Carnival Luminosa‘s very first Alaska itinerary for the 2024 sailing season will not be the same as originally published. The cruise line has reached out to booked guests to advise them of the change. While the ship will be visiting all the planned ports of call (weather permitting), the exact times in those ports have been adjusted.

Carnival Luminosa Itinerary Change

On May 1, 2024, Carnival Luminosa will depart Seattle for the first official sailing of her Alaska season. While this will not be the first time she has visited Alaskan ports of call this year – they are part of the itinerary for the ship’s 30-night repositioning from Brisbane to Seattle that departed on April 1 – this is the ship’s first exclusive Alaska voyage of 2024.

The 8-night sailing will depart Seattle, Washington on Wednesday, May 1, with scheduled visits to Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Ketchikan, and Victoria before returning to Seattle on Thursday, May 9. Booked guests have now received an email notification that the first two ports of call will be slightly altered.

“We have made an adjustment to the itinerary for your cruise – port times for Icy Strait Point and Juneau have been modified,” the email said.

The exact modifications have not been disclosed, but should be updated on the cruise line’s website, and most likely the Carnival Hub app as well, within 24 hours.

The original schedule had Carnival Luminosa visiting Icy Strait Point from 12-8 p.m. on Friday, May 3, followed by the visit to Juneau from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

It should be noted that neither port of call is cancelled, only that the times are going to be adjusted. Carnival Luminosa should still be visiting each destination on the appropriate scheduled day.

Shore Tours to Be Adjusted

Any pre-booked shore excursions through Carnival Cruise Line will automatically be adjusted to accommodate the new port times, the email confirmed.

If any tours must be cancelled because they cannot be suitably adjusted, they will likely be refunded either as onboard credit or back to the original form of payment. Unless the port time changes are drastic, however, it is unlikely that many tours would need to be cancelled.

Read Also: What’s the Best Cruise Line for Alaska?

Travelers who have booked independent tour arrangements will need to reach out to their tour operators for rescheduling or cancellation as necessary.

No Reasoning Explained

No details about why the time changes are necessary have been confirmed. Cruise lines often adjust port times based on navigational challenges, weather, or port congestion. In Alaska, local restrictions on travel speeds to protect whales and other wildlife may also impact exactly when ships can arrive or leave different destinations to keep their itineraries intact.

At this time, there are no technical difficulties with Carnival Luminosa, and these changes do not appear to be related in any way to the ship’s operational capability.

The 92,720-gross-ton vessel joined the Carnival fleet in 2022 and operates from Seattle for the Alaska season and sails from Brisbane during the summer months down under. Carnival Luminosa is just finishing her transpacific cruise from Brisbane to Seattle, having already visited Guam, Japan, and Alaska on her way to her summer homeport, where she will offer 7-night sailings through mid-September.

The ship can welcome 2,826 guests, and is also home to approximately 1,050 international crew members.

Chalk up another big win for Carnival Corporation as a top global employer, following a leading business publication’s announcement that the company earned a place on one of its prestigious “best employer” lists. The honor is one of many the company, which employs more than 160,000 people, has received in recent years.

Forbes Ranking Honors Cruise Industry Giant

Forbes, the global business news outlet, revealed on April 25, 2024 that Carnival Corporation was named one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity for 2024. The company, a giant in the global cruise industry, was among 500 companies included in the list, which spans 24 industries.

Carnival Corporation took the top ranking for travel and leisure and leads the list’s top 100 companies overall. The corporation is the parent company of nine well-known cruise brands operating 87 ships, including Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn in the US, plus AIDA Cruises, Cunard, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises UK, and P&O Cruises Australia.

Statista, a statistics portal and industry ranking provider, also was a presenter of the annual list, which is compiled from independent surveys of 170,000-plus U.S.-based employees who work for companies that employ at least 1,000 people.

The survey included employee reviews of their employers, judged on statements about age, gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQIA+, and general diversity in the workplace. Respondents also could evaluate other employers in their industries that project positive or negative behaviors regarding diversity.

In addition, Forbes and Statista evaluated best practices in the diversity space, such as a company’s record of releasing diversity data and the number of women in high-level positions, for example, and considered those findings in their final selections. From thousands of businesses evaluated, just 500 are ultimately recognized.

