Cruise news this week comes with a practical question: What will these changes mean for your next vacation?
Carnival is introducing new packages and changing how it prices popular extras. Royal Caribbean is giving cruisers more reasons to consider Europe outside the summer season. Disney is updating one of its signature dining experiences, while PortMiami is preparing for some very busy embarkation days.
And for a little cruise humor, we’re wrapping things up with a TikTok “hack” that might explain those mysterious room-service trays outside your cabin.
Here are the stories worth catching up on.
Carnival Introduces FunPacks, With More Pricing Changes Coming
Carnival’s new FunPacks combine extras into a single pre-cruise purchase, with four options: Kidstarter, Zero Proof, Social and Epic. Depending on the package, benefits can include beverages, Wi-Fi, dining, shore excursions and other perks.
One addition worth a closer look is CHEERS! Social, available exclusively through the Social FunPack. It includes unlimited nonalcoholic beverages and three alcoholic drinks per day.
Carnival says the bundles offer savings of 35% to 55% compared with buying the included items separately. They are available to book through October 30, 2026, for departures from October 31, 2026, through December 31, 2027.
There is another change coming: Beginning December 1, 2026, Carnival will introduce dynamic pricing for beverage packages and Wi-Fi, with prices varying by sailing length, itinerary and season.
Read more in Carnival’s FunPacks announcement.
Our take: Compare the bundle price with the extras you would actually purchase. A long list of benefits can look impressive, but the useful number is what it saves on your vacation. That same approach works when comparing MSC’s drinks and Wi-Fi offers: start with what you’ll use, then do the math.
Royal Caribbean Makes Europe a Year-Round Option
Royal Caribbean’s newly announced 2028-29 Europe program includes seven ships, with Rhapsody of the Seas providing the line’s first year-round European season.
Starting in November 2028, Rhapsody’s winter lineup will feature nine- to 12-night voyages visiting destinations across the Canary Islands, Portugal, Morocco, Cyprus, Malta and Greece.
The wider deployment includes Freedom of the Seas sailing from Southampton and Jewel of the Seas operating from Copenhagen and Stockholm. General bookings opened October 15.
Explore the details in Royal Caribbean’s Europe announcement.
Our take: This is an appealing development for cruisers who enjoy exploring ports outside peak summer. The itinerary deserves extra attention, though. A winter voyage through the Canary Islands offers a different experience from a trip focused on Greece or the Mediterranean. Choose the destinations and weather that suit the vacation you have in mind.
Disney’s Palo Dinner Moves to À La Carte
Disney Cruise Line is phasing out the fixed-price dinner menu at Palo, Palo Steakhouse and Palo Trattoria, moving to à la carte dinner offerings.
The transition begins aboard Disney Wonder on October 22, 2026, with other ships following through October 26.
Platinum and Pearl Castaway Club members, along with guests staying in their stateroom, can continue using a $55 per-person credit toward eligible dinner items. The benefit applies to dinner, with guests responsible for beverages, gratuities and spending above the credit. Brunch is excluded from the benefit.
See the Palo dining update published by Small World Vacations for the ship-by-ship schedule and benefit details.
Our take: Choosing individual dishes gives diners flexibility, but it also makes the total bill more dependent on what they order. If Palo is part of your upcoming cruise plans, review the updated menu before deciding how it fits your dining budget.
Carnival Will Pull Two Ships From Australia in 2028
Carnival announced that Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure will leave Australia in March 2028.
Luminosa’s final voyage from Sydney is scheduled for March 15. Adventure will depart Sydney on March 20 and will no longer return as previously planned.
Carnival Splendor will continue sailing year-round from Sydney, while Carnival Encounter will continue year-round from Brisbane. Carnival describes the move as part of its long-term global fleet planning.
Read Carnival’s Australia deployment announcement for the full update.
Our take: For Australian cruisers, this means fewer Carnival ships to choose from after the change. It is also a reminder for anyone planning well ahead that ship deployments can shift, even after an itinerary has caught your eye.
PortMiami Prepares for a Busy Cruise Season
PortMiami is rolling out traffic measures ahead of a 2026-27 high season that includes 81 days with seven to 10 cruise ships calling at the port.
The plan includes clearer terminal directions, additional traffic assistance on selected dates and a pilot offering complimentary transfers to Miami International Airport for Carnival Celebration passengers on selected dates.
The port’s arrival guidance directs passengers heading to Terminals AA, A, B, C and D through the tunnel, and those heading to E, F, G, J and V over the bridge. It also asks passengers to arrive at their scheduled embarkation time.
Review PortMiami’s traffic announcement for the details.
Our take: Your cruise starts before you reach the gangway. Confirm your terminal, share it with your driver and build traffic time into your journey. Those details can make the first day feel much more like vacation.
Cruise TikTok of the Week: The Room-Service Tray Relocation Program
Every cruise has a few unofficial traditions. This one probably won’t make the brochure.
In this week’s TikTok pick, Lyin Free Car Lion shares a room-service “hack”: when you’re finished with your dishes, relocate them to the hallway outside your neighbor’s door.
@lyinfreecarlion Here’s a little cruise ship hack/tip that hardly anybody knows… #cruiseshiptip #cruisehack #cruisewithme #cruisetips #cruise ♬ original sound – 🦁 Lyin Free Car Lion 🦁🧨📦
Your cabin looks better. Your neighbor has questions.
It’s funny because it taps into one of those little cruise behaviors plenty of people recognize, but nobody seems particularly eager to confess to. Somehow, that tray always belongs to somebody else.
Our preferred approach? Ask your cabin steward where the dishes should go. But we’ll admit the unofficial tray relocation program makes for a pretty good cruise comedy bit.
