Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

The Harmony of the Seas is currently returning to North America, having started a trans-Atlantic crossing to Port Canaveral in late July.

Sailing from Barcelona, the 13-night cruise is highlighted by visits to destinations in Spain, such as Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena, Málaga and Cádiz.

The repositioning voyage also includes eight days of cruising in the Atlantic before arriving at the ship’s homeport in Central Florida on August 8, 2026.

As part of its new year-round deployment in Port Canaveral, the Oasis-class ship will kick off a series of four- to seven-night itineraries to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

For its first sailing in the region, the Harmony of the Seas offers a four-night cruise to the Bahamas that features visits to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The vessel’s schedule is also highlighted by short cruises to the Western Caribbean, in addition to longer itineraries to the Eastern Caribbean.

Other ports of call set to be visited by the 2016-built ship include Cozumel in Mexico, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Before starting its repositioning voyage to North America, the vessel spent the past few months offering summer cruises in the Western Mediterranean.

Sailing from Barcelona and Rome, the itineraries were part of Royal Caribbean’s summer season in Europe and included visits to destinations in France, Spain and Italy.

The Harmony of the Seas also underwent a modernization project while in Europe, introducing new features as part of the Royal Amplified initiative.

Among the new features that debuted onboard the 5,558-passenger ship are a Caribbean-inspired pool deck and Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade.

Royal Caribbean also added nearly 100 staterooms to the vessel, replacing technical areas and public rooms with additional accommodation space.

Explora III Sets Sail on Maiden Voyage

Explora III Sets Sail on Maiden Voyage

The Explora III recently sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona to kick off its maiden voyage for Explora Journeys.

Delivered by the Fincantieri shipyard in late July, the luxury ship officially started its inaugural season on August 3, 2026.

The 922-passenger ship is now offering a seven-night cruise that includes visits to destinations in Portugal, Morocco and Spain.

The itinerary is highlighted by stops in off-the-beaten-path ports in the region, including Portimão and Puerto Banús.

Before ending in Lisbon, the maiden voyage will also include visits to Palma de Mallorca, Cádiz and Tangier, in addition to a full day of cruising in the Western Mediterranean.

The ship will later offer a second seven-night cruise to Southampton, which will sail to Spain, Portugal and France.

On its way to the United Kingdom, the Explora III will visit Porto, La Coruña, Bilbao and Bordeaux, as well as St. Jean de Luz.

In addition to sailing the individual cruises, guests were able to combine the two weeklong voyages for a 14-night itinerary sailing from Barcelona to Southampton.

As part of its inaugural season, the 70,000-ton vessel is also set to offer itineraries to Northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland and North America.

The ship is also set to offer cruises to the Caribbean departing from San Juan and Miami starting in December 2026.

Before kicking off its maiden voyage, the Explora III was christened during a special ceremony at the Port of Barcelona. Marking the debut of Explora Journeys’ first LNG-powered vessel, the inaugural event took place on August 1, 2026.

Cristina Ozores, a marine educator and National Geographic Educator, served as the ship’s godmother during the ceremony.

The Explora III also offered a pre-inaugural cruise in the Western Mediterranean, which departed from Genoa, Italy, on July 24, 2026.

The five-night preview journey included visits to destinations in France and Italy, including Marseille, Saint-Tropez, Livorno and Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Jefferies Cuts Norwegian Price Target

Jefferies Cuts Norwegian Price Target

Jefferies cut its price target on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to $17 from $18 following the company’s second quarter results.

Analyst David Katz reiterated a Hold rating, with the shares near $21 implying roughly 19% downside to his new target.

Katz described Norwegian’s new revenue management strategy as “a LT (long term) positive but a ST (short term) headwind,” with second half 2026 and 2027 yields likely under pressure before improving in 2028.

He detailed the company’s shift to a base-loading strategy, lowering early-curve pricing to build occupancy and drive stronger close-in pricing over time, alongside heavier marketing and top-of-funnel demand generation.

BNP Paribas’ Xian Siew said that the yield reset was driven largely by occupancy, which the company now expects at about 102.3%, roughly 300 basis points lower than before, partly offset by stronger per diems.

That mix, Siew said, reflected management preferring to have some empty berths rather than promote even further.”

Siew, who characterized the risk/reward as wide and balanced, noted that many bulls had already written off 2026 and shifted their focus to 2027.