Key Aspects:
- Carnival’s booking system will undergo planned maintenance from 9 p.m. ET on May 8 through 3 p.m. ET on May 9.
- During this time, guests will not be able to book new sailings or manage existing reservations.
- If guests want to feel productive, they can still research the cruise line’s offerings or opt in to the new Rewards Program during the outage.
If you’re planning to book a new Carnival cruise, don’t expect to do it between 9 p.m. ET on Friday, May 8 and 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 9. During this time, Carnival’s reservation system will be unavailable due to planned maintenance.
“In efforts to better support you and help you plan in advance, please be advised our reservation systems will be undergoing maintenance and will be temporarily unavailable,” Carnival wrote in an email to Cruise Hive.
Unlike past situations, such as when a glitch kicked guests off the website and the Hub app for days and impacted pre-cruise purchases in December of 2025, this is a planned outage.
The outage is not expected to extend beyond the listed time frame, but Cruise Hive will monitor the situation and issue an update if there are any last-minute changes.
In the past, Brand Ambassador John Heald has also shared updates with the cruising community when technology has been uncooperative, though he has not posted about the planned maintenance as of the time of this publication.
What Features Will be Unavailable?
During the 18-hour outage, guests will be unable to make new reservations or manage existing bookings.
Calling the cruise line also won’t make a difference. Just like cruisers at home, Carnival’s customer service representatives will also be unable to update reservations or make new bookings on behalf of eager guests.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,” Carnival apologized.
Additionally, travel advisors will be unable to use the GoCCL Dashboard to access new booking information or to claim bookings in the Loyalty Rocks! rewards program, which offers training and benefits for industry professionals.
In the meantime, guests can research and fantasize about their upcoming cruise vacations so they are ready to book once the systems are back online. Carnival’s marketing pages with information about the cruise line’s many offerings will still be accessible.
Maintenance Will Not Impact Rewards Program Enrollment
While Carnival guests won’t be able make or alter reservations for a little while, they can still opt in to Carnival’s Rewards Program, which goes into effect on September 1, 2026.
In early May, Carnival guests were informed that they must opt in to the new Rewards Program by August 31, 2026, in order to maintain their VIFP status during the transitionary period.
The top-tier Diamond members will keep their status for life thanks to a program revision, while all other guests will maintain their earned loyalty status through at least December 31, 2028.
The process is very quick, and is done by clicking the link in a personalized email that was sent to all VIFP members. It’s at least something that guests can do to feel productive while they wait for the booking system to come back online.
