Following an emergency evacuation and the development of technical issues impacting the ship’s top cruising speed, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Liberty will now have a very late return back to her Louisiana homeport.
The ship is not expected to arrive back in New Orleans until late afternoon on Sunday, December 1, 2024. While this is the same day scheduled for the end of the ship’s 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary, cruise ships typically return to their homeports in the wee morning hours, with debarkation beginning between 7-8 a.m.
As of 9 a.m. Sunday morning, satellite tracking data shows the vessel approaching the Mississippi River Delta, but Carnival Liberty must still navigate significantly up the river to reach the cruise port. At the moment, the estimated time of arrival is not until 2:45 p.m., but that will be updated as the ship’s progress continues.
Guests booked on the next sailing have been notified of the very late, revised embarkation and updates to their terminal arrival appointments.
“Our engineers have been making progress with the repair work and we are now expecting to dock in New Orleans late afternoon Sunday, December 1,” the notification confirmed. “We must allow debarking guests to leave the cruise terminal and parking facility before we can accommodate your arrival.”
All cruise terminal arrival appointments are now rescheduled with a significant delay, ranging from 9-9.5 hours depending on the original time. All guests must be checked in at the cruise terminal no later than 11 p.m.
“To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, please adhere to this schedule,” the email said. “Guests who arrive earlier will be asked to return at their newly assigned time.”
Carnival Cruise Line is providing a $25 (USD) per person onboard credit to guests’ Sail & Sign accounts as compensation for the delay and to provide to lunch, as they are no longer able to board the ship for lunch as planned.
Once guests are able to embark, the evening dinner service will be open seating in the main dining rooms and the Lido buffet. This means that the assigned dining times will not apply, and guests will be seated first come, first served in order to accommodate as many guests as efficiently as possible.
It is not known when staterooms will be available for guests to access, though undoubtedly, the housekeeping team and all cabin attendants will be working hard to turn over cabins as quickly as possible.
During such significant delays, guests onboard the ship are generally asked to leave their staterooms as the ship draws closer to the cruise terminal, with different lounges and areas opened for waiting. This permits the housekeeping team to get started on their work as much as possible.
Before the ship arrives, the entertainment team and Fun Squad will undoubtedly be providing extra activities as well, doing everything possible to make the extra time onboard fun even though it is unexpected.
As a matter of interest, the December 1 departure is also planned as Carnival Liberty‘s first Christmas cruise of the season. It is possible the decorating schedule might be changed due to this unexpected delay if the decorating company is unable to work on the ship with her late return.
Will There Be More Impacts on the Next Sailing?
At this time, it is unknown whether or not Carnival Liberty‘s next sailing will need itinerary changes following her late start to the cruise.
Read Also: What You Should Know About Cruise Port Cancellations
The December 1 departure is a highly-anticipated 14-night Carnival Journeys cruise to the Panama Canal. Ports of call on the bucket-list voyage include Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curacao, Cartagena, Colon, Costa Rica, and Cozumel.
While no itinerary changes have yet been announced, it is possible that one or more ports of call may be adjusted or even cancelled to accommodate the ship’s delay.
This is especially possible if the propulsion issue has not yet been fully resolved, though the cruise line has made no announcement to that effect and the ship appears to have been sailing near her top speed en route back to New Orleans.
Guests will be notified as soon as possible if any itinerary modifications are necessary.
