Carnival Cruise Line has updated its website and we now have a clear view of which ships are currently set to be sailing in March 2021. In an announcement this week the U.S. largest cruise line said it has suspended all sailings through February 2021, while some ships will not sail until April, May, or even September 2021!
The situation, as it is right now, does not guarantee the ships will be sailing at this time, yet it looks good with the majority of ships setting sail upon resumption. We’ve collected the first voyage of each Carnival Ship that set sail in March according to the official website in one handy post!
There are a few surprises with departure ports, as Carnival has minimized departures from Port Miami, and increased other ports. Departure ports now include Mobile, Alabama; Port Canaveral, Florida; Long Beach, California; Miami, Florida; Baltimore, Massachusetts; Galveston, Texas; San Diego, California; Jacksonville, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ships Scheduled to Sail in March 2021
So let’s take a look at the first currently scheduled cruise itinerary for each Carnival cruise ship in March:
Mardi Gras
Carnival’s eagerly awaited, and long overdue, newest addition Mardi Gras. In our last article on Carnival sailings, we mentioned she would be sailing in February, this has now been pushed back to April 24, 2021. The first available voyage on the Carnival website shows as a 7-day Caribbean voyage from Port Canaveral on May 8:
- Cruise: 7-Days Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral, FL
- Departure date: May 8
- Itinerary: Day 1: Port Canaveral, Day 2: Fun day at sea, Day 3: Fun day at sea, Day 4: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Day 5: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, Day 6: Grand Turk, Day 7: Fun day at sea, Day 8: Port Canaveral.
Update:
Carnival Cruise Line announced a further delay for the Mardi Gras and now the vessel won’t begin sailing until April 2021. All the details can be found here.
Carnival Conquest
- Cruise: 4 Days Bahamas from Miami, FL
- Departure Date: March 1
- Itinerary: Day 1 Miami, Day 2 Nassau, Day 3 Fun Day At Sea, Day 4 Freeport, Day 5 Miami
Carnival Liberty
- Cruise: 4 Days Bahamas from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL
- Departure Date: March 1
- Itinerary: Day 1 Port Canaveral (Orlando), Day 2 Nassau, Day 3 Half Moon Cay, Day 4 Fun Day At Sea, Day 5 Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Carnival Sunrise
- Cruise: 4 Days Western Caribbean from Miami, FL
- Departure Date: March 4
- Itinerary: Day 1 Miami, Day 2 Key West, Day 3 Cozumel, Day 4 Fun Day At Sea, Day 5 Miami
Carnival Elation
- Cruise: 5 Days Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL
- Departure Date: March 1
- Itinerary: Day 1 Port Canaveral (Orlando), Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Amber Cove, Day 4 Grand Turk, Day 5 Fun Day At Sea, Day 6 Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Carnival Dream
- Ship/ Cruise: 5 Days Western Caribbean from Galveston, TX
- Departure Date: March 1
- Itinerary: Day 1 Galveston, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Costa Maya, Day 4 Cozumel, Day 5 Fun Day At Sea, Day 6 Galveston
Carnival Breeze
- Ship/ Cruise: 6 Days Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL
- Departure Date: March 7
- Itinerary: Day 1 Port Canaveral (Orlando), Day 2 Nassau, Day 3 Fun Day At Sea, Day 4 Amber Cove, Day 5 Grand Turk, Day 6 Fun Day At Sea, Day 7 Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Carnival Freedom
- Ship/ Cruise: 6 Days Western Caribbean from Galveston, TX
- Departure Date: March 7
- Itinerary: Day 1 Galveston, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Costa Maya, Day 4 Mahogany Bay, Day 5 Cozumel, Day 6 Fun Day At Sea, Day 7 Galveston
Carnival Vista
- Ship/ Cruise: 7 Days Western Caribbean from Galveston, TX
- Departure Date: March 6
- Itinerary: Day 1 Galveston, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Cozumel, Day 4 Grand Cayman, Day 5 Montego Bay, Day 6-7 Fun Day At Sea, Day 8 Galveston
Carnival Horizon
- Ship/ Cruise: 6 Days Western Caribbean from Miami, FL
- Departure Date: March 14
- Itinerary: Day 1Miami, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Ocho Rios, Day 4 Grand Cayman, Day 5 Cozumel, Day 6 Fun Day At Sea, Day 7 Miami
Carnival Miracle
- Ship/ Cruise: 6 Days Baja Mexico from San Diego, CA
- Departure Date: March 7
- Itinerary: Day 1 San Diego, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Cabo San Lucas, Day 4 Cabo San Lucas, Day 5 Fun Day At Sea, Day 6 Ensenada, Day 7 San Diego
Carnival Sensation
- Ship/ Cruise: 5 Days Western Caribbean from Mobile, AL
- Departure Date: March 1
- Itinerary: Day 1 Mobile, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Cozumel, Day 4 Yucatán (Progreso), Day 5 Fun Day At Sea, Day 6 Mobile
Carnival Panorama
- Ship/ Cruise: 7 Days Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles, CA
- Departure Date: March 6
- Itinerary: Day 1 Long Beach (Los Angeles), Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Cabo San Lucas, Day 4 Mazatlán, Day 5 Puerto Vallarta, Day 6-7 Fun Day At Sea, Day 8 Long Beach (Los Angeles)
Carnival Glory
- Ship/ Cruise: 7 Days Western Caribbean from New Orleans, LA
- Departure Date: March 7
- Itinerary: Day 1 New Orleans, Day 2 Fun Day At Sea, Day 3 Cozumel, Day 4 Grand Cayman, Day 5 Montego Bay, Day 6-7 Fun Day At Sea, Day 8 New Orleans
Carnival Pride
- Ship/ Cruise: 7 Days Bahamas from Baltimore, MD
- Departure Date: March 7
- Itinerary: Day 1 Baltimore, Day 2-3 Fun Day At Sea, Day 4 Princess Cays, Day 5 Nassau, Day 6 Freeport, Day 7 Fun Day At Sea, Day 8 Baltimore
Carnival Ecstacy
- Ship/ Cruise: 4 Days Bahamas from Jacksonville, FL
- Departure Date: March 4
- Itinerary: Day 1 Jacksonville, Day 2 Freeport, Day 3 Nassau, Day 4 Fun Day At Sea, Day 5 Jacksonville
Ships Not Sailing In March
The following vessels are, as of now, not scheduled to sail in March:
- Carnival Valor
- Carnival Fascination
- Carnival Spirit
- Carnival Legend
- Carnival Paradise
- Carnival Magic
- Carnival Radiance – Will return in May 2021 after a complete facelift
- Carnival Celebration – Arrival scheduled for 2022
- Mardi Gras – Maiden voyage April 24
- Carnival Imagination – Has been scrapped in September
- Carnival Inspiration – Has been scrapped in September
Phased-In Return
It is important to know that Carnival is planning a phased-in return to service and just because there are many ships set to sail in March, things could still change. Always check with the cruise line for the very latest departure details and itineraries.
The cruise line is working on getting crew members back to the ships ready for resuming cruises next year. It’s going to take a lot of time to prepare and implement new health measures. Crew will have to be trained and trial sailings need to be completed to stress test any new protocols.
Carnival Horizon already arrived back in PortMiami recently to start the preparation but the ship has not yet received approval from the Centers for Disease Control as we reported here. Carnival does need to follow the framework on the Conditional Sailing Order that was announced by the CDC on October 30, 2020.
