fleet, weighing 216,638 gross tons. With 19 stateroom and suite categories and 2,626 total cabins, there’s an accommodation for every budget.
It was the first time that an MSC Cruises’ ship won the category. The cruise line last won one of the Cruise Hive Awards in 2017, when MSC Seaside shared the Best New Cruise Ship title with Norwegian Joy.
Teen Learns a Lesson Aboard Carnival Dream
A teenager who recently sailed aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Dream learned his lesson the hard way after he participated in damaging an arcade game — an action that cost his family several hundred dollars.
Also, the 14-year-old’s parents took away his phone and grounded him for at least a month.
The incident unfolded one night when his parents were asleep in their cabin. The youngster made some new friends on the ship and ended up in the ship’s arcade, where one of the boys tipped a machine in an effort to obtain the coins inside.
The parents who grounded their child posted about the event on social media, presumably as a warning to others.
Under Carnival Cruise Line’s Code of Conduct, no illegal activity or disruptive behavior will be tolerated. In this case, the ship’s security team discovered the teenagers involved and notified their parents.
The teen’s father posted on Reddit that the family had to pay a $500 code of conduct fine and one-third of the cost to repair the arcade game, bringing the total expense to $763.58. No criminal charges were filed, and the family is not banned from sailing with the line again.
More Cruise Headlines
Why stop now? Let’s keep going with even more news from Cruise Hive, including coverage of St. Maarten launching its 2026 cruise season, Mexico’s Quintana Roo marking its strongest cruise-tourism year ever, and weather conditions prompting a Norwegian Cruise Line ship to miss a call to the Dominican Republic on New Year’s Day.
Also, see all of the winners in the 2025 Cruise Hive Awards, and read about the industry’s most shocking stories of 2025.
