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It's been another super-charged week in the cruise industry, and Cruise Hive has it all covered. This edition of our weekly recap includes stories about Port Canaveral edging out PortMiami as North America's busiest cruise port, Carnival Cruise Line quietly raising some of its service charges, and Philadelphia partners with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to build a new cruise port and terminal.
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Ship's Crew Rescues Local Man From Martinique Harbor
Crew members on Princess Cruises' Enchanted Princess rescued a man who had jumped into the water at the Martinique cruise port, but it turned out he wasn't a guest sailing on the ship.
It was a local resident who, for reasons unknown, decided to cool off in the harbor where the 3,660-guest Enchanted Princess was docked for the day on November 29, 2025. In fact, he jumped in the water right in front of the 145,300-gross-ton ship.
The ship's overboard alert was sounded, and crew members immediately came to the man's rescue, bringing him to shore on one of Enchanted Princess's rescue craft. It was around 10 a.m. when crew members completed the rescue, and local police placed the man in custody.
Enchanted Princess was sailing a 12-night Southern Caribbean voyage roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. Her port call at Martinique was from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., giving guests plenty of time to enjoy the destination.
The man who jumped into the harbor apparently was not injured, but questions remain. Why did he do it, and how did he manage to enter the port's secure area, evading several checkpoints?
Port security and operations staff will likely be investigating the incident.
Search Ends For Man Overboard in Canary Islands
Authorities have called off the search for an elderly guest who went overboard from Marella Cruises' Marella Explorer 2 as she sailed near La Palma, Canary Islands.
The unidentified 76-year-old man was reported overboard from the 1,800-guest ship on November 27, 2025 and a search was immediately begun, involving the ship's crew and the Salvamento Maritimo -- the Spanish Coast Guard.
Other guests saw the man, said to be a British national, enter the water around 10 a.m. Two helicopters, a patrol boat, and other rescue aircraft searched for the man for two days before calling it off. Foul play is not suspected.
Guests aboard Marella Explorer 2 were enjoying a sea day when the tragic incident happened. The ship homeports in Tenerife and sails mostly 7-night itineraries to multiple Canary Islands destinations.
While active search efforts ended, maritime reports continued to alert local boats about the missing man, asking them to keep watch in the unlikely event the man survived longer than expected in the water.
Cruise Line Modifies Vacation Protection Plan
Several modifications were made to Carnival Cruise Line's Vacation Protection Plan, effective with departures on and after December 1, 2025.
First, the cruise line has changed insurance carriers and is now using United States Fire Insurance Company.
Previously, the plan provided a Medical Evacuation Benefit of $30,000 and a Repatriation of Remains Benefit of $30,000. Under the new plan, both are combined into a single benefit of $50,000.
It is not clear whether the $50,000 benefit can be used for either purpose. But if that is so, as one repeat cruiser who also is an insurance agent suggested, it's good for guests, because those who use the evacuation benefit would not also need the repatriation benefit, and vice versa.
Repatriation refers to the removal of a dead body. So the benefit for either emergency could rise by $20,000.
Also, the Accident Medical Expense Benefit of $10,000 and the Sickness Medical Expense Benefit of $10,000 are now combined into one Accident and Sickness Medical Expense Benefit of $20,000.
Cruisers can buy the protection plan policy at rates starting at $49, depending on their total cruise fare and the length of the sailing.
Carnival Cruise Line Raises Some Service Fees
Experienced cruisers who sail with Carnival Cruise Line know that every time they buy a drink, whether they have a drinks package or not, an 18% gratuity is added onto the tab.
Well, no more. Now that the service charge has risen to 20%, meaning a $10 glass of wine will actually cost $12. Moreover, the higher fee also applies to specialty dining charges, in-stateroom decorations purchased for special events like birthdays, and gifts for staterooms such as toys and flowers.
The new policy was quietly added to the terms and conditions section of the line's website and has already taken effect.
The higher service charge applies to all purchases of the Cheers!, Bottomless Bubbles, and the new Cheers! Zero Proof packages, as well as all drinks bought without a package.
For example, if two adults buy the Cheers! package, which costs $139.90 per day, the total package cost for a 7-night cruise comes to $979.30. The new 20% service fee would add $196 to the total cost -- about $20 more than the 18% fee, which would add $176.
It won't break the bank, but onboard costs do add up.
New Philadelphia Cruise Port In The Works
The US East Coast will soon have another cruise port to sail from: Philadelphia! The city, in partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line, has plans to build PhilaPort, a 16-acre port conveniently located next to Philadelphia International Airport.
The port, which is set to open in April 2026, held an official ground-breaking ceremony on December 1, 2025.
City officials also revealed a 7-year agreement with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings that enables its three brands -- Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, to operate as the port's only operator. The deal provides for an initial commitment of 41 sailings per year.
The 2,376-guest Norwegian Jewel will homeport at Philadelphia from April 16, 2026 to October 17, 2026, offering Bermuda cruises and Canada/New England voyages.
Under the plan, PhilaPort will handle the waterfront construction, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will build the cruise terminal.
The new port will be open in time for the city's celebrations in summer 2026, tied to the 250th anniversary of the 1776 founding of the US.
PortMiami Breaks All-Time Cruise Arrivals Record
It's been another record-setting year for PortMiami, as cruise guest transits reached 8,564,225, a 4% increase compared to 2024.
It represents the highest passenger-arrival total in the port's history, based on the fiscal year that ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
Miami is known as the Cruise Capital of the World, but it has lost ground this year to Port Canaveral, on Florida's Space Coast (see next news brief below).
Still, PortMiami continues to be a global leader in the cruise industry, with virtually every cruise brand sailing from its docks.
Those deployments translate into around $61 billion in economic benefits to the region, supporting some 340,000 jobs related to cruising. And while cruise arrivals continue to increase, so does the port's cargo business, port officials note.
PortMiami currently is home to popular ships such as Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Jewel, and Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Conquest, among many others.
Port Canaveral Edges Out Miami in Guest Arrivals
Congratulations to Port Canaveral, the growing port in Central Florida that has surpassed PortMiami as the busiest cruise port in North America.
The numbers are in: Port Canaveral recorded 8.6 million cruise guest movements in 2025, inching past PortMiami's 8.5 million (see news brief above).
Port Canaveral is home to some of the industry's biggest ships, including Royal Caribbean's 5,610-guest Star of the Seas and Disney Cruise Line's 4,000-guest Disney Treasure.
Other cruise lines with a presence at Port Canaveral include Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Celebrity Cruises.
The port's 2025 numbers show a very respectable 13% increase over 2024's totals, when it received 7.6 million passengers.
Port Canaveral is a homeport for 18 of the industry's most popular ships, but it is also a major port of call, since the theme parks of Orlando are less than an hour's drive away.
More Cruise Headlines
Let's keep going with more news! Cruise Hive has full coverage of Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration Key all spruced up for the holidays, MSC Cruises revealing more details about the upcoming MSC World Asia, and Virgin Voyages rolling out a 30-day season pass to Alaska.
Also, Princess Cruises' Sky Princess begins sailing from Port Canaveral, and France's Senate approves a tax on cruise passengers.