Carnival Ship Stuck in Long Beach as Computer Crash Halts Departure

A technology glitch appears to have caused a major, overnight departure delay of a Carnival Cruise Line ship’s Mexican Riviera voyage. 

Carnival Firenze, sailing roundtrip from Long Beach, California, was due to leave port on December 15, 2025, but was forced to remain in port due to a connectivity problem, the full details of which are not known.

Guests booked on the 6-night voyage posted about the delay on social media, saying the ship was scheduled to depart at 3 p.m. The technology issue, however, forced the ship to stay in port overnight, and as of the morning of December 16, 2025, it was still there.

“I’m currently on ship in LA, and we were supposed to leave the port at 3PM but it’s 6PM and we still haven’t left. Is this normal?” one guest posted on Reddit on departure day. 

“They said their whole system crashed when we were entering on the boat. Also, my app isn’t working at all and isn’t recognizing that I have a booking, and also the wifi isn’t connecting for any guests,” the cruiser added.

The glitch could cause enormous problems for the staff and guests, if bookings, package purchases, shore excursions, and other key elements are not available in the ship’s computers.

The system apparently was working fine when passengers disembarked from Carnival Firenze’s previous cruise.

“Well, everything was working this morning when we got off at 7 AM. And I am pretty sure I unplugged the iron. Good luck!” posted one guest who had debarked the ship early on December 15, 2025.

Another passenger onboard the delayed ship noted that the Carnival Hub app wasn’t working.

“I’m on the ship too, the network is down so the hub app doesn’t work – they are trying to repair,” the guest wrote on Reddit.

Departure Delay Will Impact the Ship’s Itinerary

An announcement made onboard the ship the afternoon of December 15, 2025 acknowledged there was a problem that could delay departure. Carnival Firenze was scheduled to arrive in Cabo San Lucas on December 17, 2025, spend an overnight there, then continue on to Ensenada, calling there on December 20, 2025 before returning to Long Beach on December 21, 2025.

In the shipboard announcement, guests were told that if the ship was ready to depart later than expected on December 15, 2025, she would swap port calls, visiting Ensenada on December 16, 2025, followed by Cabo San Lucas on December 18 and 19, 2025.

If the ship was forced to remain in port overnight, which turned out to be the case, the ship would eventually proceed directly to Cabo for the overnight stay. In that case, details about the remainder of the cruise would be forthcoming.

No mention was made about the Ensenada visit if the ship was delayed at Long Beach overnight; it’s possible that the port call could be cancelled.

Brand Ambassador Thanks Guests For Their Patience

At least one guest had reached out to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, who interacts with guests on his popular Facebook page.

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On December 16, 2025, one cruiser asked if Heald had any news on the ship’s departure plans.

“I don’t have any news yet. Thank you so much, the Captain will be in touch with everybody on board and I’m sure everybody will continue to have a wonderful time. Thank you for your patience,” Heald posted on his page.

Carnival Firenze deployed to Long Beach in April 2024, shortly after the ship’s transfer from the Costa Cruises line, a sister brand to Carnival Cruise Line. The 4,126-guest ship was one of two vessels that were transferred from Costa and became Carnival’s Italian-style Fun Ships.

The other ship was Carnival Venezia, currently sailing from Port Canaveral. Both ships were renovated upon joining Carnival Cruise Line, maintaining their Italy-inspired designs but with the popular restaurants, bars, and other venues found across the fleet.