Carnival Cruise Line has begun opening new bookings for its 2025-26 ship deployments, beginning with the rapidly growing homeport of Galveston, Texas. Three of the line’s ships will be based from the Lone Star State, including the soon-to-be newest ship in the Carnival fleet, Carnival Jubilee.

New 2025-26 Cruises Announced for Galveston

Three Carnival cruise ships will be homeported in Galveston for sailings in 2025 and 2026, offering a range of itineraries from 4-8 nights and visiting ports of call throughout Mexico and the Caribbean.

The announcement of these sailings is the first of Carnival’s upcoming itineraries available for booking, giving travelers a great opportunity to reserve amazing cruises well in advance, with the best prices and selection.

Two of the vessels to set sail from Galveston are both Dream class – Carnival Breeze and Carnival Dream – while the third is the cruise line’s newest ship, Carnival Jubilee, which will debut from Texas in December 2023.

“Galveston is one of our most popular homeports, and the addition of Carnival Jubilee brings not only an all-new cruise experience and increased capacity – it also gives us the opportunity to freshen our offerings for the other popular ships homeported there, Carnival Dream and Carnival Breeze,” said Fred Stein, Carnival’s vice president of revenue planning and deployment.

While both Carnival Dream and Carnival Breeze are already homeported year-round from Galveston, the ships will begin offering fresh, new itineraries in spring 2025.

Carnival Dream, for example, will offer 6- and 8-night sailings with both Western Caribbean and Eastern Caribbean itineraries, giving guests a choice for their tropical getaway. Depending on the departure date and exact itinerary, destinations will include Belize, Roatan, Mexico, Key West, and the Bahamas. Departures are offered on Saturdays and Sundays.

Guests interested in shorter getaways will want to check out new options aboard Carnival Breeze, including 4- and 5-night sailings visiting Cozumel and Progreso, both top destinations in Mexico. These shorter sailings have departure dates on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays for either weekend or weekday getaways.

New Sailings for Carnival Jubilee

Cruises from Galveston that are sure to generate the most interest will be aboard the new Carnival Jubilee, third in the Excel-class of vessels and sister ship to the immensely popular Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration.

Carnival Jubilee will be offering 7-night sailings to the Western Caribbean, calling on Roatan and two of the most popular Mexican destinations – Costa Maya and Cozumel.

At all three ports, guests can indulge in beach breaks, explore the Mayan culture, dive into crystal clear waters, and much more. The cruises aboard Carnival Jubilee are Saturday departures, providing the ultimate convenience for travelers.

“Building on our strong portfolio of options out of Texas will give our guests in that region great new options as they look ahead and plan for their future vacations,” said Stein of the new and varied itineraries.

In total, Galveston will be servicing as many as 40,000 Carnival cruise passengers each week with these new sailings, figuring for the full capacity of each ship – Carnival Dream (4,600), Carnival Breeze (4,700), and Carnival Jubilee (6,400) – as well as both embarking and debarking travelers.

Book Early for Best Savings

Experienced cruise travelers know that booking early has many benefits, and by choosing a 2025 or 2026 sailing now from Galveston will give guests the best prices as well as the greatest choice of departure dates, stateroom selections, and promotional deals.

Carnival will be announcing additional ship deployments and itineraries for 2025-2026 in the next few weeks, broadening their available options for cruisers around the globe from a variety of homeports.

The construction of the highly-acclaimed BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster is nearing completion aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, Carnival Jubilee, at a German shipyard. The popular thrill ride debuted on the vessel’s sister ships, Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration.

Test Runs Are Scheduled For October

Carnival Cruise Line’s award-winning adventure ride, BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster, is being installed on Carnival Jubilee at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Construction of the thrill ride is slated for completion in September, followed by a series of test runs planned for October, just two months before the line’s third Excel-class ship enters service.

Operating on an 800-foot track, the ride carries two all-electric, two-person cars, with one rider controlling the speed of the car, which can reach 40 miles per hour. The track drops, twists, and turns 187 feet above the water line, and riders can experience a zero-gravity sensation.

The ride first appeared on Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, when that ship launched in 2021, and again on Carnival Celebration, which entered service in 2022. More than 150,000 cruise guests have sampled the ride so far.

BOLT is the focal point of the ships’ Ultimate Playground spaces, and under its rules, children younger than 12 have to ride with someone 15 or older. Guests will find the ride on Deck 19.

Manufactured by Maurer Rides, based in Munich, Germany, BOLT was the recipient of an engineering award from Popular Science magazine. Its installation onboard the upcoming Carnival Jubilee began in July 2023, shortly before the ship was floated out of the shipyard on July 22.

Besides BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster, Carnival Jubilee’s Ultimate Playground has many more activities to offer guests of all ages, and lots of ways to stay cool.

The WaterWorks waterpark is home to several thrilling experiences such as Twister Waterslide, a spiraling slide spanning hundreds of feet, the Speedway Splash, with its racing action, the DrainPipe, and PowerDrencher, where buckets of cool water rain down on participants.

The playground zone also hosts SportSquare, where guests will find multiple sports courts for basketball, volleyball, and soccer, plus mini-golf, and the challenging Ropes Course. Guests also can indulge in pool, foosball, and ping-pong in this area.

