Japan’s Ministry of Transportation announced on Tuesday that it will reopen its ports to international cruise ships, ending the ban that has been in place since March 2020.

The naming ceremony of MSC World Europa, the first LNG-powered ship in MSC Cruises fleet, took place on Sunday, November 13, at the brand new Grand Cruise Terminal in Doha.

Viking has taken delivery of the Viking Neptune, a 47,800 gross tonnage cruise ship, equipped with 465 cabins and a capacity of 930 passengers, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona. The cruise ship is identical to Viking's other ocean liners, however, with one difference, Viking Neptune is equipped with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry's first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. 

MSC World Europa, MSC Cruises' first LNG-powered and most environmentally advanced ship, arrived at Doha Port today, ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 starting on November 20, and the ship’s naming ceremony which will take place on November 13.

Royal Caribbean has officially opened the doors of its state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas. The cruise line held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the $125 million cruise terminal opening and the Texas debut of its revolutionary Oasis Class ship.

The port of Barcelona initiated a search and rescue operation on Sunday morning for a person suspected of going overboard from the cruise ship MSC Bellissima, reported Catalan news outlets. A Helicopter and Maritime Rescue crafts were scrambled to search for the miss

AIDA Cruises announced that all matches of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, which will be hosted in Qatar, will be broadcasted live on board all twelve cruise ships. Football matches from the opening day of the World Cup to the closing day will go live on large LED screens in the theatrium, on the pool deck or in the Four Elements. Top-class experts and a football show team made up of athletes will ensure to bring the World Cup atmosphere on board on selected sailing.

Costa Cruises announced that the cruise ship Costa Pacifica will homeport in Taranto starting June 3 to October 7 2023 offering seven-night voyages, to the Greek islands.

Royal Caribbean International announced that 6,500 shipboard employees have been promoted to higher job positions this year alone, which represents 18,7% of the 34.831 crew members currently working on board the 26 vessels in operation. The company said in the "ROYAL Way crew Newsletter" that additional 1500 crew will be promoted by the end of 2022.

The 230,000-ton Symphony of the Seas earned a perfect 100 points on its most recent United States Public Health inspection last week. The Royal Caribbean International ship earned a 100 U.S.P.H. rating during an announced inspection on October 29, at the PortMiami. The perfect score has been achieved thanks to the 2,200 hard working crew who have shown its commitment and dedication to make this ship one of the cleanest vessels sailing out from US ports.