The cruise industry and representatives of Alaska gave a warm welcome to the first large cruise ship to visit an Alaskan port since 2019.

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas stopped in Ketchikan on Friday, where U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer, and City of Ketchikan Mayor Bob Sivertsen championed her arrival.

Ever since the global health crisis shutdown cruises, Alaska has been without one of its primary sources of economic revenue.

Carnival Vista set sail on July 3 from Galveston, the first Carnival ship to debut U.S.-based cruises since the pandemic shut down cruising in 2020. The popular ship is one of the line’s newest, and was the first to debut innovative attractions, such as Havana and Family Harbor cabins, the SkyRide, an IMAX movie, and an onboard brewery.

There has been another delay in Virgin Voyages sailing from the United States.

Virgin has struggled to offer cruises because the line was scheduled to debut right at the beginning of the global health crisis.

The new cruise line announced on Wednesday that it has canceled all sailings from Miami scheduled for late September and early October on Scarlet Lady.

It’s an exciting time for cruise fans grounded since March 2020. Select cruise ships finally have approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to set sail from U.S. homeports. Cruising is back, and passengers and crew are thrilled about the return to cruise.

Celebrity has restarted cruises in the United States, but there are still more cancellations happening.

Two Celebrity ships scheduled to sail this year have had select sailings cancelled, according to the cruise line.

Celebrity informed travel agents on Wednesday of the changes.

Australia's continuing ban on cruise ships means the longest ever deployment for a Royal Caribbean ship in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean International today announced the extension of the Singapore season for Quantum of the Seas through February 2022. 

This is the third time Quantum has had her season season extended since initially arriving in December 2020.

The cruise industry is celebrating more and more ships getting back into service, even the specialized ships.

Celebrity Cruises announced its mega yacht, Celebrity Flora, has resumed service after 15 months of no sailings.

Designed for places like the Galapagos Islands, Flora is sailing a seven-night cruise to one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.

Freedom of the Seas departed Miami on Friday, July 2, marking two milestones. It’s the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to set sail from a U.S. homeport since the CDC issued its pandemic no sail order. It’s also the first U.S.-based ship to get approval to sail with unvaccinated passengers after complying with the CDC’s simulated voyage requirement.

Cruisers have always been encouraged to buy travel insurance to protect their vacation investment, but now trip protection is mandatory for some cruisers. Royal Caribbean recently announced that unvaccinated travelers must purchase medical expense and evacuation insurance that covers Covid-related trip interruption.

How do you make sure the travel insurance you buy adheres to Royal Caribbean’s requirements? Are you better off purchasing protection from the cruise line or a third-party provider? What else should you look for in an insurance plan?