The cruise industry sources employees from across the globe for its wide range of at-sea and shoreside jobs, and it is common for a cruise line to employ staff from 100-plus countries.

Read Also: What Cruise Lines Does Carnival Own?

“We are a better company when the diversity of race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, culture, beliefs, and other backgrounds are celebrated,” said Bettina Deynes, global chief human resources officer for Carnival Corporation. 

“We strive to be the travel and leisure industry’s employer of choice by providing our team members with an inclusive and supportive company culture and work environment, and we’re honored to see our efforts recognized among others who share in our commitment,” Deynes added.

Long List of Accolades For Carnival Corporation

This is not the first time that Carnival Corporation has been honored for its employee diversity policies. 

Last year, it made the list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023 in a program sponsored by Newsweek. The ranking resulted from a survey of 1,000 top-performing companies in a three-part evaluation.

The company was recognized for its operations, commitment to diversity, and success in cultivating an inclusive working environment, and was the only cruise company to earn five stars, the highest possible score in the evaluation.

In 2022 it was named to two prestigious Forbes lists — the World’s Best Employers and Best Employers for Diversity. Also, Latino Leaders Magazine named it one of the Best Companies for Latinos, and it earned the top score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index.

As a result of that score, the foundation designated Carnival Corporation as the Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. It was the sixth consecutive year the company earned the designation.

Carnival Cruise Line has officially welcomed Carnival Firenze to the fleet with a ceremonial naming for the vessel held in Long Beach, California, on the evening of Wednesday, April 24.

As the ship will sail year-round from the California homeport with a variety of itineraries, the location of the naming ceremony was especially meaningful, and adds significant capacity to the cruise line’s Golden State operations.

Carnival Firenze Christening Ceremony

All the Hollywood stars aligned on Wednesday, April 24 to welcome Carnival Firenze to the Fun Ship fleet with her official naming ceremony in Long Beach, California. This welcomes the ship at a critical time, just ahead of the busy summer sailing season when more travelers will be taking to the waves for oceangoing getaways.

The star-studded naming ceremony featured actor Jonathan Bennett as the ship’s official godfather, joined by the ship’s master, Captain Enzo Palomba, pouring champagne over the ship’s bell to christen the vessel.

Other elements of the momentous occasion included entertainment performances, live music, an Italian blessing by Father Charbel Grbavac of the Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in nearby San Pedro, California, and remarks by various VIPs, including Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line president.

The ship combines the best of elegant Italian styling and the popular fun of Carnival Cruise Line, with decorative elements from her days as Costa Firenze preserved in her luxurious venues. The vessel has undergone extensive, 49-day renovation in Cadiz, Spain to be transformed to a Carnival ship with popular venues and features characteristic of the line.

“The recipe combining this ship’s beautiful Italian theming with the familiarity of our friendly team’s hospitality is, in a word, perfecto!” said Duffy.

Rapid Growth for Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Firenze represents the culmination of the rapid growth of Carnival Cruise Line in the post-pandemic era. During the industry shutdown, the cruise line retired and sold a number of older vessels in an accelerated refresh of the fleet, but the addition of Carnival Firenze brings the entire fleet back to 27 active ships, equal to the number of Carnival ships sailing before the pandemic.

“During the pandemic, we had to say goodbye to some of our ships that were retired and sold and sent to that desolate and heartbreaking beach in Turkey,” explained John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador.

“Since the return of the fun, we have added more ships to the fleet. So before Covid arrived, we had 27 ships, then we lost some during Covid and now today with the official naming of Carnival Firenze we once again have 27 ships in the fleet.”

That achievement is well worth celebrating. Carnival Firenze is the fifth ship added to the fleet since the restart, joining Mardi Gras (2021), Carnival Celebration (2022), Carnival Venezia (2023), and Carnival Jubilee (2023).

Carnival Firenze is especially significant as the ship will be homeported year-round from Long Beach, dramatically increasing Carnival’s sailings from California.

“We carry more guests than any other cruise line from California, and now this ship is giving us the opportunity to offer more fun to more people sailing from Long Beach,” said Duffy.

