The flagship of Carnival’s Vista-class vessels has been delayed by maintenance issues for the third time this month. 

Carnival Vista, which is in the middle of operating an 8-night eastern Caribbean sailing, has notified guests of tweaks to the itinerary due to technical difficulties that are impacting cruising speed.

The news comes after the voyage set off with a delayed start due to repairs for related issues – which were supposed to have been fixed prior to heading back out to sea.

“We have been working hard to address an issue that was impacting the ship’s cruising speed. We were hopeful that the issue was resolved but we’re not quite there,” read a letter to guests from the ship’s captain, Francesco Florentino. 

While the 3,934-passengers vessel will still visit all the ports of call on the itinerary, guests may not get as much time to explore the destinations as they were expecting. 

“We are working on a new plan to make some additional repairs. We will be able to keep the remaining ports of call on our itinerary but will make some modest adjustments to our time in port to allow us to return to Port Canaveral in good time,” continued Captain Florentino’s memo.

The round-trip sailing, which embarked from Port Canaveral, Florida, on August 24, 2024, has already called on Puerto Plata / Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. 

The impacted ports of call are San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. 

Instead of staying in San Juan from 10:30 a.m. local time until 6:30 p.m., the 133,596-gross ton vessel won’t arrive until 1:30 p.m. – but will depart an hour later at 7:30 p.m.

Similarly, the ship will dock in St. Maarten one hour later than planned – at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. – when it arrives the following day.

The final call of the cruise, which is at St. Thomas, will have an on-time arrival, but will see the ship leave an hour early to make it back to the ship’s homeport to disembark as planned on September 1, 2024. 

As a show of good faith, the 27-ship cruise line is giving guests a $50 credit per stateroom to use onboard and will automatically adjust shore excursions that were booked directly through Carnival. 

Engine Issues Cause Trouble for Carnival Vista

The technical difficulties that the 8-year-old cruise ship has been experiencing are not isolated to her current sailing.

Indeed, the issues manifested at the end of her August 4th sailing, only to then wreak havoc on the subsequent 8-night Southern Caribbean voyage that embarked from Orlando, Florida, on August 10, 2024. 

The cruise line worked to address the malfunctioning engines on embarkation day – and began sending out texts advising guests of a revised itinerary as they boarded the ship. 

“The ship is experiencing an issue that is affecting its maximum cruising speed. Our engineers are working on a repair plan,” the text notification read at the time. “While we will be able to sail, it is necessary for us to revise our itinerary.”

The original itinerary called for visits to Aruba, Curacao, and Grand Turk, but due to the limitations in cruising speed, the ship instead called on Nassau, Bahamas; Princess Cays, Freeport; and Half Moon Cay, the cruise line’s private island destination in the Bahamas. 

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

The 2016-launched cruise ship returned to Port Canaveral on August 24, 2024 – where it was determined that the current sailing would go ahead as planned, following a minimal delay to allow crews to repair the ship’s propulsion system while in port. 

“To accommodate our repair plan, the ship will be arriving very early Sunday morning, August 18, to Port Canaveral (approximately 3:30 AM) to allow for a full day of work with our engineers and technical experts. We are also planning a later departure that evening to maximize the workday,” Carnival informed impacted passengers. 

Because the 2016-launched ship would be fixed and the first day of the sailing was meant to be a sea day, the delayed embarkation was not supposed to impact any of the ports of call. Of course, the continuing technical difficulties necessitated another change of plans.

It’s unclear when the issue will finally be fixed and what impact it will have on subsequent sailings, with the next – a 6-night eastern Caribbean itinerary – scheduled to embark on September 1, 2024.

Carnival Vista will continue homeporting at the Orlando-based port, from where she will alternate between 6-8 night southern and eastern Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral through the next year and well into 2026.

A recent critique from a Carnival Cruise Line passenger has drawn attention to the frequency and content of daily announcements made by cruise directors.

The passenger questioned the necessity of multiple daily announcements, which often detail event schedules and promotions already available through the ship’s app and printed materials.

In the question posed to Carnival’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, the guest said, “Do we really need the cruise director coming over the loudspeaker 3 or 4 times each day to READ to us the daily schedule of events? 

“Less than 5 percent of the ship listens. We find [the announcements] particularly annoying. [The cruise director] is more of a shill for the shops than a cruise director.”

Heald responded to the criticism, acknowledging that while not all guests find the announcements beneficial, they serve a purpose in engaging passengers and promoting onboard activities.

“Let me step back into my cruise director shoes and chat with you a while about this,” Heald began in his response.

He then clarified that announcements are typically made inside staterooms only for essential information affecting the entire ship. However, with announcements in guest corridors, he acknowledged the challenge of potentially disturbing passengers.

“With speakers in the guest corridors, you may disturb someone who is still asleep at 10:30 a.m. or disturb someone having a nap in the sun, or simply disturb someone who was seeking a little peace and quiet,” he said.

But Heald underscored the role of cruise directors in promoting onboard revenue, which, he argued, is essential for maintaining affordable cruise fares.

