Carnival Cruise Line’s “Groove for St. Jude” event is always a popular onboard dance party collecting donations from guests for the children’s research hospital. But one cruise director recently stepped up in his own way to entice guests for even more donations on a very special cruise.

The fundraiser happened on Carnival Spirit‘s most recent Carnival Journeys cruise, a 12-night roundtrip Southern Caribbean voyage from Mobile, Alabama with visits to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman.

Carnival Journeys sailings often feature unique events and more immersive experiences, such as guest lecturers, special menus, and local entertainment.

What makes these unique cruises the very best, however, is the dedication of the ship’s crew to ensure they are amazing voyages for everyone. No one did more onboard Carnival Spirit to make this sailing more memorable than the cruise director, Alex Siegler.

One of the most popular cruise directors for Carnival Cruise Line, Siegler and his cropped hair and beard are a familiar and welcome sight for guests who want to make the most of their Fun Ship sailing.

Thanks to the very successful Groove for St. Jude onboard Carnival Spirit, however, that sight will be a bit different for the next few cruises!

“This year I challenged the Spirit family to raise $5000 for St. Jude on this Journeys cruise, and in exchange I vowed to go totally clean shaven for the first time in over ten years,” Siegler said.

The Groove for St. Jude event is typically held on a sea day and is a fun dance party where guests can show off their moves for a good cause. Donations collected for the event are 100% contributed to St. Jude, a longtime charitable partner of Carnival Cruise Line.

“After the numbers were tallied, we came up with just over $4,700 raised!” Siegler announced after the event. “We may have been just a hair short (pun fully intended) of our goal, but this is still no small feat and we did so much good for the kids today!”

To be a great sport about a great effort to raise money for a great cause, Siegler did shave his beard – just not quite all the way down to the skin.

“I may not be 100% clean shaven, but I could not tell you the last time I saw this much of my face,” he joked on his Facebook page. “Thank you all so much for showing up and showing out for the kids of St Jude on behalf of the spirit family. We’re truly going out with a bang for the last cruise of Mobile season!”

Siegler’s “facial sacrifice” has not gone without notice, as St. Jude responded to his social media post in acknowledgement of his good-natured fundraising.

“Your kindness and dedication are changing lives, Alex. Thank you for being a hero for the kids of St. Jude!” St. Jude’s replied.

The Carnival Journeys cruise, which returned to Mobile on Thursday, January 30, is Carnival Spirit‘s last sailing from the Alabama homeport for the next few months. The vessel has now departed – without guests – on her way to Spain for a planned dry dock refurbishment.

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While no announcements have been made for the updates or upgrades that may be in store for Carnival Spirit, guests aboard the ship’s March 16 departure will be the first to enjoy them.

That next sailing is a 14-night one-way transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami and will mark the ship’s return to service. From Miami, Carnival Spirit will then make a one-way journey through the Panama Canal to Seattle, where she will settle in to spend the summer offering 7-night Alaska itineraries.

The ship will return to Mobile at the end of October, and Siegler is scheduled to be her cruise director for much of the summer and fall.

Carnival and St. Jude

Carnival Cruise Line has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for many years, and in 2024, set the phenomenal fundraising goal of $50 million by 2030. The cruise line kicked off that goal with a symbolic $50,000 donation.

Every Carnival cruise hosts poolside Groove for St. Jude events. Other fundraisers are often found onboard as well, such as the Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea, where kids (and kids-at-heart!) can create their own St. Jude-themed keepsake bears.

Occasionally, very special events are also dedicated to St. Jude. This was the case with the retirement of Carnival Ecstasy, for example – the only Fantasy-class ship to have gotten an official “retirement” party from the cruise line. Five of her sister ships were retired during the pandemic shutdown when no final sailings were possible.

Read Also: Former Carnival Cruise Ships – Where Are They Now?

When it was announced the ship would be removed from service in 2022, a special onboard auction of memorabilia was planned for her final cruise. Ultimately, the auction raised an astonishing $39,000 for the charity.

Carnival Cruise Line used to promote a one-time donation to St. Jude in each guest’s name when loyal travelers reached the Diamond level of the VIFP program.

That donation was discontinued in early 2024, but the cruise line remains strongly committed to supporting the charity – as Siegler has demonstrated with his heartfelt (or “hairfelt”?) act!