When she enters service in December 2023, the 183,521-gross ton Carnival Jubilee will accommodate 5,374 guests and be home-ported in Galveston, Texas. The ship will operate a series of 7-night roundtrip cruises to Mahogany Bay, Honduras, Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

Carnival Jubilee to Feature New Zones

Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, Carnival Jubilee, has new entertainment and dining spaces that the line has recently revealed. Among them are the Currents and Shores zones, both nautical-themed areas connected by a glass stairway.

Currents, on Decks 6 and 7, evokes an underwater world with large LED windows and a wave-shaped LED ceiling. New venues in Currents include Dr. Inks, Ph.D, a bar/lounge where the cocktails are inspired by sea creatures.

Shores, on Dec 8, offers a shoreside experience with boardwalks, piers, and beaches. Its Ferris wheel-inspired ceiling is enhanced with wood plank-styled floors, and tropical and festive decor.

Read Also: Leadership for Carnival Cruise Line’s Newest Ship Revealed

Dining venues in the zone include casual places for pizza and burgers, but also feature some of the line’s signature restaurants, such as Rudi’s Seagrill and Cucina del Capitano.

Other restaurants elsewhere on the ship will include The Bonsai Teppanyaki, Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse|Brewhouse, Guy’s Burger Joint, Emeril’s Bistro 717, and Fahrenheit 555, to name a few.

Carnival Cruise Line has noted a change in assigned dining times for one upcoming cruise, but the adjustment is only for two particular sailings of Carnival Legend – the current sailing to Greenland as well as the second Greenland cruise in mid-September. Guests have been surprised to see the main dining times adjusted to earlier hours for those two cruises.

Carnival Adjusts Assigned Dining Times

Carnival cruise ships offer both designated early and late dining times on all their ships. The early seating generally begins from 5:45-6:15 p.m. depending on the exact ship and dining room, while the late seating typically begins from 7:45-8:15 p.m.

On Carnival Legend‘s two Greenland cruises, however, the set dining times have been slightly adjusted for even earlier mealtimes. The early dinner will now begin at 5 p.m., while the late seating will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Guests booked on these sailings have noticed the difference, and expressed concern about whether or not the change is fleetwide and permanent.

Dining time preference is widely varied, but for some travelers, especially guests from Europe or other areas of the world with traditionally later mealtimes, even a 7:30 dinner time may seem too early.

Carnival Cruise Line brand ambassador John Heald has clarified the change in dining times, however, and noted that it is for these two Carnival Legend sailings only.

“There have been quite a few questions about dining times with people asking if we are changing them across the fleet,” said Heald. “The answer is no, we are not.”

Heald goes on to note that the change for Carnival Legend‘s dining times is “only for these specific cruises” and “based on the demographics we have onboard.”

The popular “Your Time” dining option has also been adjusted earlier for these cruises, with a dining window of 5-8 p.m. for guests to use at their leisure.

The length of the dinner seatings remains unchanged, so guests will not feel rushed to complete their meals and can enjoy dining with elegance and excellent conversation with their companions.

Cruising to Greenland

Carnival Legend‘s cruises to Greenland are unique 14-night sailings roundtrip from Baltimore, Maryland. When the first itinerary was announced, it proved so immediately popular that a second sailing was quickly added to meet the great demand.

Each cruise has an identical itinerary. After departing Baltimore, guests enjoy five days at sea before arriving in Nanortalik, Greenland. The next day, the ship makes another Greenland call, to Qaqortoq. Both ports of call are full day visits from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.

After such amazing Greenland visits, Carnival Legend will again sail south for three calls in Canada – St. Anthony and Corner Brook in Newfoundland as well as Sydney, Nova Scotia – before arriving back in Baltimore after two more days at sea.

The 88,500-gross ton Carnival Legend is a Spirit-class vessel, a favorite design and layout of many Carnival cruise fans. The ship can welcome 2,124 passengers at double occupancy and as many as 2,610 guests when fully booked with all berths filled.

In addition to the main dining rooms, Carnival Legend also offers the casual Lido buffet, The Golden Fleece steakhouse specialty restaurant, Guy’s Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina, the Carnival Deli, and more. Operating hours will vary for different venues, and guests can check the Carnival Hub app for details.

Why Change Dining Times?

No explanation about exactly why the dining times have been shifted earlier has been offered, other than the “demographics” being a factor in the decision for these two cruises.

This could mean several things. Many older guests tend to choose earlier dining times as a personal preference, or to accommodate medication schedules that require food at the time the medicine must be taken.

Similarly, families with young children often eat dinner earlier so the children are ready for bed at an appropriate time, and are not overly tired and cranky for a much later dining time.

Earlier mealtimes are also a popular preference in American culture, with dinner times from 5-6:30 p.m. very common. European cultures, however, tend to eat later in the evening, with mealtimes from 8-9 p.m. or even later.

In some areas, work schedules impact mealtimes. Many American jobs, for example, only permit very short lunches, and so a larger, longer dinner meal is eaten earlier in the evening. Other cultures may have much longer or later lunch periods, leading to later dinner mealtimes.

Climate can also impact typical mealtimes, with some extremely northern or extremely southern global cultures preferring earlier meals to maximize evening recreation hours when sunlight hours are more limited at certain times of year.