Cruise news for October 23, 2026

Oct. 23, 2026 has seven stories. Open each link for the named source and the date it was checked. This page only restates those posts.

Norwegian Cruise Line told Cruise Hive that Norwegian Luna, on the 7-night cruise that left Miami on Saturday 17 Oct 2026, has a technical issue and must run at reduced speed. Great Stirrup Cay on Friday 23 Oct is cancelled. Friday is an extra sea day. Cruise Hive says Puerto Plata on 19 Oct, St. Thomas on 20 Oct, and Tortola on 21 Oct already happened. The spokesperson statements do not print a fare refund, an onboard credit, or a speed in knots. Guest posts on that page use the words engine and half speed. Cruise Fever prints the same technical-issue statement and says a CruiseMapper reading was about 15 to 18 knots. Those knots are not in the statement. Cruise Fever also says past island cuts have often refunded excursions booked through the line. That is not a credit printed for this sailing. Both reports leave the effect on the cruise leaving Miami on Saturday 24 Oct unknown. Neither cancels that departure.

Cruise Hive says Captain Andrew Foote told Iona guests on Wednesday 21 Oct that the Getxo call on Thursday 22 Oct is cancelled because of Storm Austen, and that the ship will return to Southampton after looking for sheltered water near Brixham. The article says Brixham is not a port call. The 7-night cruise left Southampton on Saturday 17 Oct. The letter quotes do not print a fare refund. Cruise Hive also says this cruise already missed Le Havre on 18 Oct and that Vigo and A Coruña were modified. Associated British Ports, read 23 Oct, lists Iona arriving at 6:15 a.m. Saturday 24 Oct on berth 46, the Ocean terminal, and leaving at 5:00 p.m. Both fields are stamped 22/10/2026 15:57:39. The schedule page says the times are provisional. The feed does not print a boarding deadline.

Cruise Hive says Ambassador's Ambition, on the 17-night cruise that left Bristol on Friday 16 Oct, still calls Alta on Friday 23 Oct and then replaces the next five ports. The new dates are Andalsnes on Monday 26 Oct, Molde on Tuesday 27 Oct, Alesund on Wednesday 28 Oct, Bergen on Thursday 29 Oct, and Stavanger on Friday 30 Oct. One sentence in the article lists six original names, including Alta, and calls them five. The dropped calls on that reading are Hammerfest, Harstad, Leknes, Narvik, and Bodo. A Facebook post quoted in the article cites storms Austen and Boelo, with winds of up to 70 knots and swells of up to 7 metres. The Norwegian Coastal Administration pilotage list, read 23 Oct, shows Ambition moving toward Andalsnes, Molde, and Alesund on 26, 27, and 28 Oct. Those rows are pilot orders, not shore hours, and they do not list Bergen or Stavanger. Cruise Hive says the Bristol return on Monday 2 Nov is unchanged. No fare refund is printed.

Independence of the Seas leaves Cape Liberty on Saturday 24 Oct 2026 on a 5-night cruise booked for Bermuda. Cruise Hive and Royal Caribbean Blog print an email that sends the ship to Saint John, New Brunswick, instead. Royal Caribbean Blog lists 10:30 a.m. Monday 26 Oct through 2:30 p.m. Tuesday 27 Oct. Cruise Hive prints approximately 10:30 a.m. on Monday. The public itinerary page, read 23 Oct, still lists Royal Naval Dockyard from 9:00 a.m. Monday to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, a 3:00 p.m. Saturday departure, and a 7:00 a.m. Thursday 29 Oct return. The blog says the ship still leaves at the original Saturday time and returns Thursday 29 Oct. It does not print a new arrival clock. Refundable onboard credit for the first two guests is $150 inside, $200 outside, $300 balcony, and $500 suite, plus $50 for each later guest. Prepaid Bermuda tours bought through Royal Caribbean refund to the onboard account. Unused credit goes back to the card on that account. The quotes do not print a fare refund. Royal Caribbean Blog prints a passport line and says some nationalities may need a visa. The Ocean Prediction Center product at 10:43 a.m. EDT names Post-Tropical Cyclone Josephine. The email quotes do not.

Legend of the Seas leaves Barcelona on Sunday 25 Oct 2026. The Royal Caribbean page for that cruise code lists Fort Lauderdale on 7 Nov. Royal Caribbean Blog and Cruise.blog print an email that says the BOGO Loyalty Dining Benefit for Diamond Plus members will not be available, because of exceptionally high demand for specialty dining and fully booked restaurants. The blog says the letter does not say a headcount caused it. Island Vibes at Surfside Eatery is $25 a person, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club, on this crossing. Royal Caribbean Blog says other loyalty food and beverage benefits remain, and that Pinnacle members may use their one-time $25 specialty dining benefit at Island Vibes. The Crown and Anchor grid, read 23 Oct, describes the standing BOGO as a specialty dinner on the first or second night for a second guest. The grid does not name Island Vibes.

JetBlue Vacations' Do Not Disturb page, read 23 Oct, says the package is sold out. The terms on that page still list phone bookings through 12:00 p.m. ET on 27 Oct. Virgin Voyages' 20 Oct release priced 60 cabins at $2,750 for two Sailors, including taxes, fees, and gratuities, on Brilliant Lady from 4 to 8 March 2027, with JFK to Fort Lauderdale flights on 4 March and the return on 8 March. The sold-out page does not reprint that fare. The terms limit the package to two adults in a Sea Terrace. The FAQ says a cruise-only booking is still offered, without the package perks.

Royal Caribbean's gratuity policy page, read 23 Oct, adds 18 percent to beverages and beverage packages, specialty dining and specialty dining packages, room service, and minibar purchases. Spa and salon are 20 percent. The page says those gratuities are optional and may be adjusted or removed at your discretion. You may modify or remove any gratuity at Guest Relations onboard before the morning of disembarkation. After the sailing ends, you cannot. Daily charges stay $21.00 in a suite and $18.50 in every other stateroom. The beverage-package FAQ says the 18 percent may be modified. It does not say removed. BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division summary, dated 21 Oct, is NAD Case #7561. It says Royal Caribbean modified its booking flow during the inquiry to disclose that gratuities are optional and may be modified or removed prior to disembarkation, and that Royal Caribbean has implemented NAD's recommendations. NAD also recommended a clearer optional line in the learn-more tab and on the final checkout page. No source checked here says whether a prepaid package gratuity returns to the card or as onboard credit. Royal Caribbean Blog on 19 Oct quotes a spokesperson: no change to the rates, and an FAQ that showed the wrong percent on drinks and dining was corrected. Beverage and dining gratuities remain 18 percent in that quote. The 22 Oct rates post on this site already recorded the same FAQ sentences.

If you sail Independence on Saturday, use the Saint John hours and the Canada line in the email. If you are Diamond Plus on Legend, do not count on the BOGO. If you wanted Do Not Disturb and have not booked it, the JetBlue page says it is sold out. If a Royal Caribbean drink, dining, room service, or minibar gratuity is on your bill, go to Guest Relations before the morning you get off. If you are on Norwegian Luna, Friday is a sea day and the printed statements do not name a credit. If you are meeting Iona, use 6:15 a.m. Saturday at the Ocean terminal and confirm it. If you are on Ambition, keep Alta and use the southern ports for the rest of the week.