“Flavortown” has long been a staple of Carnival Cruise Line, but now the chef behind the cruise line’s beloved Burger Joint is inviting fans to watch his family’s adventures as they sail the Caribbean with the cruise line.

“Guy’s Ultimate Family Cruise” features the entire Fieri family as they celebrate a graduation. The chef, who is as famous for his spiky bleached locks as he is for his big personality and bold flavors, brings his wife, Lori, and sons, Hunter and Ryder, aboard a Carnival vessel, inviting cameras to follow their every move.

From Lori braving the first rollercoaster at sea to Hunter swimming with stingrays to Guy sampling the cuisine during a Chef’s Table that includes a tour of the ship’s galley, the TV special highlights all the fun that can be had on a Carnival “fun ship.”

The adventure takes place on the cruise line’s largest vessel, the 180,800-gross-ton Mardi Gras, which debuted in 2021 after numerous Covid-related delays.

It was well worth the wait, however, as the first of the cruise line’s Excel-class vessels went on to be voted Cruise Hive’s Best Overall Cruise Ship for three consecutive years.

Although the show doesn’t indicate which sailing the Fieri family enjoyed, the vessel regularly sails to the Caribbean from its homeport of Port Canaveral near Orlando. Seven-night itineraries often include a call at Half Moon Cay, owned by the cruise line’s parent company, Carnival Corporation.

“Guy’s Ultimate Family Cruise” will air on January 31, 2025, at 9 p.m. EST, and will be available for streaming on Max.

Fieri-Carnival Collaboration

Guy Fieri, who won the second season of “The Next Food Network Star” in 2006, became a staple of the Food Network, debuting his first hit TV show, “Guy’s Big Bite” that same year.

He followed that with the hit series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” which is one of the channel’s longest-running shows.

With his zest for life – paired with his ability to make a killer burger – Fieri was a natural fit to join Carnival Cruise Line. Together, they introduced Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival Liberty in 2011 as a casual dining option, gradually rolling out to every ship in Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships as part of its FUN 2.0 upgrades.

Of course, the joint is featured on the TV special, with Guy giving Ryder a lesson in Burger 101.

The partnership has extended to include Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse, another casual, open-air offering, on several vessels, including Mardi Gras.

During the show, Guy will take viewers behind the scenes and also show how the cruise line brews craft beer at sea.

This isn’t the first time Fieri and family have shared their Carnival Cruise experience with fans. In 2018, he brought 50 family members on a Carnival Vista sailing to the Caribbean, where a young Ryder can be seen riding the SkyRide bikes high in the sky.

The 6,500-passenger Mardi Gras is currently sailing a 7-night roundtrip Eastern Caribbean cruise that includes a stop in the Turks and Caicos.

When it returns to port on February 1, 2025, it will embark on a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary to Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras.

Many cruise passengers enjoy decorating their stateroom doors, either just to celebrate their sailing, join in holiday festivities, announce a birthday or anniversary, or even create a landmark to more easily find their room in a long corridor of identical doors.

But what happens when those decorations go missing? Can decoration thieves be prosecuted?

One guest had this exact situation occur onboard a Carnival cruise ship recently and reported the theft to security. While their item was returned, they were unhappy with the resolution. Should more have been done?

The guest reached out to Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, who often responds to guests’ comments, requests, and yes, complaints through his popular Facebook page.

“Annoyingly on our recent cruise our door decoration was stolen. It was a Buffalo Bills logo and banner. I reported this,” the guest explained. “Guest services and security returned it to us the following day.”

While this may seem to have been a quick resolution to a relatively minor issue, the guest was unhappy that the alleged thief did not receive a stern punishment for appropriating the sports paraphernalia for a few hours.

“They refused to tell me if the thief had been taken off the ship that day in Amber cove. I later found out they had not been and received no punishment,” the guest continued. “Is this a sign of the times? … Even if they were kids they should have been taken off the ship and made to pay their own way home.”

Heald is not unsympathetic to the guest’s frustration, but affirms that Carnival Cruise Line will not implement such severe punishments for petty actions that might indeed even have just been simple pranks.

“I do understand the annoyance of having your favorite team’s logo stolen from your door. I imagine it might be a naughty child or a naughty grown up or a fan of someone who doesn’t like the Buffalo Bills although I cannot imagine why,” Heald said.

He went on to note that in his opinion, disembarking travelers for this type of action is not a punishment that would have fit this particular crime.

