Cruise News Roundup — Don's Cruise Channel
Story 1 — Norovirus Outbreaks on Two Ships
Two separate GI outbreaks have been reported, demonstrating that illness can spread regardless of ship size.
Costa Toscana — Larger ship, sailing the Mediterranean. Outbreak confirmed; enhanced CDC cleaning protocols now in place.
Oceania Insignia — Much smaller vessel, capacity approximately 600 passengers. Also reporting an outbreak with similar response measures enacted.
Norovirus typically presents within 25–48 hours of exposure, causing severe stomach upset and gastrointestinal distress. Both ships have introduced more stringent cleaning processes until the outbreak is contained.
Don's tip: Frequent, thorough handwashing while traveling will dramatically reduce your chances of contracting norovirus — on ships, in schools, hospitals, or anywhere else.
Story 2 — Two Passenger Deaths on Carnival Splendor
Two completely separate incidents occurred during the same sailing, both resulting in passenger fatalities.
Snorkeling drowning — Moreton Island, Queensland: A female passenger went snorkeling and got into distress without being noticed. Don noted this is more common than people realize — fellow snorkelers tend to focus on marine life, not on watching each other, making it easy for someone in trouble to go unseen. Reviving attempts were unsuccessful.
Man overboard — en route back to Sydney: A male passenger climbed over a railing and jumped overboard, confirmed by the ship's CCTV footage. An extensive search followed — involving the coast guard and aircraft — lasting long enough to delay the ship's next sailing. As of the report, the individual had not been found.
Carnival's care team is supporting both families. All relevant authorities have been alerted.
Story 3 — Cruise Ships Clear the Strait of Hormuz
Six cruise ships had been stranded for approximately 42 days in the Strait of Hormuz region due to Middle East tensions. Passengers were eventually evacuated home and some crew members were rotated off.
During the standoff, three ships were reportedly attacked by Iran while attempting to transit the strait — radar footage reportedly shows ships beginning the passage and then turning back. A ceasefire of uncertain status is now in place.
Five of the six ships have successfully cleared the strait and are now en route to their next destinations, where they will take on new itineraries, re-crew, and resupply. The status of the sixth vessel was not confirmed.
Story 4 — Royal Caribbean Under Fire Over Icon Class Water Park Closures
Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas — both Icon class ships marketed heavily on their water parks and thrill attractions — have had the majority of their water slides closed for weeks, in some cases since March, with no proactive notification to booked passengers.
The core issue: When four out of six slides are closed, the two remaining slides generate extremely long wait times, especially on sea days. Passengers aren't upset that maintenance happens — they're upset they weren't told and haven't been offered any compensation.
Royal Caribbean's response: The cruise line has indicated that May sailings should see the water park operating normally. This provides no relief to passengers who sailed during March and April spring break windows, having booked specifically for what was advertised as the world's most thrilling water park at sea.
Passenger suggestions circulating on Reddit and Star of the Seas Facebook groups include offering arcade passes or other compensation to families, particularly those with children who missed out on the primary selling point of the sailing.
Don noted this personally — his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren are currently on the Star of the Seas and booked it specifically based on their positive experience with Royal Caribbean's Oasis class ships.
Don's question to viewers: Should Royal Caribbean offer compensation for a persistent, multi-week closure of a major advertised feature — or is it a traveler's risk that things may not be operational?
Source: Don's Cruise Channel