Carnival Firenze joins Carnival Panorama and Carnival Radiance. As all three ships begin full calendars, Carnival Cruise Line expects to offer more than 200 sailings from Long Beach in 2025, welcoming more than 750,000 total guests. This is more than 100,000 guests higher than 2019’s passenger load from the homeport.

Read Also: Must-Know Things About the Long Beach Cruise Terminal

Carnival Firenze is offering a diverse schedule of itineraries through January 2026, with cruises ranging from 3-7 nights visiting outstanding ports such as Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlán.

Her inaugural sailing under the Carnival brand is a 7-night Mexican Riviera itinerary that departs on Thursday, April 25. The 135,156-gross-ton, Vista-class ship can welcome 4,126 guests at double occupancy, or up to 5,245 travelers when fully booked.

Guests eager to board Carnival Elation on Thursday, April 25, 2024 will have a few extra hours to wait as the ship is delayed in her return to Jacksonville, Florida. Because of the delay, embarkation has subsequently been revised and boarding guests have been advised to adjust their arrival time to the cruise terminal.

Carnival Elation Delayed

Carnival Elation has not been able to return to JaxPort at her scheduled arrival time, and embarking guests have been advised of the delay and asked to adjust their arrival times. Text and email notifications were sent to impacted guests alerting them to the change.

“The ship will be arriving later than scheduled and embarkation for your cruise has been revised,” the text message explained. “Please delay your terminal arrival appointment by three hours.”

The email notification has a bit more information. “The ship is experiencing an issue that is limiting its cruising speed and will be docking later than scheduled Thursday morning,” it said.

Both communications have the same details for embarkation to be delayed by three hours.

Guests choose their terminal arrival appointments in the days leading up to their sailing date, opting for the time that best suits their travel plans. This is the time when they will be checking in and verifying documentation as they board the ship.

With the delay, all guests will now be boarding the ship later than expected. For example, if a traveler had selected an 11 a.m. arrival time, they should now plan to be at the cruise terminal at 2 p.m. instead.

The delay is not only to accommodate the ship’s late arrival, but also to ensure debarking passengers can smoothly exit the cruise terminal and leave the parking facilities before embarking guests arrive. This will help avoid overcrowding that could cause further delays.

Despite the delay, all travelers must be onboard Carnival Elation no later than 5:30 p.m. so the ship can depart JaxPort. That departure time has been pushed back to accommodate the ship’s late arrival, as the vessel was originally scheduled to depart Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m.

Why the Delay?

Various reasons could cause such a delay, such as heavy fog that limits visibility as the ship navigates up the St. Johns River, propulsion difficulties that impact the ship’s maximum speed, thruster problems that may limit maneuverability, or tidal conditions that require schedule adjustment for safer sailing.

On February 1, 2024, Carnival Elation was delayed for three hours for an unspecified technical issue, which had the same impact on embarkation as today’s delay. In mid-March, the ship was delayed again, this time for heavy fog.

The email notification today does indicate a technical issue. Furthermore, guests onboard have indicated some mechanical problems.

“Our technicians are working on the repairs,” the email said. “It may be necessary to revise our itinerary. We’ll provide more details at embarkation.”

Carnival Elation will be sailing a 4-night Bahamas itinerary, visiting Freeport and Nassau before returning to Jacksonville on Monday, April 29. It is possible that one or both port visits might be adjusted, or one port call could even be cancelled to accommodate a slower sailing speed.

The 71,909-gross-ton, Fantasy-class Carnival Elation is one of the oldest ships in Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet and has been welcoming guests since 1998. The ship has been upgraded and refit several times in her long service life, and is a popular ship for travelers who prefer a smaller, more intimate cruise experience instead of the more recent, much larger ships.

Read Also: All Carnival Cruise Ships By Age – Newest to Oldest

Carnival Elation can host 2,190 passengers at double occupancy, and up to 2,697 guests when fully booked with all berths filled. The ship is the only vessel currently homeported from Jacksonville, Florida, and offers 4- and 5-night Bahamas cruises.

In July 2025, the ship is scheduled to be one of the first to visit the new Celebration Key, Carnival Cruise Line’s private destination on Grand Bahama island that will offer a distinctly Bahamian ambience along with Carnival’s characteristic fun.