Carnival Cruise Line might be considering a world cruise itinerary in the future, according to a hint dropped by the cruise line’s brand ambassador, John Heald.

While such a cruise would likely be several years away, it could prove to be a very popular sailing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Carnival cruise fans.

Will Carnival Sail a World Cruise?

On his popular Facebook page, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald has brought up the idea of a possible world cruise in the works, with great response from his followers and Carnival cruise fans.

“I wonder if it’s time for us to consider doing a world cruise? 150 days,” Heald asked. “Could anyone, would anyone do this with us?”

A world cruise is a lengthy itinerary for a single ship, often following a route that either circumnavigates the globe or else does a very extensive region, such as completely covering both North and South America, for example.

Longer world cruises are often segmented, permitting embarkations and debarkations for shorter portions of the cruise in order to not only ensure the ship is sailing close to full capacity, but also to give more travelers the opportunity to enjoy the unique itinerary even if they cannot commit to a complete sailing.

A 150-day itinerary would be the longest ever in Carnival Cruise Line’s history, and is certainly extensive enough to permit a complete global circumnavigation, visiting both North and South America, Australia, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

While no itinerary hints have been given, it is likely that such a cruise could depart from PortMiami, one of the world’s busiest passenger cruise ports. As Miami is a convenient city for guests to fly in to join the ship, this also makes sense as convenient for travelers.

Furthermore, Miami is home to Carnival Cruise Line’s shoreside headquarters, making this a great starting point to give the voyage a spectacular send off.

Spirit-Class Ship Hinted for Possible Carnival World Cruise

Heald also hinted that a Spirit-class ship might be the best candidate for a Carnival Cruise Line world cruise, if such a voyage were to be crafted. The 88,500-gross-ton vessels in the class are some of the cruise line’s most popular vessels and are a fan favorite for frequent Carnival cruisers.

“I wonder if we could fill a Spirit Class ship?” Heald asked.

Carnival Cruise Line operates four Spirit-class ships: Carnival Spirit was the lead ship in the class and debuted in 2001, followed by Carnival Pride (2002), Carnival Legend (2002), and Carnival Miracle (2004).

Read Also: Cruise Fan Builds Massive LEGO Carnival Miracle Model

Each Spirit-class ship can welcome 2,124 guests at double occupancy, or up to 2,680 travelers when fully booked with all berths filled. These ships are also sturdily built to handle harsher sailing conditions, and are frequently tapped for Greenland itineraries, Panama Canal transits, and long-haul repositionings such as between Australia and Alaska.

Carnival Luminosa is also classified as a Spirit-class ship but is significantly different than others in the class, with a gross tonnage of 92,600 and a guest capacity of 2,260 at double occupancy (2,826 passengers when fully booked). The ship joined Carnival Cruise Line from Costa Cruises in September 2022, and does not yet have all the characteristic Fun Ship features.

Competing With Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise

It is not a surprise that the idea of a world cruise is being hinted at by Carnival Cruise Line, given that their top competitor – Royal Caribbean International – has received a great deal of publicity and attention from their Ultimate World Cruise.

The 274-night voyage, which began on December 10, 2023, was originally scheduled to visit all seven continents and more than 150 ports of call in 65 countries. As is to be expected, there have been several changes to the itinerary already due to weather, as well as a significant deviation due to the Red Sea tensions.

The Ultimate World Cruise is aboard the 90,090-gross-ton, Radiance-class Serenade of the Seas. Coincidentally, Royal Caribbean’s Radiance-class ships are the closest comparable size and capacity to Carnival Cruise Line’s Spirit-class vessels.

Guest Reaction

Responses to Heald’s world cruise hints have been spectacular, with great enthusiasm being expressed for such an opportunity. While some travelers note they’d need to retire before setting sail, there is a lot of positive response.

Worth Reading: Costco Revealed it Sold a 150-Day World Cruise for $293K

“Sounds amazing!” “It’s a bucket list item for us.” “I would be on it!!” “YES!!!! Sign me up!” “Let’s do this!” “This would be very tempting.” and “In a heartbeat.” are just a few of the comments on Heald’s questions.

Would you set sail on a world cruise with Carnival Cruise Line? Share your thoughts, dream itinerary options, and preferred ship on the Cruise Hive boards!

A Carnival Cruise Line fan built a stunning (and huge) model of Carnival Miracle for Bricks Cascade 2024, an annual LEGO Fan Expo event in Portland, Oregon.

The ship included scale dimensions and outstanding details such as lifeboats, waterslides, deck chairs, and of course, the iconic Carnival whale tale funnel, all rendered in LEGO bricks.

Young Cruiser Builds Cruise Ship

Ryder Gray built a scale model of Carnival Miracle entirely from LEGO bricks, displaying his masterwork at Bricks Cascade 2024 in mid-March. Gray was inspired to build the ship when he saw her sail into Portland, Oregon – home of the annual event – for refurbishment.

Gray’s model is 7 feet, 3 inches long and is built in two sections, each weighing more than 21 pounds.

The details included in the model are the Serenity adults-only area, Carnival Waterworks water park, the two main deck pools, the ship’s basketball court and golf course, as well as the bridge wings, deck chairs throughout, flags, people, lifeboats, and even the proper red-white-and-blue livery on the hull.

Overall, the ship’s shape proved to be one of the most difficult aspects of the design, particularly the proper tapering and angles for a realistic model when working with square and rectangular bricks. Gray used ship deck plans and his own photos of the vessel as a basis to build his model.

