Carnival Cruise Line is continuing to refine upcoming itineraries for four more vessels, with a total of eight sailings making relatively minor changes.
The first of the cruises to be changed is not setting sail until November 2023, however, giving booked guests plenty of time to make plans for the altered sailing or change their own travel plans if they prefer.
Four Carnival Cruise Ships Impacted
Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to guests booked on several upcoming sailings of four different ships with minor itinerary changes. The impacted ships are all in different classes, sailing from different homeports on the affected departure dates, with sailings ranging from November 2023 to March 2025.
Many of these changes are similar to nine other itinerary changes Carnival announced recently, impacting other ships but with similar slight alterations.
Carnival Spirit
The first cruise impacted is the December 23, 2023 sailing of Carnival Spirit, an 8-night roundtrip itinerary to The Bahamas from Mobile, Alabama. The ship was to have visited Princess Cays, Nassau, and Freeport, but will now replace Princess Cays with Bimini, instead. The order of the ports has also been reversed.
Carnival Freedom
Five itineraries have been adjusted on Carnival Freedom, all sailing from Port Canaveral. Three different types of changes impact these cruises, as follows (listed by departure date):
- November 20, 2023 – Port order reversed and port times slightly modified.
- December 4, 2023 – Port order reversed and port times slightly modified.
- January 2, 2024 – Visiting Bimini instead of Princess Cays with a slight port time change.
- March 30, 2024 – Port order reversed and port times slightly modified.
- June 8, 2024 – Visiting Half Moon Cay instead of Princess Cays with slight changes to the port time.
Guests on the June 8 sailing should note that both Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays are private island destinations operated by Carnival Corporation, and will therefore offer similar experiences to enjoy.
Carnival Vista
Only one cruise is changed for Carnival Vista, a 6-night Eastern Caribbean sailing from Port Canaveral departing on March 3, 2024. For this one voyage, the ship will now be visiting Princess Cays rather than Half Moon Cay as originally planned. The remaining ports on the itinerary – Grand Turk and Amber Cove – remain unchanged.
Mardi Gras
Even the Excel-class Mardi Gras is not exempt from itinerary changes, as guests on the March 29, 2025 sailing are being notified (yes, more than two years in advance).
The change for the 7-night Exotic Eastern Caribbean sailing is minimal, however, simply reversing the order of ports of call from the originally planned route. The ship will still be visiting Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau, however. In addition to the reversed order, port times have also been slightly modified.
Cruise Contract Covers Changes
While guests may be frustrated or disappointed to learn that the cruises they have originally booked are being modified, Carnival Cruise Line is clear in its cruise ticket contract that the cruise line has the complete authority to make such changes.
In section 8(d), the contract clearly states, “Carnival may change the duration and/or itinerary of the cruise at any time,” which includes the ability “to omit or change any or all port calls, arrival or departure times, with or without notice, for any reason whatsoever.”
Read Also: All Carnival Cruise Ships By Age: Newest to Oldest
While all cruise lines do attempt to keep to their originally published itineraries, it is not uncommon to make slight adjustments as port schedules are refined, berthing space is adjusted for dock maintenance, or ship deployments are shifted, especially far in advance of sailings.
Given that the first of these altered itineraries is more than nine months away, guests have plenty of time to adjust their plans as needed or preferred.
