Typically, warnings about cruise ports come from the U.S. State Department.
The country actually involved is not disclosing its situation because it still wants tourism dollars. But in this case, that’s not the case, with a senior government official warning tourists not to travel to his country.
It’s an unprecedented situation, but cruise lines still plan to visit the troubled country.
Currently, the U.S. State Department does issue a Level 3: Reconsider Travel Warning for the country.
“Please reconsider traveling to Trinidad and Tobago due to crime. Use increased caution in Trinidad and Tobago due to terrorism and kidnapping. There is an increased risk in some areas… Violent crime, For example, murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, burglary and kidnapping are common.
However, nine cruise lines still plan to call at the country’s three cruise ports. Jason from Travel Scouts has the full story and more cruise news.
Be the first to see the best deals on cruises, special sailings and more. Sign up for the “Cruise with Me” newsletter.
9 Cruise Lines Heading to Troubled Cruise Ports
Transcript:
Cruise News A Caribbean country has declared a state of emergency.
They’ve made it very clear that public safety will be at risk.
“TTPS intelligence provided to the Minister of National Security could immediately increase their brazen violence in retaliatory shootings on such a scale as to threaten personnel and endanger public safety.”
It’s also important to know that there are currently nine different cruise lines scheduled to visit the country in the coming days. I will provide you with the details.
Plus, I have some exciting news about cruise deals and opportunities that will be available next year.
I have the latest cruise news from across the cruise industry and will keep you updated as soon as possible. Welcome to Travel Scout. My name is Jason.
We are your cruise information channel. We can quickly get you the cruise news and information you need without wasting your time. If you enjoy cruising, please consider subscribing.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the “Cruise with Me” newsletter.
Carnival farewell, Royal Caribbean shares European routes
Let’s start with the first thing. Carnival Cruise Line sails for the last time from Charleston, South Carolina. The Carnival Sunshine Cruise Line departed Charleston for the final time yesterday.
The cruise line has been launching out of Charleston for the past 14 years. However, the Port Authority now has new plans for the terminal. Cruise ships will be able to visit Charleston.
They just can’t homeport there. Upon completion of her current voyage, Carnival Sunshine will proceed to dry dock before beginning cruise service from Norfolk, Virginia. Secondly, Royal Caribbean revealed when they will open bookings for more flights in 2026 and 2027.
They will launch more European routes the week of January 27th.
Sign up for the Cruise with Me newsletter to save money on your next (or first) cruise.
Passenger on cruise ship dies tragically, MSC plans special voyage
The third sad news is that last Thursday, an 82-year-old cruise ship passenger died in St. Maarten, located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea.
The woman’s cruise ship was docked in Phillipsburg. She was in an electric wheelchair and reports suggested the wheelchair may have malfunctioned in some way and she ran off the dock into the water. Crews arrived quickly but were unable to revive her.
It was unclear whether the wheelchair she was using was owned or rented. Let us pray for this woman’s family.
Then a fourth budget cruise ship was discovered.
I love sharing these with you all from time to time. Kelly, my personal tour operator, tipped me off for this one. The cruise is on board the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship.
This is a 23-night cruise departing from Martinique on March 29, 2025. Along the way, the ship will call at 12 ports, which I love because many of them are not the typical ports you would have the opportunity to call at. Stops include Guadalupe, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Barbados, St. Vincent, Portugal, Spain and France.
The voyage ended in Southampton, England, on April 21. The 23-day cruise costs $1,209 per person, or $52.56 per person per day. Okay, I’ve got more cruise news, including the day’s headlines, but now it’s time for our quick check-in at the show.
In the last video, I asked you how you would like your tips to be handled. I received input from over 6,000 people and here are the results. Nine percent want to continue the current practice of most cruise lines, which charges fees automatically but not included in the advertised price.
A majority (66%) want them included in the price, while a majority (25%) prefer not to charge for them and instead allow cruisers to give as they choose. Thanks for your input on this, lots of great comments as well. This is today’s question.
This is just a question I’ve never been asked before, which is approximately how old were you when you took your first cruise?
