One day after replacing one key port for four itineraries to be operated by Carnival Vista, Carnival Cruise Line is at it again with upcoming sailings for Mardi Gras and Carnival Venezia.

Not long ago, the cruise line tweaked four itineraries between May and June of 2025 for the Vista-class ship so that guests would visit Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, instead of Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos.

For context, Amber Cove is a 25-acre private destination that is owned and operated by Carnival.

But now, more itineraries have been altered to replace Grand Turk with a visit to Amber Cove – including Mardi Gras’ 8-night Southern Caribbean sailing that is due to embark from Port Canaveral, Florida, on June 7, 2025.

“Replaced Grand Turk with a visit to Amber Cove and adjusted time in port,” Carnival’s update reads.

The other two port calls on the itinerary – Oranjestad, Aruba, and Willemstad, Curacao – remain unaffected. And as of the time of publication, this is the only itinerary for the 6,500-passenger ship to be altered in this way.

Meanwhile, three sailings coming up for Carnival Venezia have been impacted, and they are scheduled to embark on May 11, 2025; May 26, 2025; and June 9, 2025.

The first sailing on May 11 is an 11-night, one-way repositioning cruise that will begin in Port Canaveral and end in the Vista-class cruise ship’s new homeport in New York.

As with Mardi Gras, the only change is that the 4,090-guest ship will call on Amber Cove instead of Grand Turk at the beginning of the sailing.

The following two New York-based sailings are a bit more complicated – as the dates and times for the other port calls have also been adjusted, in addition to replacing Grand Turk with Amber Cove.

Carnival did not specify the changes in this update, but the correct times and dates will be reflected on Carnival’s website within 24 hours.

“Replaced Grand Turk with a visit to Amber Cove and adjusted days and/or times for all destinations,” reads the brief notification.

The May 26 sailing is a 10-night Eastern Caribbean cruise that is slated to call on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The later June 9 voyage features a 9-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary that also includes St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Compensation Provided, But Not Clarity

As a show of good faith, Carnival is compensating passengers with changed itineraries onboard Mardi Gras and Carnival Venezia with a credit of $50 per stateroom to be used onboard.

“We recognize that this is an unexpected change to our original plans, and, in appreciation for your understanding, we are posting a US$50, per stateroom, onboard credit to your Sail & Sign account,” Carnival continued.

The funds can be put toward things like alcoholic drinks, onboard attractions that aren’t included in the cruise fare, spa treatments, and specialty dining.

But what many guests really want to know is the reason behind the change – which so far has not been given.

Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise

As Amber Cove is a private destination that is used exclusively by Carnival and its sister brands, some in the cruise community have expressed suspicions of the true motivations behind the revised itineraries.

Others suspected that it might have to do with the Level 2 Travel Advisory that the Caribbean port has been under since March of 2025, which encourages guests to exercise increased caution while visiting due to safety concerns.

That said, while cruise lines always put safety first, this seems like an unlikely cause as other voyages on Carnival’s impacted ships – and ships from other cruise lines – are still expected to continue calling on the port.

Ultimately, no reason was given for the change, but it’s not uncommon for cruise lines to continue to optimize itineraries until the very last minute for reasons related to weather, fuel efficiency, guest experience, and port congestion, just to name a few.

Enjoying room service or bringing some extra treats back from the Lido Marketplace buffet can be a great part of a cruise, but what are you supposed to do with the dirty dishes afterward?

Cruise ship staterooms are notoriously small, and keeping dirty dishes inside your cabin can add to already cluttered spaces or just be an icky mess to contend with.

Carnival Cruise Line’s policy to place these used dishes outside one’s stateroom is well known, but not often well understood. Now, the cruise line’s official Brand Ambassador, John Heald, has offered a bit of insight into the reasoning behind the policy.

The issue was brought up by a guest who wasn’t sure about the policy and was receiving conflicting information from different sources – always a hazard when asking social media groups for tips.

“What is Carnival’s protocol for room service dishes and trays, leave [them] in the cabin for the room steward or place [dishes] in hallway?” the guest asked. “I want to follow what is proper not what some are telling me.”

Heald has previously explained that Carnival’s policy is to leave dishes outside so they can be collected, as there are crew members assigned to visit stateroom hallways and tend to this task. He has reiterated that policy, but also explained in a bit more detail why the policy is in place.

“The proper protocol is to please leave it outside of your cabin. If there is any uneaten food there if you could cover it that would be great,” he confirmed. “This way we can get all the plates and cutlery, etc. back into service. Thank you for asking.”

Covering any uneaten food helps keep the hallway looking tidier, and helps make sure the food isn’t accidentally stepped in or kicked about.

The mention of getting “all the plates and cutlery, etc. back into service” is a new detail that isn’t often noted, however, but it does make good sense.

Years ago, when Carnival Cruise Line offered twice daily stateroom service, dishes might only be left in guest cabins for a few hours before a steward would be able to collect them when tidying up the stateroom.

