Things To Do In SW Florida

Disney Cruise Line will place two of its expanding fleet in Alaska for summer 2026 while keeping four ships sailing from Florida ports.

The line announced its plans Thursday with the highlight of sending Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, its two oldest and smallest vessels, to sail Alaskan itineraries out of Vancouver.

Starting in May 2026 the ships will begin seven-night voyages with varied itineraries that may visit Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan as well as some visits to Dawes Glacier and Icy Strait Point.

In Florida, Port Canaveral will continue to host year-round sailings from three ships while Port Everglades will host one, with the ports offering stops among its sailings to either Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, the cruise line’s two private Bahamas destinations.

New ship Disney Treasure will continue seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries while sister ship Disney Wish will keep performing short three- and four-night Bahamas duties from Port Canaveral. In addition, Disney Fantasy will do mostly four- and five-night trips plus one special 10-night Southern Caribbean voyage. read more

As congestion increases on Florida highways, state Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue wants lawmakers to envision a world getting closer to the promise of decades-old sci-fi shows.

Perdue expressed support Wednesday for advanced air mobility, which would involve establishing vertiports in urban areas that could serve as hubs for short aerial commutes by battery-powered aircraft that have characteristics of airplanes and helicopters.

“What if there was an opportunity to have what we call vertiports in Orlando and Tampa, and there could be thousands of these vehicles flying back and forth on the I-4 corridor?” Perdue said to members of the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee. “So, you can think about movies that you’ve seen that are science fiction. The Jetsons, yeah, is one of those … that’s a classic. This is actually becoming a reality.”

Perdue anticipates technology will advance in the next few years to expand the limited range now available to “eVTOL” — electric vertical take-off and landing — aircraft that can move cargo and people. read more

Annual home insurance costs across Central Florida increased by an average of roughly 40 percent from 2022 to 2024, according to an analysis of data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

The price increases occurred despite legislative reforms in 2022 to control legal fees that insurers said fueled an unprecedented rise in costly litigation. Proponents predicted rates would fall in two years, and many have, but insurers say inflation of reconstruction costs and other factors have so far caused homeowners’ costs to continue to rise.

The percentage increases in Central Florida counties were around the midpoint statewide in as analysis of rates between March 2022 and September 2024. The highest increases came along the state’s west coast and in counties west of Jacksonville — the focus of heightened hurricane activity in recent years.

Average rates here remain lower than in many other regions, thanks to the Orlando area’s location away from both coasts.

Still, that’s cold comfort for those who have been forced to reach deeper into their pockets over such a short period of time. Here’s the tally for the Orlando region, county by county. read more

The avant-garde and sometimes ethereal space Eden found on the first five Edge-class ships from Celebrity Cruises is making way for a space designed to celebrate the world’s festivals.

Called The Bazaar, the multi-deck space will debut on board the Florida-bound Celebrity Xcel this year taking over the similarly-designed area known as Eden found at the aft of its sister ships.

While Eden focused on greenery amid its design, explored unique flavors in both its bar and dining venues and delved into fantastical celebrations of Earth through its aerialist and modern dance performances, The Bazaar looks to offer up authentic food and entertainment based on the destinations where the ship is visiting.

Cruisers could expect a venue that can shift from Bahamian to Caribbean to Mexican inspirations for its debut sailing season with each voyage looking to change up four times during weeklong sailings.

This rendering shows one of the Caribbean-inspired festivals planned among rotating offerings in a rethemed space called The Bazaar coming to Celebrity Xcel when the ship debuts in fall 2025. (Courtesy/Celebrity Cruises) read more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is scrapping some of its diversity hiring targets, joining a lengthening list of U.S. companies that have abandoned or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The move, which was outlined in an email sent to Google employees on Wednesday, came in the wake of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that was aimed in part at pressuring government contractors to scrap their DEI initiatives.

Like several other major tech companies, Google sells some of its technology and services to the federal government, including its rapidly growing cloud division that’s a key piece of its push into artificial technology.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, also signaled the shift in its annual 10-K report it filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In it, Google removed a line included in previous annual reports saying that it’s “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.” read more