Cruise News Roundup | Aired October 22, 2026| Episode 76
Prefer listening instead of reading? Enjoy the full episode of The Cruise Therapy Podcast, hosted by G-Free, your Cruise Therapist.
Cruise family, today’s Boarding Call is serving food, glaciers, theme parks, and airline money moves.
Carnival Cruise Line is rolling out a major new dining strategy after studying what guests actually eat across more than 100 million meals a year. Holland America Line is getting ready to celebrate 80 years of exploring Alaska with a collection of heritage experiences. Universal’s theme parks are seeing softer financial results, while Southwest Airlines says many of its controversial changes are contributing to stronger revenue.
Grab your boarding pass, grab something from the bar, and let’s get into the latest cruise and travel headlines.
🍽️ Carnival Is Cooking Up “The Next Course”
Carnival Cruise Line apparently looked at more than 100 million meals served annually and asked one very important question:
“Okay…what are y’all actually eating?”
The answer?
More seafood, international flavors, convenient dining options, fresh bagels—and apparently anything that lets guests spend less time waiting and more time enjoying their vacation.
Carnival calls its new culinary strategy The Next Course, and this is much bigger than adding one new restaurant.
The program includes entirely new venues debuting on Carnival Festivale in 2027 and Carnival Tropicale in 2028, along with dining improvements being introduced throughout the existing fleet.
New Carnival Dining Concepts
Among the upcoming restaurants are:
- 🦞 Emeril’s Coastal Seafood — coastal-inspired seafood created with Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse
- 🌺 Uku Lei Lei — Hawaiian specialties combined with Asian influences
- 🇮🇹🇬🇷 Fetaccine — a Mediterranean-inspired concept combining Italian favorites with Greek specialties
- 🇫🇷🎶 Le Bistro Musicale — classic French cuisine in a relaxed Parisian atmosphere with music, exclusive to Carnival Festivale
Carnival is also changing dining experiences across ships already in service.
Guests can expect refreshed Main Dining Room menus, rotating specials, family-friendly Lido Marketplace selections, Bagels @ Sea, mobile coffee ordering, updated Chef’s Table menus, pop-up concepts, and expanded Express Dining.
Cruise family, Carnival serves more than 100 million meals every year.
So I imagine somebody eventually looked at the data and asked:
“Who keeps ordering the Chocolate Melting Cake?”
And the answer was…
Everybody. 😂
🥯 Carnival Is Also Making Dining Faster and More Flexible
One particularly interesting part of The Next Course is Carnival’s focus on convenience.
Not every cruise meal needs to take two hours.
Carnival’s expanded Express Dining concept offers guests a quicker Main Dining Room experience while still providing familiar dishes and desserts.
The cruise line is also adding grab-and-go choices, breakfast pop-ups, milkshake and ice cream concepts, and easier mobile ordering.
That may appeal to cruisers who want to eat and get back to the pool, show, casino—or whatever calls to them.
Sometimes vacation dining should be elegant.
Sometimes vacation dining should simply be:
“Feed me quickly. The comedy show starts in 30 minutes.”
🏔️ Holland America Celebrates 80 Years in Alaska
Next up, we’re heading north.
Holland America Line is preparing to celebrate 80 years of exploring Alaska in 2027, highlighting experiences that connect today’s travelers with generations of Alaska tourism.
Its new Alaska Heritage Tours collection features classic experiences rooted in decades of Alaskan tourism.
Among the featured experiences are:
- 🚂 White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad
- 🚆 McKinley Explorer
- 🧊 Mendenhall Glacier
- 🐋 Kenai Fjords National Park
- 🏔️ Denali National Park
- 🚢 River and wilderness experiences in Alaska’s interior
The heritage collection is available with select 2027 Alaska cruises and Cruisetours, and bookings are already open.
Cruise family…
80 years in Alaska.
Holland America basically said:
🚂 Alaska Heritage Tours Bring Classic Experiences Forward
“We were doing Alaska before Alaska was on everybody’s bucket list.”
Some Alaska experiences are popular for a reason.
The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, for example, follows a route connected to the Klondike Gold Rush.
Holland America’s glass-domed McKinley Explorer gives travelers panoramic views while traveling inland, while Denali Cruise tours extend the vacation beyond the coastline and deeper into Alaska.
Holland America says its 2027 program will include more than 200 shore excursions, glacier experiences, destination-focused dining, cultural programming, and extended land-and-sea Cruisetours.
For travelers who want more than a quick port visit, pairing an Alaska cruise with an inland journey could offer a much broader look at the destination.
🎢 Universal Theme Parks See Softer Financial Results
Now let’s leave the glaciers and head to the theme parks.
Universal’s newest attractions may still be shiny, but Comcast’s latest numbers show near-term pressure on its theme park business.