“The nautical design is really really difficult,” said Gray in an interview with Beyond the Brick. “Achieving these shapes is a lot of trial and error.”

It isn’t just the model that Gray is well versed in. He knows about ship operations and which boats are tenders and standard lifeboats, how the covered pool is used, and more.

The real 88,500-gross-ton, Spirit-class Carnival Miracle joined the fleet in 2004, and is able to welcome 2,124 guests aboard at each sailing. She is currently homeported from Long Beach, California until early May, when she will move to San Francisco to offer 10- and 11-night sailings to Alaska for the summer season.

After finishing the Alaska season in September, the ship will reposition to Galveston to offer Eastern, Southern, and Western Caribbean itineraries, as well as the occasional Panama Canal cruise.

Carnival Miracle is not the first cruise ship Gray has built from LEGO bricks. In 2023, he constructed the former Carnival Tropicale, which debuted as the cruise line’s first new build ship and the first to sport the iconic whale tail funnel.

Next up, Gray wants to build Carnival Paradise, one of the fleet’s only two remaining Fantasy-class vessels. He has sailed on Carnival Elation and loves the smaller cruise ships.

“That’s just such a wonderful ship,” he said. “For any cruisers out there, smaller is better.”

About Bricks Cascade

The annual event in Portland, Oregon draws more than 7,000 attendees, and in 2024, featured 552 builders exhibiting 1,354 amazing creations. Awards are voted on for People’s Choice recognition and Best in Show creations.

Along with Carnival Miracle, other amazing creations at this year’s event included a variety of castles, the starship USS Enterprise 1701-A, complete scenes of communities, underwater vistas, Star Wars-themed murals, the Intercontinental Marseilles Hotel, Camden Yards baseball stadium, Dodger Stadium, spacescapes, and so much more.

While Gray’s Carnival Miracle recreation did not win the awards, it’s truly a favorite of cruise fans!

In response to a social media post showing an elaborate arrangement of cords, hooks, and fans on a cruise ship ceiling, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald has clarified what can – and can’t – be done in guest staterooms. This is similar to a previous incident also involving items suspended from the ceiling that were not permitted.

No Items Dangling From the Ceiling

A social media photo has been circulating recently showing an elaborate setup to jury rig ceiling fans in a cruise ship cabin. The photo shows two fans, seemingly held in place by a pulley system or other hardware, with magnetic hooks holding up the cords across the stateroom.

It is not possible to identify which cruise line or cruise ship is in the photo, but the photo has drawn the attention of Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald, who has confirmed that such installations are not permitted.

“I want to confirm that we do not allow anything like this to be done,” Heald said. “Nothing hanging or taped or magnetized or tied to the ceiling is allowed and for obvious safety reasons. Thank you for your understanding.”

It should be noted that the photo shows small fans, magnetic hooks, and what appear to be small extension cords. Each of these items are individually permitted onboard, but it is the ceiling configuration that can be a safety hazard.

Heald did further clarify, however, that guests who bring CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines onboard – a medical necessity for those with sleep apnea – are permitted to use magnets to position the CPAP cords only across the ceiling, so they will not be a trip hazard but the cords can safely reach the power outlets.

“We do allow those people using CPAP machines to use magnets to attach the wiring across the ceiling down to the [power outlet] by the dresser. But nothing, nothing at all can be hung from the ceiling,” Heald confirmed.

This incident is similar to another photo that circulated in July 2023, when guests on a Carnival ship – which was confirmed by details in the photo – built a makeshift projector and attached it to the ceiling. At that time, Heald further clarified why such setups were prohibited.

“Ship moves, something falls on head of the guest or cabin attendant plus the fire safety issues,” Heald said.

Why Is This Unsafe?

It may seem like the metal ceiling of a cruise ship stateroom would be a convenient place to attach magnetic hooks to hang items, but the ceilings are not designed to support such weight. Even a pound or two could cause the ceiling panels to warp or even collapse in extreme circumstances.

Furthermore, suspending items from the ceiling may block the stateroom sprinklers or smoke detectors, essential equipment in case of fire.

Suspending items from the ceiling may also damage heating and cooling vents, light fixtures, speakers, or other equipment, depending on how and where items are hung.

Some cruise guests have commented that they use hooks for hanging shower curtains as privacy dividers in the stateroom, and others have noted that stateroom decorations ordered through Carnival Cruise Line’s Fun Shops before a cruise are often hung from the ceiling, so there is a bit of confusion about the policy.

When crew members hang decorations in a stateroom, they know exactly where and how to hang items to maintain safety guidelines, and the items are not a risk. As for guests hanging shower curtains – it is possible this may be cracked down on and no longer permitted.

What Magnetic Hooks Can Be Used For

There are many safe, acceptable, and very useful options for magnetic hooks in a cruise ship cabin, however. Hooks can be used for hanging tote bags, beach bags, hats, belts, and other gear when storage space is at a premium. Guests can even use hooks to hang a pocket-style door organizer for more storage.

Some passengers also use hooks as a way to dry swimwear or damp clothing without laying it on the bed and getting the bedding damp.

Hooks can also be used to keep shore excursion tickets safe or to hang lanyards with cruise ship cards for safekeeping so they do not get lost or forgotten.

Read Also: Things You Can’t Take on a Cruise

Hooks should only be attached to the stateroom walls or doors, however, not to the ceiling or other fixtures. If hooks are attached inappropriately or items are hung from the ceiling, the items may be removed or confiscated and guests could risk fines or censure from the cruise line.