In an industry dominated by men, Captain Kate McCue is making waves as the first American female captain of a mega cruise ship. McCue is a trailblazer and pioneer in the cruise industry - breaking the gender barrier and proving that women can take leadership roles in the same way that men can. 

In 2015, Kate McCue made history when she became captain of the Celebrity Edge at the age of 37 years old. Captain McCue was also the first commanding officer to sail from a U.S. port following the pandemic shutdown, which left the cruise industry crippled for 15 months. 

A new year is approaching and for many cruise fans, that means looking forward to new ships launching! Although the Covid-19 pandemic halted cruises for over a year, that didn’t mean that cruise lines cancelled orders for future cruise ships.

Most of the ships debuting in 2022 are behind their original scheduled launch date due to pandemic-related production issues. Some ships that were set to launch in 2022 have subsequently been pushed back to 2023.

As the cruise industry adjusts to the Omicron variant threat, some Caribbean islands have denied entry to cruise ships that have Covid cases isolated and monitored onboard.

While these ports have told the cruise ships they may not enter, flights from states like Florida have been able to travel despite daily records for new Covid cases.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas was denied entry into St. Thomas on Sunday, and Carnival Freedom was denied entry into Bonaire and Aruba. Both ships had positive Covid cases onboard.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will extend the rules and protocols for cruise ships sailing from the United States for an additional two and a half months.

The Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) will be extended as of November 1st, which is the date it was scheduled to expire.

Instead of going away, the CSO will be temporarily extended through January 15, 2022.  At that point, the CDC says the CSO rules will become voluntary for the cruise lines to follow.

In this week’s cruise news, two ships make their 2021 return to cruise, Royal Caribbean announces an epic itinerary swap, and the future of Alaska cruises hangs in the balance. Read on for the latest happenings in the world of cruising.

School has started and the fall travel shoulder season is upon us, but cruise ship restarts are not slowing down. This week, three cruise ships on three different lines will make their 2021 debut, and more lines are announcing return-to-cruise plans for their remaining ships.

Get all the details about ship launches and simulated voyages with Cruise.blog’s master list of 2021-2022 debut sailings.

As the summer winds down, most re-launching cruise ships are setting sail on Saturday and Sunday. We will be publishing our weekly updates on Fridays to alert you to which ships are debuting over the weekend.

Get all the details about ship launches and simulated voyages with Cruise.blog’s master list of 2021-2022 debut sailings.

A few ships are returning to cruise or running test cruises this week, but the real headliners are a smattering of policy changes that could impact your booked sailing this year.

Get all the details about ship launches and simulated voyages with Cruise.blog’s master list of test cruises and 2021 debut sailings.

A new warning has been issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday for anyone considered high risk for severe illness from Covid-19 avoid going on a cruise ship, even if they are fully vaccinated.

Higher risk individuals include older adults and people with medical conditions. In those situations, the CDC advises they should take professional advice before cruise ship travel.