Following last week's decision to change the itineraries on eight ships, Carnival has announced three more ships have had their itineraries adjusted on select sailing in 2025 and 2026.
According to Carnival's cruise contract, they can tweak itineraries, ranging from minor changes to the hours in a specific port to completely changing scheduled calls.
The previous changes were made on sailings onboard Carnival Jubilee, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Elation, Carnival Magic, Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Glory, and Carnival Conquest.
Thankfully, all adjustments were made far enough in the future to give passengers enough time to change their plans—if necessary. Carnival Cruise Line will automatically refund cruise line-sponsored excursions for canceled ports, as well as adjust tour times based on new arrival and departure times.
The new changes are on Mardi Gras, Carnival's first Excel Class ship; Carnival Freedom, a Conquest Class ship launched in 2007; and Carnival Spirit, Carnival's only ship to seasonally sail from Mobile, Alabama.
Read more: 15 things I wish I knew before setting foot on a Carnival ship
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras was the first cruise ship in the world to feature a roller coaster onboard. Now found on Carnival Celebration and Jubilee, the 180,800 gross registered ton Mardi Gras remains the only Excel Class homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida.
The earliest Mardi Gras cruise impacted is the May 3 departure. The 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise will now operate with changed days and port times for each call.
The notice to booked guests didn't include specific information regarding the changes, indicating that the cruise is still scheduled to visit Nassau, Bahamas; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. The May 31, 2025, sailing will experience similar changes, with the weeklong Caribbean cruise featuring altered days and port times.
Passengers on the February 12, 2026 cruise were notified that the dates for their calls at Amber Cove and Grand Turk have been swapped. This sailing is also scheduled to visit Celebration Key, Carnival's new private destination in The Bahamas.
Read more: Carnival Ships By Age: Newest to Oldest
Carnival Freedom
Carnival Freedom, another ship based out of Port Canaveral, Florida, saw changes to existing itineraries in 2025 and 2026, starting with the January 3, 2025 departure, which swapped the visits to Princess Cays and Nassau.
Four cruises saw Princess Cays added to their itineraries, while Half Moon Cay, Carnival's private island in The Bahamas, was dropped. Princess Cays is still a private destination; however, it's located on the island of Eleuthera miles away from Disney's Lighthouse Point. The impacted sailings include the September 4, 2025; September 7, 2025; January 17, 2026; and March 23, 2026 departures.
The 5-night Eastern Caribbean cruise departing on May 5, 2025, replaced Bimini with Amber Cove and adjusted the time in port. Grand Turk is still on the itinerary as a scheduled port of call.
Finally, Carnival Freedom's December 1, 2025, cruise swaps the days the ship will call at Celebration Key and Nassau. Moreover, the time in Nassau, Bahamas has been changed.
Read more: I'm new to Carnival and tried 4 different kinds of cruise ships, here's what I like about each
Carnival Spirit
The namesake ship of the Spirit Class, Carnival Spirit had just one itinerary change. The impacted cruise departs from Mobile, Alabama, on November 30, 2025.
Now, the 5-night Bahamas cruise will call at Nassau, instead of Bimini. Moreover, Carnival altered the day the ship was scheduled to visit Celebration Key, and, finally, all port times were adjusted.
Carnival Spirit sails to The Caribbean and Bahamas during the fall and winter before repositioning to Washington for a summer stint in Alaska. After her season in The Last Frontier concludes, she returns to Mobile to start her next round of cruises.
Read more: 10 lessons learned after trying Carnival for the first time
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
