Carnival Cruise Line appointed Queen Latifah to be a godmother of the latest cruise ship Carnival Horizon. The baptizing ceremony will be held during an invitation-only overnight gala event in New York City on May 23, 2018.

Queen Latifah is Grammy award-winning musical artist, acclaimed television and film actress, Oscar nominee. She is the first hip-hop artist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Latifah has earned six Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rap Performance. 

Celestyal Cruises announced the extension of its 2019 and 2020 itineraries which include 6 overnight stops in the port of Istanbul, Turkey. Next year Celestyal Cruises will extend its Mediterranean season until December and will sail to Istanbul for the first time since 2016 with its new 7-days voyages, which includes 6 departures from October 21, 2019, to November 25, 2019.

Chickenpox and Streptococcus cases are reported on the current voyage of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 5 operated by TUI Cruises.

A crew member on board the cruise ship Carnival Legend was airlifted to hospital after suffering from appendicitis. The Carnival cruise ship left Melbourne the previous day and was sailing to Isle of Pines, New Caledonia when the bridge officers requested assistance for a medical evacuation.

The German Cruise Line, Aida Cruises, which belongs to the Carnival Group, has signed a contract for a third LNG powered cruise ship from the AIDAnova class, according to a statement released today. All three upcoming AIDA ships will be powered by LNG fuel. The first ship will be completed in autumn 2018, the second in 2021 and the third in 2023.

Documentary about Ed Sheeran entitled “Songwriter” is set to be released this month. The producer Murray Cummings who was working with Sheeran projects, including couple music videos was collecting footage over the years and chronicles Ed's journey as a singer/songwriter. The idea was to “capture the spark, inspiration that goes into writing songs and the initial idea behind the hits.

MSC Cruises, the world's largest privately owned cruise company, has initiated a massive recruitment drive to hire 36,000 shipboard and shoreside personnel by 2028. The Company’s 2017-2026 business plan is set for the arrival of 12 new ships divided into three different classes, Meraviglia, Seaside and World.

An explosion on a ferry in Playa del Carmen, Mexico left 25 passengers injured, one of them in critical condition. The incident occurred while people were about to disembark at the dock in Playa del Carmen Maritime Terminal. Suddenly loud explosion ripped off the ship, sending a fireball to the sky and debris on each side of the boat docked, with people nearby. According to reports, passengers ran screaming from the boat after the blast at 1 pm local time.

Celebrity Cruises is growing a greener tomorrow on the Galapagos Islands. The cruise line has worked together with Galapagos National Park to plant more than 30,000 trees in Los Gemelos on Santa Cruz Island, conserving the pristine Galapagos archipelago, home to unique flora and fauna which can’t be found anywhere in the world. 

The Biggest Game of Hide & Seek kicked off onboard Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas on Sunday, 18 February 2018, while the ship was docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, Australia. Players were divided into two groups, Kid’s Round - aged 8-14, and Adult’s Round - aged 15 and over.