Azamara Club Cruises will make history in 2017 as the first luxury cruise line to visit Havana, Cuba. The cruise ship Azamara Quest will depart from Miami on March 21, 2017 for a 13-night voyage to Key West, Tampa, New Orleans, Cozumel, and an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba. Azamara decided to include the Cuban capital on its existing voyages, in order to give faster access to the brand’s customer destination. Havana will be packed by the 690 passengers and 380 crew members especially at night.

Today Viking Ocean Cruises celebrated the float out of their latest cruise ship Viking Sun, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona. Viking Sun is the fourth Star class cruise ship in a series of six vessels that the company Viking Ocean Cruises ordered from the Italian shipbuilder. After undergoing the stage of internal preparation the ship will debut in fall 2017.

First ever new build cruise ship for P&O Australia, set to sail in 2019, will be transferred to Carnival Cruise Line fleet reports Cruise Critic. Instead Carnival Cruise Line ship, Carnival Splendor will join P&O Australia in 2019 as a seventh cruise ship to its fleet.

Royal Caribbean North Star attraction has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the “Highest Viewing Deck on a Cruise Ship.” North Star is a state-of-the-art exclusive experience on Royal Caribbean Quantum class ships taking guests 300 feet in the air above the sea in a glass capsule, offering a 360-degree view. This technological wonder is positioned on the upper deck on Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas.

A damage to the hull caused by faulty tender platform forced the cruise ship Grand Princess to return back to Honolulu. According to Princess Cruise Line statement, the platform on the starboard side has opened, for reasons yet unknown, while the vessel was departing from Honolulu, Hawaii. As a result the ship’s hull sustained minor damage which has been secured. Grand Princess Captain confirmed that the ship is safe and has turned around to make an assessment in daylight. 

Kenneth Gass of Sturgis, have won a $100,000 onboard the Carnival Magic cruise ship. This avid cruiser sailing more than 18 years on Carnival Cruise Line have scored big time, winning the grand prize on Wheel of Fortune Slots Tournament. This is jackpot with the biggest prize of all time won on Carnival cruise ship and a perfect way to commemorate the twenty years of the famous slot machines present onboard Carnival fleet casinos.

The US Department of Justice announced that Princess Cruise Lines has plead guilty to seven charges for intentional pollution of the seas and cover up. The cruise line will have to pay maximum penalty of $40 million fine, which is largest-ever for deliberate pollution of the seas. As reported by the Division of Environment and Natural Resources, the cruise ship Caribbean Princess was dumping oil contaminated waste illegally since 2005 using a so-called "magic pipe".

A disturbing video was sent to KPRC 2 Huston, showing a boy climbing on a railing and hanging down side of Carnival Liberty while the cruise ship was sailing. The incident happened on November 19 just after Carnival Liberty departed from Galveston, Texas.

The 1st Ever Soca Cruise organized by Ubersoca, set sail from Miami to Ocho Rios on November 9th on Norwegian Pearl. The next level of Soca entertainment had impressive artist lineup, including Kevin Lyttle. Embracing the energy of Caribbean carnivals, party people who boarded NCL Pearl created the ultimate interactive experience. The culmination of the cruise was Kevin Lyttle performance on the ship’s open deck where he took the stage, performing his megahits.

3300 guests onboard the German flagship Aida Prima had to wait 14 hours in the port of Hamburg. The reason for the delayed departure is quite strange. According to Aida spokesperson the cruise ship was supplied with wrong fuel in Rotterdam and needed to refuel in Hamburg. It is currently unclear how this could happen.