Carnival Horizon returns to service today after being in dry dock. The vessel underwent emergency dry dock repairs in Italy, returned to Miami this week, and will now be sailing on her regular scheduled itinerary of 6- to 8-night cruises to the Caribbean.
During Carnival Horizon‘s absence, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Liberty returned to service early to take over her cruises. With her return, Carnival’s resumption plans are back on track.
Carnival Horizon Back in Miami After Technical Repairs
Carnival Horizon is back in Miami for her regular scheduled cruises after the cruise line pulled the vessel from service on December 5, 2021. Suffering from technical issues affecting her top cruising speed, Carnival sent the cruise ship to Palermo, Italy, where she underwent an emergency dry-dock.
Besides her engines, which are working as they should again, Carnival Horizon also underwent several cosmetic changes. She now sports the new blue, red, and white livery Carnival Cruise Line has been introducing around the fleet since the introduction of Mardi Gras in 2021. There have likely been additions and changes to the vessel’s carpeting, interior paintwork, lighting, and some hotel work, all of which is standard during a repair dry dock.
This means the Vista-class cruise ship is ready again to take on her scheduled itinerary of six- and eight-night cruises around the Caribbean, the first of which will be sailing down to the Southern Caribbean and the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Carnival Horizon Back in Action
Guests will be embarking on Carnival Horizon in Miami today for an 8-day Exotic Southern Caribbean cruise. The vessel will be spending the first two days at sea, allowing for some relaxing time in the Caribbean sun, before arriving in Oranjestad, the capital of the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.
After that, guests can enjoy the natural beauty of diving paradise, Bonaire, explore the wrecked ship of pirate William Kidd in La Romana, and spend a day in Carnival’s resort destination of Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. After another day at sea, the cruise ship returns to her homeport of Miami.
Other itineraries onboard the 133,596-gross-ton ship, which can host 3,960 passengers at double occupancy, include a 6-day Western Caribbean itinerary sailing to Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Carnival Horizon’s voyage on January 30, 2022, from PortMiami, has been has been altered, however. Carnival Cruise Line removed a call at Grand Cayman, and calls in both Ocho Rios in Jamaica and Cozumel in Mexico have also been removed. The new itinerary now shows calls to Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos islands, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic.
Carnival’s Resumption Back on Track
During Carnival Horizon‘s dry dock, Carnival Cruise Line returned two ships to service early, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Sunshine. The two vessels covered the cruises of Horizon, and have now both returned to their own scheduled itineraries.
Since July 4 of last year, when Carnival Vista became the first ship back in action, Carnival Cruise Line has returned 20 cruise ships to operation, with an additional five cruise ships still to commence operations. Carnival Sensation will resume from Mobile, Alabama on March 5, Carnival Ecstasy will resume from Jacksonville, Florida on March 7, and Carnival Paradise from Tampa, Florida on March 12.
That leaves only Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor which are both scheduled to start operations in Australia later this year if the Australian government doesn’t create even more roadblocks to stop cruises from operating.
