If you want to plan ahead for 2026 and even early 2027 cruise vacations, you now have new itineraries to consider for in-demand destinations. Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line all released new sailings this week.
Whether you want to cruise to the Caribbean, explore Alaska, or immerse yourself in the culture of Japan, you have a wide variety of options to choose from with these cruise lines. You can even be one of the first to sail on a new celestial-inspired ship featuring an innovative slide-coaster at sea.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line ups its emphasis on diverse itineraries
If you’re interested in visiting Ibiza on a Mediterranean cruise, you should be aware of a new rule likely to soon reduce the number of cruise calls to the sought-after Spanish island.
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Carnival adds new cruises from popular U.S. ports
Carnival Cruise Line has opened bookings for a number of new cruises for its 2026/27 season that will sail from popular U.S. ports on both the east and west coasts.
Carnival Luminosa will homeport in San Francisco for the first time in 2026 to sail a series of cruises to Alaska. The ship will also offer 4-day long weekend cruises from San Francisco to Baja, Mexico. To begin and end the season, transpacific Carnival Journeys voyages on Carnival Luminosa will sail from Brisbane to San Francisco visiting Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii, and from San Francisco to Yokohama (Tokyo) visiting Alaska and Japan.
In June 2026, Carnival Horizon will offer a 13-day Carnival Journeys transatlantic sailing from Barcelona to Miami followed by six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Miami. From Port Canaveral, Carnival Vista will sail six- and eight-day Eastern Caribbean cruises.
Carnival is also upping its cruise offerings from Norfolk with a variety of four- to nine-day sailings on Carnival Sunshine. Itineraries include four- to seven-day cruises to Bermuda, five- to seven-day cruises to the Bahamas, and eight-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries as well as eight-day sailings to Canada. An additional nine-day Carnival Journeys cruise will sail to Amber Cove, San Juan, and St. Thomas.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line adds a new homeport, shares new itineraries
Princess Cruises unveils longer Japan cruise season for 2026
For 2026, Carnival’s Princess Cruises is offering more Japan sailings aimed at culturally-curious travelers. Built-in and designed for Japan, Diamond Princess will sail a longer season, from February through November 2026, with 50 departures.
Sailing 35 unique Japan cruise itineraries ranging in length from seven to 28 days, Diamond Princess will visit 38 destinations in three countries. With the longer season, travelers have the opportunity to choose a cruise itinerary that allows them to experience spring cherry blossoms, summer festivals, fall foliage or winter scenery.
Before arriving in Japan, the ship will also sail two Southeast Asia Grand Adventures itineraries from Singapore to Vietnam, and in January 2026.
Norwegian Cruise Line opens bookings for celestial-inspired ship
Bookings are now open for the next ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s expanded Prima Plus Class, Norwegian Luna. Sailing from Miami beginning April 4, 2026, the new ship will be a twin sister ship to Norwegian Aqua that will debut in April 2025.
This week, the cruise line shared a sneak peek of Norwegian Luna and its vibrant hull art inspired by the reflection of moonlight on the sea created by acclaimed street artist ELLE. Norwegian Luna will offer the cruise line’s latest innovations that will also be featured on Norwegian Aqua including the world's first hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide, luxurious three-bedroom duplex suites, and a unique digital sports complex that transforms into a nightclub.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line shows off its new cruise ship
In 2026, Norwegian Luna will sail an inaugural season of Caribbean cruises beginning with two western itineraries to Roatan Island, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Harvest Caye, Belize. The ship will then sail seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruises with calls to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas.
Ibiza plans to restrict cruise ship arrivals
Following in the footsteps of Mallorca, which began limiting cruise ship arrivals into Palma to a maximum of three per day in 2022, the popular Spanish island of Ibiza is planning to restrict the arrival of cruise ships to no more than two at the same time.
The move aims to provide relief to the tiny Balearic island’s overwhelmed infrastructure and frustrated locals. A popular Mediterranean cruise port, Ibiza received nearly 550,000 cruise ship passengers in 2023, up from about 295,000 in 2022.
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