Travelers booked on dozens of upcoming sailings of Carnival Radiance will get an extra hour onboard, as the ship will now be later arriving back to her Long Beach, California homeport than originally planned.
Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to booked travelers to notify them of the change, which will impact a total of 75 upcoming cruises.
“We have revised our plans and your cruise will now conclude in Long Beach at 8:00 AM (instead of 7:00 AM) pacific time,” the notification read. “Please keep this time change in mind as you make travel arrangements to return home.”
The now-adjusted cruises begin from the ship’s December 15, 2024 departure. This could be challenging for travelers who may have already made airline reservations following their upcoming sailings. For further future cruises with a later arrival time, guests may be more easily able to change any travel plans.
The impacted cruises are the short itineraries Carnival Radiance offers, 3- and 4-night sailings.
The 3-night cruises are Baja Mexico visits that call on Ensenada and also offer guests a full day at sea to enjoy everything the 102,232-gross-ton, Sunshine class ship offers.
Carnival Radiance‘s 4-night sailings include not only Ensenada, but also a visit to Santa Catalina Island off the coast of southern California, a popular spot for boating, stunning vistas, and excellent snorkeling.
To be clear, there are no port of call changes on any of the impacted cruises – only the return to Long Beach is adjusted. The times and days in ports of call, as well as the departure from Long Beach after embarkation, remain unaffected.
The ship’s longer Mexican Riviera sailings, as well as her occasional Hawaii Carnival Journeys itineraries, are not impacted by this schedule shift and will still return to Long Beach at 7 a.m. as originally planned.
Carnival Cruise Line has offered no explanation for why the itineraries are being shifted. This may be due to changes in guest processing efficiency with the implementation of facial recognition technology, which smooths out and speeds up both embarkation and debarkation.
The cruise line has made similar changes to dozens of sailings from other US homeports, including Carnival Pride from Baltimore as well as Carnival Spirit from both Mobile and Seattle.
Carnival Radiance – formerly Carnival Victory – can welcome 2,764 guests at double occupancy or up to 3,470 travelers when fully booked. Also onboard are 1,100 international crew members.
How Guests Will Be Impacted
Guests onboard the now-adjusted Carnival Radiance cruises will be able to enjoy their extra hour with a bit more time to sleep in on the chaotic debarkation morning. Perhaps they will have a chance to grab a bite of breakfast or double-check their stateroom to be sure they don’t leave anything behind.
What could be problematic for some travelers, however, is if the later arrival time – which means embarkation will start later than anticipated as well – affects any airline reservations.
The Long Beach cruise terminal is just a 30-40 minute drive from the Long Beach Airport, and it can be tempting to book an early flight to avoid long, boring waits after debarking the ship. Similarly, Los Angeles International Airport is just 40-50 minutes away.
I’ve sailed from Long Beach several times, and am guilty of taking a chance on an earlier flight in order to arrive home sooner after a cruise. Fortunately, I’ve never missed a post-cruise flight, but the possibility is always there.
Carnival Cruise Line does offer pier-to-airport transportation that travelers can purchase for either southern California airport.
For an 8:00 a.m. ship arrival, transfers are only available for flights after 1 p.m. for Los Angeles International Airport or 12:30 p.m. for Long Beach Airport.
These are Carnival’s recommended earliest flight times to ensure travelers can reach the airport with plenty of time for security checks and reaching their flight gate for smooth boarding.
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If cruise guests have early flights they will need to arrange their own transportation to the airport or may need to reconsider their post-cruise plans to accommodate the slight delay as Carnival Radiance returns.
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