On Thursday, April, 21, 2016, the cruise ship Disney Fantasy Rescued Three Cuban refugees after their boat capsized 40 miles north of Cuba. Ship’s captain notified the U.S Coast Guard and they received medical treatment on board. At first it was believed that they were refugees trying to flee Cuba and enter USA. However, after US officials identified the Cubans found out that they were trying to escape from United States and enter Cuba. US Marshals say that they were fleeing the United States where they were wanted for credit card fraud 

Splendour of the Seas arrived today 20, April in Venice, finishing its final voyage under the flag of Royal Caribbean. Twenty years after its maiden voyage in March 1996 the cruise ship will join Thomson Cruises fleet after extensive dry-dock refurbishment. Splendour of the Seas will be renamed to TUI Discovery, setting sail on 11, June 2016, offering Mediterranean cruises from Palma De Mallorca.

In the coming years Thomson will also add to its fleet the cruise ships Mein Schiff 1 & 2 dramatically increasing its capacity and its services. 

NASCAR fans are for surprise with launching of the first ever official NASCAR cruise on board the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl. This trip of a lifetime will set sail on a six days’ Caribbean cruise on January,29,2017, departing from Miami to Key West, Nassau and visiting Norwegian Cruise Line private island Great Stirrup Cay in Bahamas.

MSC Preziosa and MSC Divina are currently equipped with the new technology, which other ships in the fleet are to follow in the coming weeks.Technically, MSC is providing Internet with satellite service provider Marlink and its Service Cloud Sealink. With this technique, the Internet access on board wlan to be not much cheaper but also faster.

Brazil Federal Police arrested a 39-year-old woman with 4.5 kilos of cocaine in Buzios. The cocaine was hidden in an abdominal strap and the woman was caught trying to bring the drugs onboard the cruise ship MSC Splendida. According to the officials, the drug was found by federal officers of the Bureau of Macae, in Rio, conducting routine inspection with the ship's passengers. The agents suspected of the unusual volume in woman’s abdomen and her suspicious behavior. A policewoman made a personal search and located the cocaine packages.

With deep regret Crew Center would like to inform all Carnival crew members and passengers of the passing of Carnival Sunshine Team Waiter, I Gede Agus Suastira. He died in Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital after he was flown from Nassau, Bahamas with air ambulance. I Gede joined Carnival Cruise Lines in 2006 as a Galley Steward and slowly climbed to a position of Team Waiter. Many Crew members and guests shared on social networks the Letter posted by Carnival Sunshine Captain Andrea Catalani.

All residents around the Great Fjord in western Norway are aware of the danger coming from the mountains. Storfjorden is one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. On average 700.000 tourists flock to see this breathtaking fjord, many traveling by cruise ship. However few tourists know that this is the world's most monitored mountain.

Holland America Line will continue the tradition of christening their cruise ships by the members of the Dutch Royal Famil. Thier latest Pinnacle-class cruise ship, ms Koningsdam will be christened by her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The ceremony will be held in Rotterdam, on May 20, 2016.  

Ever wonder how much the salaries of CEOs of the major cruise lines are? I bet you think that biggest salaries have the CEOs of Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean (world’s largest cruise lines). According to Bloomberg the biggest compensation for 2015 was payed to the Norwegian cruise line CEO Frank J. Del Rio of staggering $31.9 million. This is quite enormous sum of money considering that in 2014 his compensation was only $2.1 million.

Royal Caribbean International held a press conference today in Beijing's Great Hall to formally announce internationally renowned movie star Miss Fan Bingbing, as godmother of thier latest cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. Fan Bingbing will be the first Chinese woman to serve as a godmother of a large cruise ship for international cruise line. The Baptism will take place on 24 June 2016 in Tianjin, the Chinese base port of Ovation of the Seas in summer 2016. Forbes China has placed Fan Bingbing three years on top of their "Celebrity 100" list as one of the most influential Chinese stars.