Carnival Cruise Line has informed guests of itinerary changes for three ships. Communication was sent out on February 28, 2022, on adjustments due to Grand Cayman confirming it plans to reopen to cruise ships on March 21, 2022.
Carnival Cruise Ship Itinerary Changes
Guests booked on three Carnival cruise ships have been informed of itinerary changes in March in a letter sent out on February 28, 2022.
There is one itinerary change for the Carnival Glory, two itinerary changes for the Carnival Pride, and one sailing change for Carnival Horizon. Two of the cruises are Sailabration sailings to celebrate the cruise line’s 50th Birthday.
Carnival Glory is based out of New Orleans, and the vessel’s eight-day Western Caribbean voyage departing on March 5 will no longer be visiting Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands on March 9. The call at Montego Bay, Jamaica is also not taking place, with the Carnival Glory now sailings to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize.
It is a sailabration voyage for the Conquest-class ship, and the ship meet up on March 7 between Cozumel and Costa Maya will still take place.
Two itineraries have been adjusted for Carnival Pride out of Tampa, Florida. The March 5 departure, an eight-day western Caribbean sailabration voyage, will no longer include Grand Cayman. That sailing which is just days away, will still have a ship meetup on March 7 and include calls to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize and Mahogany Bay.
Carnival Pride’s March 13 seven-day departure has also been altered. The Carnival cruise ship will not be visiting Grand Cayman, and the ports of call will be Costa Maya, Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.
The itinerary changes also impact Carnival Horizon’s March 13 departure from Miami, Florida. The six-day voyage will no longer call at Grand Cayman on March 16. The cruise will now be sailing to Amber Cove, Grand Turk and Nassau.
Why the Changes?
There’s one thing all the itineraries above have in common – the removal of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. The island nation’s government has announced that it plans to welcome back cruise ships from March 21, 2022.
Now that there is a set date for a return, cruise lines such as Carnival know which itineraries to remove the port of call from.
Pending approval of the restart, it will be the first time cruise ships would have returned since the start of the industry-wide pause on operations started in March 2020. There will be phased protocols implemented by the local authorities, including a maximum of 75,000 cruise visitors during the first phase.
One of the most significant and most impactful protocols which may keep cruise ships away even longer from Grand Cayman is the requirement of ships being only at 40% capacity. It’s already widely known that most cruise ships are far beyond that percentage. Authroirierwes on the island will lift the 40% capacity and visitor numbers in the second phase.
This news comes as Carnival Cruise Line continues moving forward and putting the pandemic in the past. 2022 is the cruise line’s 50th Birthday resulting in year-long festivities. This includes 17 sailabration voyages with multiple Carnival ships meeting up at sea.
Over the past few months, Carnival has made several rounds of itinerary changes. The most recent was the removal of San Juan for the Mardi Gras. Early in February, there were also adjustments for four Carnival cruise ships.