For the third quarter of 2026, Comcast reported $2.597 billion in theme park revenue, down 4.4% from the same period a year earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA for the theme park business declined 17.1% to $780 million. Comcast attributed the lower revenue primarily to reduced admissions revenue, including the impact of increased promotional activity.
The company described theme parks as facing near-term cyclical headwinds, but it remains confident in the business over the long term.
Travelers should watch this.
When theme parks compete harder for vacation dollars, consumers may see:
- Promotional offers
- Vacation packages
- Hotel incentives
- Ticket discounts
- Seasonal deals
Cruise family, even giant theme parks still have to compete for your vacation budget.
Mickey is watching.
Universal is watching.
And my wallet?
I’m hiding it. 😂
✈️ Southwest Says Its Big Changes Are Showing Up in the Numbers
And finally, Southwest Airlines has changed a lot.
Assigned seating.
Extra-legroom seats.
Checked-bag fees.
New fare products.
Loyalty changes.
And according to Southwest’s latest financial report, those changes are helping generate more revenue.
Southwest reported record third-quarter operating revenue of $8.4 billion, up 21.2% year over year.
Operating income jumped from $35 million in the third quarter of 2025 to $379 million in 2026.
Southwest noted that more customers chose premium fare benefits, along with new ancillary products—including checked-bag fees and assigned and extra-legroom seating—which helped drive passenger revenue higher.
So whether longtime Southwest fans love the changes or not…
Financially?
The numbers are getting management’s attention.
Cruise family, Southwest changed the seats, bags, loyalty program, and pricing.
And the earnings report basically said:
“Run, Forrest! Keep going!” 😂
💳 More Changes Are Coming to Southwest
Southwest isn’t finished.
The airline plans to continue evolving the passenger experience through 2027.
Future initiatives include:
- A new premium Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card
- The first Southwest Icon Lounge locations
- Continued installation of larger overhead bins
- In-seat power
- Updated aircraft interiors
- Fleetwide Starlink Wi-Fi targeted for completion in fall 2027
Southwest says its first airport lounges are expected to open in late 2027, with the premium credit card providing access to the network.
That is a dramatically different Southwest from the airline many travelers grew up with.
The question is whether customers view that as an upgrade…
Or as Southwest becoming more like everybody else.
💡 Travel Tip of the Day: Follow the Value, Not Just the Price
Today’s Carnival and Universal stories give us the perfect reminder:
The lowest advertised price is not always the best value.
A cheaper cruise fare or theme park ticket may look attractive at first.
But before booking, consider:
- What is actually included?
- What costs extra?
- How much will you spend on dining?
- Are transportation costs included?
- Will you pay extra for experiences you really want?
- Are the cheaper options convenient for the way you travel?
A $100 savings can disappear quickly if you later spend $200 adding the things you actually wanted.
Cruise family…
Cheap and good value are not always the same thing.
Sometimes spending a little more upfront saves you from spending your entire vacation asking:
“Wait…that costs extra too?” 😂
⚓ Cruise Family, What Do You Think?
Now I want to hear from you.
Carnival cruisers: Which new dining concept sounds best—Emeril’s Coastal Seafood, Uku Lei Lei, Fetaccine, or Le Bistro Musicale?
Alaska cruisers: Would one of Holland America’s Heritage Tours make you more interested in booking an Alaska cruise or Cruisetour?
Universal fans: Have you noticed lighter crowds or better promotions lately?
And finally…
Southwest travelers: Do assigned seating, bag fees, premium options, and airport lounges improve Southwest—or are they changing too much of what made Southwest different?
Drop your answers in the comments because I would love to hear what you think.
🚢 Ready for Your Next Cruise?
Whether you’re planning a cruise, a pre- or post-cruise hotel stay, transportation, group travel, theme park vacation, or a complete vacation package, Atlanta Travel Associates can help coordinate the details.
From selecting the right cruise and itinerary to arranging hotels, transfers, excursions, theme park stays, and group accommodations, we can make planning easier.
✨ Ready to start planning your next getaway?
👉 Start planning your vacation: Guest Information Form
Your next vacation could be just one form away. 🌴🚢
Until Our Next Cruise Therapy Session…
Again, I’m G-Free, your Cruise Therapist.
Follow the Cruise Therapy Podcast Facebook Group for more cruise news, travel alerts, destination trends, and—of course—a little Cruise Therapy.
Until our next therapy session:
Keep calm. Keep cruising. Keep listening.
And I’ll “SEA” you aboard Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas. 🚢✨
Meet me at the Hollywoodland Supper Club for dinner, cocktails, and a little old-school Hollywood glamour.
Come dressed like the star I know you are. 🌟
I’ll be the one enjoying Cruise Therapy with…
A side of dinner and drama. 🍸🎬
What are you having?