Carnival Cruise Line will sometimes disembark guests in severe cases, such as assaulting crew members or other guests. In many of these incidents, local authorities can become involved as well if charges are to be pressed.

What Heald does confirm is that even in small incidents, the ship’s security does speak with the offending guests and ensure they understand proper behavior.

Read Also: Carnival Removing Upside Down Pineapple Door Decorations

“I cannot talk about our security operations but I can say that they will have be spoken to and they will have been warned not to do this,” he said.

The guest does not note the value of the decorations that were stolen and then returned, nor did they mention whether or not they kept the decorations after the sailing or discarded them at the end of the cruise anyway.

Protecting Door Decorations on Cruise Ships

It can be a lot of fun to decorate a cruise stateroom door, but what can travelers do to prevent their decorations from disappearing during the cruise? Unfortunately, not much.

Because strong adhesives such as glue cannot be used, many door decorations are attached with magnets or less-sticky bits of putty and Command Strips and could be easily removed by passersby.

It can be frustrating to see your door decorations vanish and upsetting to know that there are people onboard who would be so unkind and unruly. The best option, however, is to not use any expensive items and just prepare for the possibility that they may be taken.

Personalized items, especially more generic decorations rather than specialized options, may be less likely to be taken as they won’t appeal to others.

Carnival guests should always follow the cruise line’s guidelines for door decorations, including the requirement for all materials to be fire retardant and not causing any damage.

Cruise ships are filled with food, from all-you-can-eat buffets to classic dining rooms to specialty restaurants to ice cream, pizza, burgers, and more.

But what about when passengers want a little something in their stateroom? Can they bring their favorite snacks aboard?

One Carnival Cruise Line guest has reached out to the line’s official Brand Ambassador, John Heald, with less-than-polite demands about snacks, their availability onboard, and false information.

“I know Carnival needs to nickel and dime us but there should be free snacks at every bar counter,” the guest asked. “What snacks are we allowed to bring? I cannot find [an] approved list!”

It’s true that there is no “approved list” of snacks cruise travelers may bring onboard. To have such a list is impractical, as it would potentially include hundreds, if not thousands, of different items.

Furthermore, because Carnival cruise ships sail from homeports all over the world, regional snacks would add even more to such a list.

“Sometimes my hubby and me will want something to snack on and won’t want to leave the room. We usually bring lots of plastic tubes of Lays chips, Oreo Cakesters, Hostess snacks and Zingers,” the guest explained. “Now I am told that these are all banned since covid. Can you tell us what is allowed? If not why not!”

Despite the guest’s less-than-friendly inquiry, Heald did respond with confirmation that guests can bring their own snacks if they wish.

“You can indeed bring all of those with you,” Heald said. “Now I say that having not a sodding a clue what some of them are and will have to ask Uncle Google for his help with a Zinger and a Hostess. But the answer is if they are in factory sealed bags or tubes or packages they are allowed.”

The key is “factory sealed” – no open items or homemade treats are permitted onboard, including from ports of call. This includes any treats guests may want to bring for crew members, who cannot accept homemade items.

To be clear, no snacks have been “banned since covid.” Guests have always been able to bring their favorite treats onboard (though I prefer Little Debbies rather than Hostess) provided they are sealed.

As for why opened or homemade treats are not permitted, that is a safety issue. Unless items are in sealed packaging, there is no way to know whether or not they have been tampered with.

Similarly, homemade items might have certain allergens that could be dangerous to crew members, which is why these treats are not allowed.

Many other cruisers chimed in on the discussion, noting that there are plenty of other foods onboard and it isn’t necessary to pack snacks on a cruise vacation. Some guests, however, do prefer to bring their favorites along, especially items that may not be available onboard or in ports of call.

Similarly, some travelers prefer granola bars, protein bars, or similar healthier snacks that are especially welcome during long shore excursions or to appease picky eaters.

Another option many Carnival guests take advantage of is using a small plastic baggie or storage container to keep some breakfast pastries or cookies as snacks, or they may take a piece of fruit back to their staterooms to enjoy later on.

Should Carnival Provide Bar Snacks?

One of the more controversial statements the original poster made, however, is the idea that Carnival Cruise Line ought to provide “free snacks at every bar counter.”

