Five Cruise Changes Worth Knowing Before Your Next Sailing
One of the strange things about cruising is how much can change between the day you book and the day you finally walk onto the ship. A loyalty program can be replaced. A new attraction can open at a private island. A deeply discounted fare can suddenly make a last-minute sailing tempting. Something that looks like ordinary cruise news can also create questions about how much preparation time you need, how usable a new attraction will actually be, or how to respectfully experience something when touch is one of the ways you understand the world. Several changes happening now are worth paying attention to before the next cruise.
Carnival Cancels Nine Jubilee Cruises. Here Is What Travelers Need to Check Now
A cruise cancellation rarely stops with the cruise.
By the time most passengers receive the email, they may already have flights, hotel rooms, airport transportation, excursions, time away from work, and other pieces of the trip arranged around a sailing that no longer exists. For blind and low vision travelers, those plans may also include airport assistance, an accessible cabin, guide-dog paperwork, medication arrangements, mobility equipment, or transportation chosen because it was easier to navigate.
Carnival Cruise Line has canceled nine Carnival Jubilee sailings scheduled to depart from Galveston between August and December 2027. Carnival described the change as a revision to the ship’s operational plans rather than providing a more detailed explanation. The affected departures are August 15, 21, and 29; September 12, 18, and 26; November 7; and December 5 and 11, 2027.
Passengers can move to a comparable Carnival sailing while keeping their existing cruise rate for similar accommodations. Those who rebook are also being offered a $50 onboard credit per person, limited to $100 per cabin. Travelers who decide not to rebook can receive a full refund of the cruise fare and any prepaid purchases made through Carnival.
That resolves the cruise reservation. It may not resolve the trip.
ONE MONTH UNTIL ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
ONE MONTH UNTIL ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
On August 18, I will begin my time as a 2026 Rocky Mountain National Park Artist-in-Residence.
During the residency, I will bring together landscape photography, tactile art, audio description, and field recording to explore how the park can be experienced through sight, touch, and sound.
The photographs I create will become the foundation for tactile artwork. Texture, luminosity, and shape will be translated into three-dimensional reliefs designed to be explored by touch. The natural sounds surrounding those photographs will help preserve something equally important, a sense of place.
This project has been moving toward the mountains for a long time. Now, with one month to go, the cameras, microphones, hiking gear, and an unreasonable number of charging cables are beginning to gather.
Over the next four weeks, I will share more about the residency, the tactile photography process, the equipment, the preparation, and what I hope to learn while working in the park.
The countdown begins.
#RockyMountainNationalPark #ArtistInResidence #TactilePhotography #AccessibleArt #LandscapePhotography #PhotographyBeyondSight #MultisensoryArt #ArtAccessibility
Movement through unfamiliar places reminds us that curiosity is a powerful form of courage.
About the author
Ted Tahquechi is a blind photographer, travel influencer, disability advocate and photo educator based in Denver, Colorado. You can see more of Ted’s work at www.tahquechi.com
Ted operates Blind Travels, a travel blog designed specifically to empower blind and visually impaired travelers. https://www.blindtravels.com/
Ted’s body-positive Landscapes of the Body project has been shown all over the world, learn more about this intriguing collection of photographic work at: https://www.bodyscapes.photography/
Ted created games for Atari, Accolade and Mattel Toys and often speaks at Retro Game Cons, find out where he will be speaking next: https://retrogamegurus.com/ted
Questions or comments? Feel free to email Ted at: nedskee@tahquechi.com
Instagram: @nedskee
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nedskee.bsky.social
Twitter: @nedskee
American Is Cutting Some Summer Routes. Here’s Why That Matters for Blind Travelers
There is a particular kind of travel frustration that starts before you ever leave home.
You book the flight that actually works, not just the cheapest one, but the one with the right timing, the better airport, the manageable connection, the version of the trip that feels doable. Then the airline changes it for you.
That is where this story lands.
American Airlines is temporarily suspending some summer routes in August and September because of steep jet fuel costs, according to the Associated Press. AP reports that affected passengers will be rebooked or refunded, and that the cuts fit a wider industry pattern of higher fuel prices, tighter schedules, and rising travel costs. (apnews.com)
For many travelers, that is inconvenient. For blind and low vision travelers, it can change the whole shape of the day.
A route cut does not just remove a seat. It can remove the nonstop you chose to avoid a complicated connection. It can replace a familiar airport with a harder one. It can turn a reasonable travel day into a much more tiring one. That is not always obvious in airline coverage, but it is often the real impact.
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I just published a new article called 3D Printing for Blind and Low Vision Users, What You Need to Know.
I have been working with 3D printing for years through the Tactile Photos project, and one thing has become very clear to me: the printer itself is only part of the story. The real challenge is everything around it, slicers, CAD tools, troubleshooting, maintenance, and a workflow that is still built far more for sighted users than for blind ones. In the article, I break down the learning curve, the safety concerns, the accessibility barriers, and why this technology can still be incredibly powerful even while it remains frustratingly visual.
If you have ever wondered whether a blind person should buy a 3D printer, or if you are a supporter hoping to create tactile things for blind and low vision people, this one is for you. Check out the link below.
A Blind Traveler’s Guide to the Sounds and Feelings of Flying
I just added a new permanent education article to Blind Travels, and this one is very personal for me.
I am not a fan of flying, but I do it because I want travel to stay accessible for the blind and low vision community. One of the hardest parts of flying when you cannot see is not knowing what is happening around you. You hear the landing gear retract, feel the engine power change, notice the flaps on approach, and feel the bumps of turbulence, but without the window view, all of it can feel bigger and more mysterious than it really is.
This new article breaks down the normal sounds and sensations of a flight from the moment the door closes until it opens again. I wrote it from the standpoint of a blind traveler, with honest perspective, calm explanation, and the kind of detail I wish more of us were given before we ever boarded a plane. If flying makes you uneasy, or if you just want a better mental map of what is happening in the air, I think this page will help.
Check out the article at the link below
What You’re Hearing on a Flight, A Blind Traveler’s Guide to the Sounds and Feelings of Flying