For me, I was 23 and it was when Kelly and I went on our honeymoon. And you? Please tell me in the comments. I will enjoy reading this article, but now onto the cruise news.
Be the first to see the best deals on cruises, special sailings and more. Sign up for the “Cruise with Me” newsletter.
Celebrity captain shares sad news, MSC adds World Cruises
fifth. Popular cruise ship captain Kate McCue has shared the sad news of the death of her famous cat. Captain Kate is the captain of the Celebrity Beyond cruise ship and is always accompanied by her cat, Bug Naked.
The cat is a social media star in its own right. Captain Kate said Bug died of complications following a routine dental cleaning and extraction. Bugs will be missed.
Sympathy for Captain Kate at this time.
Next, number six. MSC Cruises has opened bookings for its 2027 world cruises.
It will be aboard their MSC Musica cruise ship. One thing about MSC’s world cruises is that they are often one of the cheapest cruises in the world. Pricing for the product starts at $19,999 per person.
That’s still a lot of money, but for a trip around the world, it’s pretty good. The price includes all fees and taxes. These include dining packages and 15 excursions.
So it’s nice to get a little extra. The voyage itself was 121 nights long. During these four months, you’ll visit five continents, 25 countries and 45 ports of call.
You can cross off a lot of bucket list items. All I have to do now is post a map of the journey. I’m going to point out the bucket list items that some of you have pointed out.
First, you can check a Mediterranean cruise off your bucket list. Then you visit Africa. Make the first of two transatlantic crossings.
You can spend a lot of time exploring South America. You cross the Drake Passage. Completed the Pacific Ocean crossing.
Tour French Polynesia. Then there are Australia and New Zealand. Next, end your Hawaii cruise and cruise through the Panama Canal.
So $20,000 is definitely a lot of money. But if you split all of these experiences into separate cruises and then pay for airfare and all the fees for each cruise, it could cost you a lot more money.
RELATED: Get the best cruising tips, deals and news on boats from our professional cruisers
Trinidad and Tobago declares state of emergency
Then, our headline news was the declaration of a state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago, located in the southeastern Caribbean, has experienced outbreaks of gang violence. Later, I will share with you information about the cruise lines planning to stop there in the coming weeks.
But first, I want you to hear directly from the Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago.
“In short, what we are faced with is a decision based on information provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, which anticipates the intensification of criminal activity using high-caliber, high-velocity assault weapons as we all know in these types of incidents. , for us as a government, innocent people are often affected, and we made the decision after very careful consideration.
The intelligence provided by the TTPS to the Minister of National Security across Trinidad and Tobago could immediately lead to an increase in their brazen violence in retaliation shootings on such a scale as to threaten personnel and endanger public safety. So this does seem to be a serious situation and cruise passengers need to be aware of it. Trinidad and Tobago has three major cruise ports.
One of them is Port of Spain. It is the country’s capital and is located on the island of Trinidad. The other two are Scarborough and Charlottesville.
Both are located on the island of Tobago. As recently as January, nine different cruise lines were scheduled to call at one of these three ports. If you’re going on one of these cruises, you need to be careful.
Have questions about booking a cruise? Make a free reservation with Come Cruise With Me’s travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Plans.
(Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise).
Now on the screen is the cruise ship listing along with the port and the date the ship is scheduled to arrive. Of course, you can pause the video if you want to take a closer look at these. So far, these cruise lines have not released any news on this matter.
I’m sure they are looking into this carefully and we hope to hear from them soon. If you are on one of these cruises and the cruise line is not cancelled, be aware of the issues going on in Trinidad and Tobago, where things appear to be worse. If you travel to any of the islands I would encourage you to stay in the safe port areas and any excursions would be best if you choose a cruise line or a reputable tour company.
Finally, as we head into 2025, I want to quickly say how much we appreciate you and the opportunity to share a part of our lives with you through video. Therefore, we wish you all a Happy New Year.
Be careful and I’ll see you in the next video.
Are you on a cruise or considering one? Visit our Cruise with Me website to get all your questions answered.