“It is the cruise directors’ responsibility to promote the revenue, and it is the onboard revenue that has always been the reason on which Carnival Cruise Line can keep the cost of your cruises the most affordable,” he highlighted.

He also stressed that despite the challenges, it is crucial to disseminate information effectively to keep guests informed about daily activities and offers. He concluded by expressing gratitude to cruise directors for their efforts, remarking, “Thanks then to all our brilliant cruise directors for their announcements and for all they do to bring you so much fun.”

To gauge passenger opinions, Heald followed with a poll on whether the general announcements should be heard inside cabins. The poll, which received 9,410 votes at press time, showed that 57 percent of respondents would like to have cruise director announcements in their cabins.

Types of announcements on cruise ships

Announcements serve a vital role in keeping passengers informed about various aspects of their voyage. Daily program announcements, which include updates on scheduled events, dining options, and entertainment, are typically broadcasted over the public address (PA) system.

Cruise directors use these announcements to keep passengers informed about the day’s activities around the ship. Additionally, they promote various departments, such as shops, the spa, dining venues, and the casino, when special events or promotions are underway.

General updates on weather conditions, itinerary changes, or other important ship-wide notices are also routinely provide via the PA.

When alterations occur, such as changes to the schedule or critical updates about port arrivals and excursion changes, the announcements may be made inside cabins to keep all passengers informed.

Read Also: How Much Does a Cruise Director Make?

With safety a top priority on cruise ships, announcements regarding emergency procedures, muster drills, severe weather alerts, and safety incidents are crucial. These announcements, included inside guest cabins, ensure passengers are informed about necessary safety protocols and immediate actions required.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor has just completed her nearly three-week dry dock at Sembcorp Marine’s Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, and she’s sailing not only refreshed and refurbished, but with a whole new look.

As the ship has left the shipyard, she’s revealed her brand new red-white-and-blue hull livery. That new color scheme first debuted with Mardi Gras in 2021, and has been rolled out to the entire fleet as different ships have gradually undergone dry dock refurbishments.

Carnival Splendor‘s last dry dock was in 2019, before the new livery was introduced. Therefore, her just-completed dry dock renovation on August 5-23, 2024, was the first opportunity to repaint the classic white hull with a more colorful pattern.

It isn’t just the colors that have been added to the 113,573-gross-ton Carnival Splendor, however. As she sailed out of dry dock, the ship revealed a new and one-of-a-kind feature on her midship hull – a stylized swoop with stars, an interpretation of the Southern Cross.

The Southern Cross is an iconic constellation in the southern sky, located at the southern end of the visible portion of the Milky Way. Five bright stars form the cross pattern – Acrux, Mimosa, Gacrux, Imai, and Ginan – which as been instrumental in guiding Australian sailors for centuries.

“Carnival Splendor has departed Singapore following dry dock and we’re thrilled to reveal her stunning new livery!” announced Carnival Cruise Line Australia on social media.

“She now proudly sports the red, white, and blue hull introduced by Carnival in 2021, along with a special Southern Cross design—a nod to our deep connection to Australia. The Southern Cross constellation has guided sailors to Australia for centuries, and now Carnival Splendor shares this symbolic artwork with her soon-to-be sister ships, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter.”

The two P&O Cruises Australia ships, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter, have a very similar star pattern on their bows but, for the moment, lack the rest of the hull coloration that now characterizes the Carnival fleet.

No confirmation has been made of whether or not the two ships may receive new hull livery when they are converted to Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter before joining the Carnival fleet in March 2025, though such updating does seem likely.

As a special note, the Southern Cross is also featured prominently on Australia’s national flag and is a well-recognized symbol of the proud and distinctive nation.

Carnival Splendor is homeported year-round from Sydney, offering a range of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Pacific itineraries. She can welcome 3,012 guests per sailing at double occupancy, and is also home to more than 1,100 international crew members.

The ship is currently sailing a 16-night itinerary calling on ports in Indonesian and Australia as she travels back to Sydney for her arrival on September 9.

More Unique Carnival Hulls

For many years, Carnival Cruise Line’s ships sported simple plain white hulls with the ship’s names and no other adornments. Instead, the cruise line used the classic “whale tail” funnel that debuted with Tropicale in 1982, the first new-build for the young cruise line, as its iconic structural statement.

With the debut of Mardi Gras, however, the cruise line opted for the more colorful hull but still kept the red-white-and-blue coloration so closely associated with “America’s Cruise Line.”

Only one other ship in the Carnival fleet has a unique hull feature, however. When she first floated out during construction in July 2023, Carnival Jubilee revealed the Texas Lone Star on her bow, symbolizing her connection to the Lone Star State and her Galveston homeport.

As many cruise ships shift homeports multiple times throughout their decades of sailing, it is somewhat unusual to put a distinctive icon on the hull that connects to a single homeport.

Read Also: Beneath the Surface – Exploring the Cruise Ship Hull

Of course, hulls can be repainted if necessary, and just because a ship has unique hull iconography does not mean she’ll never move to a different sailing region.

While Carnival Cruise Line has not announced any plans to further customize other ships in the fleet, it will be fun to see if more vessels get unique designs in the years to come.