Ports
Carnival Freedom makes its first call at Valletta
Carnival Freedom called at Malta for the first time on 15 October, during an eight-night Western Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona that also visited Marseille, Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples. Valletta Cruise Port says it is the fifth Carnival ship to visit Malta. The ship came to Europe in September for a drydock at Chantier Naval de Marseille, which included a new funnel, and returns to short Bahamas cruises from Florida in November.
Source: Cruise Industry News ↗ · 22 Oct
Cruise lines
Carnival sets out "The Next Course", its new dining plan for the fleet
Carnival Cruise Line has announced four new restaurants for its next Excel-class ships, Festivale (2027) and Tropicale (2028), including Emeril's Coastal Seafood with chief culinary officer Emeril Lagasse, plus music-themed bars on Festivale. Across the existing 29-ship fleet it has added earlier dining times, a shorter three-course Express Dining option and new menu dishes, guided by data from the more than 100 million meals it serves a year.
Source: Cruise Industry News ↗ · 22 Oct
Sustainability
Seattle ends a record season with two-thirds of ships using shore power
The Port of Seattle closed its 2026 cruise season on 18 October with record figures: 330 ship calls and nearly 2 million revenue passengers. A record 66% of ships plugged into shore power, which the port estimates avoided about 6,189 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, and work to extend shore power at Pier 91 continues this autumn. MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages based ships there for the first time, and Star Princess carried out the first LNG refuelling in Elliott Bay.
Source: Cruise Hive ↗ · 20 Oct
Business
Carnival Corporation renews its refit agreement with Singapore yard Seatrium
Seatrium in Singapore has renewed its preferred-customer agreement with Carnival Corporation, continuing a partnership that started in 2010. The agreement covers maintenance and upgrades for ships from all eight of the group's brands. Royal Princess and Carnival Luminosa are due at the yard in October and Seabourn Encore in November, with more ships planned between 2027 and 2029.
Source: CruiseMapper ↗ · 18 Oct