Welcome to The Deck Briefing — your quick daily read for everyone who loves ships, sea days, and stories from the decks. Here’s what’s making waves on August 13, 2026.
Today's cruise news roundup covers Mexico's higher passenger fee, Royal Caribbean's 2027-28 Asia-Pacific reshuffle, Princess Cruises' 2028 Alaska season, eclipse-positioned ships in Iceland and Greenland, and Seabourn's 2028-29 Caribbean voyages.
Mexico Doubles Cruise Passenger Fee
Mexico's cruise passenger fee doubled to $10 per person on Aug. 1, 2026, and Cruise Hive reports that it is scheduled to rise again. The charge applies at cruise ports throughout the country, including Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Costa Maya.
The fee is collected once per itinerary, even when a sailing calls at several Mexican ports. It will increase to $15 per guest on July 1, 2027, before reaching $21 on Aug. 1, 2028; that rate is scheduled to remain in place through at least Sept. 30, 2030.
Mexico recorded 4.8 million cruise visitors from January through April 2026, a 14.8% year-over-year increase, according to Cruise Hive. Cruise lines are adding the charge to the cruise fare rather than moving away from Mexican ports, the report says.
Mexico initially proposed a $42 passenger tax before reducing it after pushback from the cruise industry. Other destinations cited in the report with cruise-related tourism charges include Greece, where seasonal fees apply at Santorini, Mykonos and other ports, and Amsterdam, where the 2026 charge is €15 per person per day.
Source: www.cruisehive.com
Royal Caribbean Expands Asia-Pacific Deployment
Royal Caribbean is reshuffling ships for its 2027-28 season, with three vessels scheduled to sail from Australia and expanded operations planned for Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, according to Royal Caribbean Blog. Ovation of the Seas will be based in Brisbane, while Anthem of the Seas will sail from Sydney.
Ovation will offer three- to eight-night cruises beginning in Brisbane in November 2027, including two four-night voyages to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. The ship's recently added features include a revamped pool deck, Splashaway Bay, private casitas and restaurants such as Izumi Teppanyaki and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen.
Voyager of the Seas will move through five homeports during the deployment: Brisbane, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. It is scheduled to offer seven Brisbane sailings from October through December 2027, followed by five cruises from Sydney and later voyages timed around Chinese New Year and Japan's cherry blossom season.
Voyager's Asia-Pacific program includes Hong Kong round trips, calls at Ishigaki and Okinawa, and itineraries visiting Taipei and Hue/Danang. In February 2028, four 10- to 12-night cruises from Tokyo will visit destinations around Japan.
Navigator of the Seas will also remain in Singapore longer than previously planned. After debuting in Asia in October 2026, it is now scheduled to stay through October 2027, offering mainly two- to five-night cruises to Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, along with a 12-night sailing from Tokyo to Singapore.
Source: www.royalcaribbeanblog.com
Princess Opens 2028 Alaska Season
Princess Cruises has opened bookings for its 2028 Alaska season, with eight ships offering 185 departures from late April through late September, Cruise Hive reports. The program includes 14 itineraries ranging from four to 16 days, with departures from Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The fleet will include Star Princess, Discovery Princess, Emerald Princess, Royal Princess, Coral Princess, Crown Princess, Island Princess and Ruby Princess. The ships will visit 16 destinations, including Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, along with the Canadian ports of Prince Rupert and Victoria on selected sailings.
Itineraries include round-trip and one-way cruises, as well as options to combine voyages into 14-day trips. Emerald Princess is scheduled to offer a 16-day Inside Passage round trip from Los Angeles, while Ruby Princess will operate 10-day round trips from San Francisco.
Planned scenic cruising includes Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord and Endicott Arm, although itineraries may change because of weather and safety conditions. Princess will also offer land-based cruisetour extensions featuring places such as Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, with stays at Princess-owned wilderness lodges.
Source: www.cruisehive.com
Cruise Ships Line Up for Iceland-Greenland Eclipse
Multiple cruise ships have positioned across Icelandic and Greenlandic waters for the total solar eclipse on Aug. 13, Seatrade Cruise News reports. The eclipse is scheduled to begin in Reykjavik at 4:47 p.m. local time, with totality at 5:48 p.m. lasting just over one minute.
In Iceland's Westfjords near Isafjörður, totality is expected at 5:44 p.m. and will last one minute and 31 seconds. Some locations in Greenland will reach totality earlier, around 5:18 p.m.
Virgin Voyages has positioned Valiant Lady and Scarlet Lady for eclipse viewing. Valiant Lady is on a 15-night round trip from Portsmouth, while Scarlet Lady is sailing from Barcelona to Rome; the ships are offering approximately two minutes of totality from open ocean, along with programming involving astronauts, astrophysicists and scientists.
Ponant has positioned Le Lyrial near Isafjörður and Le Lapérouse west of Heimaey Island, while Queen Mary 2 is positioned in Reykjavik during a Southampton-to-New York crossing. Expedition operators including HX Expeditions, Lindblad Expeditions and Quark Expeditions have also placed ships along the viewing path, with Scoresby Sund in Greenland hosting the largest concentration cited in the report.
Prices vary across the eclipse cruise market. Virgin Voyages' voyages start at £2,016 per person, while expedition sailings cited by Seatrade Cruise News range from $8,550 to more than $28,000 per passenger.
Source: www.seatrade-cruise.com
Seabourn Opens 2028-29 Caribbean Voyages
Seabourn has opened bookings for its winter 2028-29 Caribbean season aboard Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Quest, Cruise Industry News reports. The voyages run from Dec. 28, 2028, through March 29, 2029, with 10 itineraries lasting seven to 12 days.
The ships will visit 21 ports across 20 countries and island territories, including St. Barts, Bequia and Little Bay in Montserrat. The schedule includes late departures in St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, Aruba and Curaçao, while Ovation will sail between Bridgetown and Philipsburg and Quest will offer round trips from Miami.
Selected holiday voyages include New Year's Day celebrations at Carambola Beach, along with Christmas Eve at Carambola Beach and Christmas Day in Jost Van Dyke on certain 10-day sailings. Seabourn also plans its Caviar in the Surf experience at Carambola Beach in St. Kitts, and guests aboard Quest will see what the company describes as one of its most extensive interior updates.
Source: cruiseindustrynews.com
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