We sure had a busy week of cruise news, so we’re here to ensure you’re fully updated, including stories from many of the major cruise lines and destinations. Some highlights are a pizza petition being started by a Carnival guest, soda being removed from Princess packages, and even taxes being a hot topic for passengers.
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Canned Soda Nixed From Some Princess Packages
Princess Cruises has removed cans of soda from the inclusions in its Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages, although guests can still get fountain sodas through the plans.
The cruise line quietly altered the policy, but guests were quick to notice the change, and some reached out to Princess for an explanation. The line did not explain why soda cans were removed from the offerings but simply confirmed that the policy had been changed.
The cruise line noted that, originally, cans of soda were not covered in either plan. So, it’s actually a return to a previous policy.
It appears that once the change is fully rolled out, guests with the Plus and Premier plans will receive a 25% discount on canned soda, which currently costs $3 plus an 18% tip.
On the upside, two other drink plans offered by Princess still include cans of soda. These are the Classic Soda Package and the Zero-Alcohol Package.
Also, guests who love to drink soda are allowed to bring up to 12 unopened, sealed cans (12 ounces or less each) onboard Princess Cruises ships at embarkation.
Negotiation With Mexico Ends With Lower Tax on Cruisers
The Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has managed to negotiate a big reduction in the proposed tourist tax that Mexico intended to levy on cruise guests visiting its ports.
The so-called non-resident fee was approved by the Mexican government at $42 per person, per cruise, which would have added a whopping $168 to the cost of a family of four sailing an itinerary that calls at a Mexican port.
The new fee is $5 per person and it takes effect on July 1, 2025. However, Mexico will raise the fee on a phased-in basis — to $10 in 2026 and $21 in 2027.
Under the agreement, cruise lines will collect the tax and pay the Mexican government. The non-resident tax is not new. It has been in effect since 1999 but did not apply to visitors spending less than seven days in the country.
In return for the lowered tax, the FCCA, which represents 23 cruise lines, vowed to increase the number of calls and guests to Mexican ports, and to support local infrastructure projects.
Pizza-Loving Guest Petitions Carnival Cruise Line
Some cruisers love pizza so much they’re willing to fight for it — not with fists but with a petition, asking Carnival Cruise Line to bring back late-night pizza.
Cruise line guest and pizza enthusiast Jonathan Hurrell created a petition on change.org seeking like-minded cruisers to sign on and pressure the cruise line to provide some free food options — especially pizza, onboard Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter.
Both ships are former P&O Cruises Australia ships that were recently transferred to the Carnival fleet when the brand was absorbed by Carnival, and both continue to sail itineraries Down Under. But some Aussies are frustrated by the cruise line’s policy to offer no free food choices after 9 p.m.
That’s not the case on other Carnival Cruise Line ships, they point out, where complimentary eateries are open well past midnight. More than 500 people have signed the petition so far.
Food is available on both ships 24/7, however, via room service, but it is not free. A pan pizza will cost a cruiser $6 on either of the ship. No word from Carnival Cruise Line on whether it will consider the petitioner’s request.
Royal Caribbean Makes Offers That Are Hard to Resist
It says a lot about the health of the cruise industry that a 225,282-gross-ton ship accommodating up to 6,700 guests is overbooked for her May 15, 2025 Mediterranean cruise from Rome.
That’s the case with Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, and booked guests are being courted with some very lucrative offers if they agree to move to a smaller cabin or switch to a different ship.
The most astonishing offer is for a full refund of the cruise fare paid and a $200 onboard credit to those who will move to an interior stateroom. A second option is to transfer their booking to Odyssey of the Seas, leaving Rome three days later, and enjoy a Greek Islands itinerary.
The full refund applies to this alternative, too, but guests would have to pay taxes, port fees, and crew tips — still a bargain.
And finally, guests can cancel their Allure of the Seas booking, get a full refund, and receive a future cruise credit equal to 100% of the value of the original booking.
When it comes to sweet deals, Royal Caribbean takes the cake with these choices.
MSC Cruises’ Guest Arrested on Murder Charge
A getaway cruise sailing from the UK took a tragic turn when a 60-year-old guest died following a fight onboard an MSC Cruises ship.
It’s now a murder investigation, and a suspect is under arrest. The altercation happened on MSC Virtuoso’s weekend sailing from Southampton to Bruges, Belgium, on May 3, 2025. Less than three hours after departure, a fight between two men left one dead.
The cruise continued on its scheduled itinerary, and when the 4,800-guest ship returned to Southampton on May 5, 2025, a 57-year-old suspect was taken into custody.
Details of the incident are unknown, including whether the victim and suspect knew each other, how the fight started, and how the man died. Police asked guests with information, or who may have witnessed the fight, to come forward.
Some social media posts described the sailing as a booze cruise, with lots of parties going on. Apparently the death was not made known to the ship’s population at large, as online posts showed guests having a good time, seemingly oblivious to the incident.
Both the suspect and victim were said to be UK residents.
Carnival Building New Miami Campus For All Brands
Carnival Corporation, the conglomerate behind major cruise brands including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard, Costa Cruises, and others, is planning to build a massive — up to 700,000-square-foot — corporate headquarters in Miami.
The company is already based in Miami, but the new, bigger corporate campus will bring together staff from all brands into one giant building.
Slated for completion in 2028, the site will house not only office space for 2,000 employees but also training spaces for the lines’ entertainment projects and other initiatives.
It means that staff now located at smaller offices around the US — Princess is based in Santa Clarita, California, and Holland America in Seattle, for instance, all will relocate to Miami. Carnival Corporation will build the campus on property it has purchased in Miami’s Waterford Business District.
Some industry insiders saw the move coming, since Carnival Corporation in April 2024 put its current office space up for sale.
Hawaii Legislature Passes First Cruise Tax
For the first time, Hawaii lawmakers agreed to expand the state’s transient accommodations tax to include cruise passengers who visit ports across the islands.
Effective on January 1, 2026, the state will levy an 11% tax on cruise fares, prorated based on the number of days a ship is docked at a Hawaii port.
For example, if a cruise guest visits three Hawaii ports on three days of an itinerary, the tax will reflect 11% of the cruise fare for each of those days.
Hawaii typically welcomes about 1 million cruise guests each year, and is a destination frequently included on world cruises and on sailings from the US and Canadian west coasts. Just one ship, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, sails inter-island voyages year-round from Honolulu.
The tax, which must be signed into law by the state governor, is expected to generate $100 million annually, and be invested in environmental protection projects.
More Cruise Headlines
Don’t stop here! Cruise Hive has even more stories for cruise enthusiasts. Check out our coverage of Carnival Cruise Line selling a limited edition of Jack Daniel’s bourbon onboard its ships; and MSC World America rescuing people stranded on a boat off Mexico.
Also, see stories about Virgin Voyages rebranding its Celebration voyages; Carnival Cruise Line planning to nix paper excursion tickets; and Royal Caribbean announcing that its new-build Star of the Seas is nearly ready to enter service.
