TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 3 side-swiped a moored cargo ship on its way out of Bremerhaven in high winds, destroying multiple lifeboats — yet the line reports no injuries. Tugs were assisting the departure and still couldn't counter the gusts, a reminder of why leaving port is riskier than it looks. Lost lifeboats aren't cosmetic: they can force an unplanned inspection-and-repair stop that disrupts upcoming sailings.

Royal Caribbean's ticket contract lets it skip, swap, or reorder any port for any reason, without notice — and in most cases you are not owed a fare refund. Travel advisor Kelly Bonatsakis breaks down the one exception the contract actually spells out (mechanical failure), when port taxes and fees come back, and the exact checklist she runs with clients to protect their money.

"Code Alpha," "Bravo," "Oscar" — most cruise ship codes are quiet crew-to-crew shorthand, and they are not standardized across lines, so the same word can mean different things on different ships. We flag which meanings are documented versus merely reported, and spell out the single signal you're actually trained to act on: seven short blasts followed by one long blast.