It’s true that in many bars on land, free peanuts, pretzels, wasabi peas, mixed nuts, popcorn, or similar snacks for patrons. There is a bit of business savvy behind this tradition, as providing salty snacks can encourage customers to drink more and may keep them at the bar a bit longer, for a bigger tab.

On a cruise ship, however, health and sanitation concerns preclude the idea of offering such free snacks. Furthermore, many frequent cruise guests are certainly against the proposal.

Read Also: Free Carnival Cruise Dining Options You’ll Want to Know (With Menus!)

“I am very glad [Carnival] doesn’t offer free snacks laying around in containers for the public to dip their grubby greedy hands in,” one guest responded.

“I have witnessed many people use the bathroom and leave without washing their hands, the last thing I want to do is grab something where their hands have already reached into,” another guest described.

Communal snacks would also be a great risk of disease transmission, particularly illnesses like norovirus or other gastrointestinal infections that can rapidly spread among the big crowds on a cruise ship.

With multiple cruise lines already reporting outbreaks of norovirus and similar illnesses so far in 2025, it is certainly better if travelers bring their own snacks rather than expect shared food.

As for me, I’ll just go grab an extra slice of pizza, Guy’s burger, or a vanilla soft serve ice cream cone and call it delicious!

Carnival Cruise Line has released a set of itinerary changes impacting four different ships on four different sailings from four different homeports. The impacted ships are Carnival Valor, Carnival Elation, Carnival Conquest, and Carnival Panorama.

Fortunately, all four adjusted itineraries are at least nine months away, giving travelers plenty of time to consider canceling or rescheduling their cruise vacations if they prefer.

None of the now-adjusted cruises have been cancelled and there are no changes to their homeport departure or arrival times.

“We have made adjustments to the itineraries for the following cruises, which include yours,” the email notification read.

Carnival Valor

Carnival Valor‘s November 15, 2025 departure from the Port of New Orleans will now be visiting Progreso rather than Costa Maya.

Considering the ship was originally scheduled for Costa Maya from 2-8 p.m., the change to Progreso from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. can be a positive one with much better port times.

On the same 5-night sailing, Carnival Valor will no longer be visiting Cozumel on November 18 as originally planned. Instead, the ship will be in Cozumel on November 17. The time in Cozumel remains 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Carnival Elation

Sailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Carnival Elation‘s March 2, 2026 departure is swapping ports of call. The cruise is a 5-night Bahamas cruise.

Instead of a day at Princess Cays, however, the ship will now visit Nassau on March 5. The planned call to the upcoming Celebration Key on March 4 remains unchanged.

Some travelers may be upset at missing the opportunity to relax at Princess Cays, but Nassau does offer a wide range of tour options, interesting sites, local shopping, and more for guests to enjoy.

Carnival Conquest

The March 2, 2026 departure of Carnival Conquest is changing its itinerary in the opposite way of Carnival Elation. Carnival Conquest was originally scheduled to visit Half Moon Cay and Nassau, but now the call to Nassau is replaced with Celebration Key instead.

The ship is sailing from Miami and will now visit Celebration Key on March 5. The remainder of the itinerary is not impacted.

Carnival Panorama

Sailing from Long Beach, California, Carnival Panorama‘s November 15, 2026 departure will still visit both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas on her 6-night Mexican Riviera itinerary, but now in the reverse order.

This means that Carnival Panorama will first go to Ensenada before enjoying her extended overnight visit in Cabo San Lucas (just don’t forget the all-aboard time for the 2-day visit!). Port times in Cabo San Lucas have been slightly modified.

Why the Changes?

Carnival Cruise Line has not detailed why any of these itinerary changes were made. It is not unusual, however, for such minor changes to be made to future cruises as itineraries are tweaked.

These types of slight operational changes are often made to balance port usage and minimize port congestion to provide the best possible experience for all travelers. Port construction, dredging operations, and other factors may also play a part in the decision to shift itineraries.

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

While these four itinerary adjustments are far in the future, if guests have already pre-booked shore tours through Carnival cruise line, those tours will be changed automatically for adjusted ports.

If the port of call visits have been cancelled, the tour costs will be refunded to the original form of payment.

Guests who may have arranged independent tours for their cruises will need to contact those tour operators about rescheduling or cancellation as necessary.

All cruise travelers should stay in close contact with their cruise line in the weeks and months leading up to their departure, just in case of similar changes that might impact their vacation plans.