There's A LOT Happening in Cruising Right Now — Here's What Actually Caught My Attention

Okay, cruise lines need to calm down for like five minutes because there is SO much happening right now. 😂

New ships. New private-island stuff. New loyalty programs. New waterparks. Disney keeps building things that make me want to plan another vacation we absolutely do not need yet.

And obviously I keep up with all of it because this is the kind of stuff I genuinely like reading about anyway.

But I don't really care about repeating every cruise-line announcement just because it's “news.” I want to know if it actually changes anything when you're trying to pick a vacation.

So these are the things happening in cruising right now that actually made me stop and go, okay… that's interesting.

CarnivalCarnival Rewards is officially here

This is a BIG one if you cruise Carnival a lot.

Carnival Rewards officially launched September 1 and replaced the old VIFP program. Instead of your status mostly coming from how many days you've cruised, the new program puts a lot more emphasis on how much you spend with Carnival.

You earn Rewards Points that can be redeemed on eligible Carnival purchases, and you earn Stars that determine your status.

And I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it. 😂

We genuinely love Carnival. Mardi Gras was our most recent cruise and we had an amazing time. But I also don't think being loyal to a cruise line means you should automatically book them every single time.

If I found a Royal or Norwegian sailing that was a WAY better fit for someone's family, I'm not going to say, “Yeah, but think about those Carnival loyalty points…”

Nope.

Book the vacation you're actually going to love.

The perks are extra.

NorwegianNorwegian basically said, “What if the private island was also a waterpark?”

Okay, THIS ONE would absolutely get my kids' attention.

Norwegian just opened Great Tides Waterpark at Great Stirrup Cay on September 4.

There are 19 waterslides, an almost 800-foot river, cliff jumps, a kids' splash area and a bunch of other additions.

Private cruise-line destinations are getting ridiculous, and I mean that in the best possible way.

We went to Celebration Key on our last cruise and loved having a day where there was plenty to do without having to plan some huge excursion.

And now Norwegian is basically going, hold my drink.

That's exactly the kind of little detail that can turn into a not-so-little surprise when you're traveling with kids.

Still…

Would my family want to try it?

Absolutely. 😂

The shipsCruise ships have officially become part of the destination

This isn't really one announcement as much as something that's becoming impossible to ignore.

Look at Royal Caribbean's newer ships.

Legend of the Seas has more than 40 places to eat and drink, a huge waterpark area, Central Park, pools, entertainment and enough stuff going on that you could probably spend the entire vacation onboard and still miss things.

And that's where choosing a cruise gets interesting.

Some people see a ship like that and think:

YES. THAT ONE.

Other people look at it and immediately need a nap. 😂

Neither person is wrong.

Our family likes having options because the five of us don't necessarily want to do the same thing all day.

That's one of the things that made us fall in love with cruising in the first place. The kids can find something they want to do. Shawn and I can actually relax. Then we all meet back up for dinner, a show, or whatever we're doing that night.

But somebody else might want a smaller ship, fewer people and a much quieter week.

That's why I hate when people ask online:

“What's the best cruise line?”

There isn't one.

There's a best one for you.

And figuring that part out is honestly one of my favorite parts of planning these trips.

DisneyAnd then there's Disney Adventure…

Disney already knows how to get my attention. They really don't need to try this hard. 😂

Disney Adventure is sailing from Singapore with three- and four-night cruises and seven themed areas, including Marvel Landing, Toy Story Place, San Fransokyo Street and Disney Imagination Garden.

As someone who loves Disney AND cruising…

Dangerous combination.

But here's where my travel-planning brain immediately kicks in.

If you're coming from the U.S., that's not really a “let's book a quick Disney cruise.”

You're talking about airfare to Singapore, probably hotels, transfers, figuring out how long you're staying, and THEN the cruise.

At that point I'm not thinking about a three-night cruise anymore.

I'm thinking:

Okay, if we're flying all the way to Singapore, what else are we doing while we're there?!

😂

And that's how a three-night cruise somehow turns into me having 17 browser tabs open.

Disney also just opened more Disney Adventure dates for Fall 2027 through Spring 2028, so this is definitely one I'm going to keep watching.

Where this is goingThe thing I'm noticing most? Cruising isn't really one type of vacation anymore.

This is probably what I love most about where cruising is going.

You can book a giant family ship where your kids disappear down waterslides all day.

You can book something quieter.

You can make the private destinations the highlight.

You can choose a cruise because you care about the ports.

You can barely care about the ports because you picked the cruise for the ship.

You can do Disney.

You can do adults-only.

You can spend seven days doing everything.

Or you can sit somewhere with a drink and do absolutely nothing.

Both sound pretty good to me, honestly.

And all these new ships and destinations are awesome, but they're also making it harder to look at a list of cruises and know which one you should actually book.

That's where I think knowing the people I'm planning for matters way more than knowing which ship is newest.

Tell me your kids would spend all day at a waterpark?

That matters.

Tell me your husband wants good food and doesn't care about waterslides?

That matters.

Tell me you want to see as many places as possible and couldn't care less if the ship has a roller coaster?

That REALLY matters.

Tell me your idea of vacation is getting a drink, finding a chair near the water and not hearing anybody ask you for anything for three hours?

I understand you. 😂

That's the stuff I want to know.

Because I'm not trying to find you whichever cruise happens to have the biggest SALE banner this week.

I want to find the one you're going to come home from already talking about when you can do it again.

And considering I usually start thinking about our next vacation before we've even unpacked from the last one…

I know that feeling pretty well.