Worth Reading: Carnival Guest Wants Trays Back But Not Everyone Agrees

With only one daily service now offered, however, many more plates, coffee mugs, silverware, glasses, and other dishes could potentially be unavailable for a full day.

With thousands of guests onboard an individual ship and multiple meals served in multiple venues each day, it is imperative that dishes be able to be cleaned and sanitized so they can be reused right away.

Do Guests Actually Follow the Policy?

To be clear, it has always been Carnival Cruise Line’s policy for these types of dirty dishes to be moved into the hallways to be collected, no matter how often staterooms might be serviced or when the dishes are used.

Not all travelers agree with the request, however, and they don’t always put their dishes in the hall. Many guests feel the policy can give the cruise line a very low-class look and reputation, or they can potentially cause a trip hazard for guests with mobility issues.

To check how guests feel about the policy, Heald included two responses in his daily poll. Guests could disagree and vote “to stop being K-Mart Cruises people should not put their plates and trays outside of the cabin door. They must be kept inside the room.”

Out of more than 48,200 votes cast, just 6% of travelers (roughly 2,900) agree and claim to always keep their room service or Lido plates inside their room until otherwise collected.

Read Also: How Not to Overeat on a Cruise – And Why It Matters

On the other hand, an overwhelming 28% (approximately 13,500 voters) state, “I put my plates and cutlery outside of the room as per Carnival Cruise Line policy.”

Admittedly, on my first Carnival cruise or two I did leave such dirty dishes inside the stateroom, until I learned what the policy is. Since then, we stack any dishes as carefully as possible and place them outside our door, far enough from the door so we don’t accidentally kick them as we go in and out of our stateroom.

Many guests do wish there was a compromise, perhaps a cart or other collection station in hallways, so dirty plates aren’t scattered about. This is especially true when some dishes may be left in the hallway for several hours.

This might even be easier for crew members to collect used dishes, but with space already at a premium in the sometimes narrow corridors, it may simply not be possible.

Of course, guests can always return the dishes to the Lido Marketplace themselves – which will not only get dirty dishes out of halls, but will ensure they get cleaned and back into service as soon as possible!

Three Southern Caribbean cruises and one Eastern Caribbean sailing onboard Carnival Vista will be ending with a different port of call than expected.

Guests sailing on Carnival Cruise Line’s Vista-class flagship on 8-night cruises that are due to embark from Florida’s Port Canaveral on April 19, 2025, May 3, 2025, May 17, 2025, and June 14, 2025, all received a notice of the change.

All of these sailings were supposed to visit Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, as their final port call of the trip. But in each case, this visit has been replaced with a day in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic – which is home to a private destination that is owned and operated by Carnival.

“Replaced Grand Turk with a visit to Amber Cover and adjusted time in port. Purchased Carnival shore excursions for Grand Turk will be cancelled and refunded to the original form of payment. Tours for Amber Cove will be available for purchase on Carnival.com and on board,” Carnival wrote to booked guests.

The May 3, 2025, sailing, which is the only Eastern Caribbean itinerary in the mix, will also be getting modified port times for the visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, that is scheduled for May 8, 2025.

“Port times for San Juan have been modified,” the cruise line’s letter states, without elaborating on the new times.

Currently, cruise tracking data lists the time in port as 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, but this is subject to change.

Aside from Grand Turk and San Juan, the remaining calls on the Eastern Caribbean sailing, which are on Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands, and Philipsburg, St. Maarten, will go ahead as originally planned.

The other three Southern Caribbean itineraries will call on Oranjestad, Aruba, and Willemstad, Curacao, in addition to Amber Cove.

A Perplexing Change

Since Carnival did not provide a reason for the change to these itineraries, cruise fans will, unfortunately, be left scratching their heads.

This tweak may also be particularly confusing, as the 3,934-guest Carnival Vista will be operating the same and similar itineraries through July of 2025 – and will be calling on Grand Turk as part of voyages before and after the impacted sailings.

After July, the 133,500-gross ton vessel will pivot to operating Caribbean itineraries that include calls on Celebration Key – which is Carnival’s new island destination that is debuting this summer.

At the end of the day, cruise lines modify itineraries for a variety of reasons that could be at play here, such as congestion within ports or altering course for fuel efficiency.

Safety is also very likely not the issue either, considering other calls are not cancelled and the port is only under a Level 2 Travel Advisory from the US Government, which indicates that guests should exercise caution during their visit.

Read Also: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic: Everything You Need to Know

It also makes sense that Carnival might want to direct more tourism to Amber Cove, especially if they already needed to alter these itineraries for other reasons, as the cruise line owns and operates this private destination.

The 30-acre retreat, which opened in 2015, is located at Maimón in the province of Puerto Plata and is used exclusively by Carnival Cruise Line and its sister brands.

The destination is known for bringing the fun of the Fun Ships to the shore with watersports, dining opportunities, shopping, pools and splash zones, and adrenaline-filled shore excursions, such as ziplining.