Guests booked on more than 200 upcoming Carnival Cruise Line voyages, some just a month away, have now been informed that their ship will be departing from its homeport earlier than originally planned.
Two ships are impacted – Mardi Gras and Carnival Horizon. Guests received the notification for the departure change on January 31, 2025, and for each vessel, the first adjusted cruise is the March 1, 2025 departure.
“We have revised the departure time for your cruise and now plan to sail from Miami at 3:30 PM (instead of 4:00 PM) Eastern Time,” the notification said. “So we can get the fun started, all guests must be on board no later than the final boarding time specified on the boarding pass.”
Mardi Gras Itinerary Adjustments
Mardi Gras is homeported year-round from Port Canaveral, Florida. She offers primarily 7-night Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries, though some 6- and 8-night departures are on her schedule as well.
Of special interest are her upcoming transatlantic cruises – eastbound from Florida to Barcelona departing on September 13, 2025 and returning from Barcelona to Port Canaveral departing on October 16. The time between the two 14-night sailings will be Mardi Gras‘ first dry dock update since she debuted in 2021.
The impacted cruises for the Excel-class ship are her March 1, 2025 departure through and including September 7, as well as November 8 through and including December 27. This is every 2025 departure except those transatlantic cruises and her very first cruise from Port Canaveral after that dry dock.
In 2026, every single Mardi Gras cruise is now moved to the earlier departure, from her January 3 departure to the New Year’s sailing departing on December 26.
In 2027, all voyages from the January 2 sailing through and including the April 24 cruise are also adjusted. At this time, this represents all currently published Mardi Gras sailings available for booking.
In total, 105 Mardi Gras cruises will now depart from Port Canaveral 30 minutes earlier than originally scheduled.
Carnival Horizon Itinerary Adjustments
Carnival Horizon‘s impacted sailings are similar to those of her fleetmate. Homeported from Miami, she offers 6- and 8-night Western and Southern Caribbean itineraries.
Every Carnival Horizon sailing from March 1, 2025 through and including December 28, 2025 will now leave Miami 30 minutes earlier.
In 2026, every departure from January 5 through and including January 17; January 31 through and including May 3; and June 28 through and including December 27 is now departing earlier.
A number of 2027 voyages are also adjusted, from the January 4 departure through and including the April 24, 2027 sailing.
This means a total of 105 Carnival Horizon cruises will be leaving early. At this time, no itineraries beyond April 2027 are yet released for booking.
Why So Many Earlier Departure Times?
No further explanation is offered for why the two ships are now setting sail earlier. This is similar to nearly 200 changes previously announced for Carnival Pride and Carnival Spirit, as well as more than two years’ of sailings for Carnival Paradise.
For all impacted ships, the departure change is just 30 minutes. It may be due to streamlined debarkation and embarkation procedures, particularly the implementation of facial recognition technology, that permits passengers to be processed much more efficiently. When that process is complete, the ship is ready to sail.
Read Also: Tips to Embarking a Cruise Ship
When a cruise ship can leave the homeport early, this can ease tight scheduling to reach ports of call, reduce port fees, and improve fuel efficiency with slower sailing speeds.
For guests onboard, it means 30 minutes for more fun on their cruise vacation, which is never a bad thing!
