Five Carnival cruise ships with itineraries in early 2025 and early 2026 are now getting itinerary adjustments for various ports of call in the Bahamas. Some ports are replaced, others have modified times, some visit orders are changed, and other slight shifts are being made.
The cruise line notified guests on the impacted voyages on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, more than four months before the first altered itinerary. This does give travelers ample time to change their cruise vacation plans if they prefer.
Five total ships are impacted: Carnival Freedom, Carnival Magic, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Pride, and Carnival Spirit. In total, 11 voyages are adjusted in this latest round of relatively small changes.
Carnival Freedom
Carnival Freedom is the first ship to be impacted by these new changes, but it isn’t until the ship’s February 10, 2025 departure that any shifts are being made. That 5-night Eastern Caribbean cruise will be replacing the planned visit to Bimini with a stop in Nassau instead, and port times have been modified.
Two of Carnival Freedom‘s March 2026 itineraries have also been slightly adjusted. For the March 9, 2026 departure, the days visiting Celebration Key and Nassau are swapped, though the ship will still be visiting both ports. The time in Nassau has also been slightly changed.
Similarly, the ship’s March 28, 2026 departure is swapping the days visiting Princess Cays and Nassau, though the port times are unaffected for that voyage.
For all three adjusted itineraries, Carnival Freedom is sailing from Port Canaveral and there are no changes related to her homeport arrivals or departures.
Carnival Magic
Two March 2025 sailings for Carnival Magic are being changed. The ship is sailing from Miami, and her March 2, 2025 departure is changing port orders and revising times for both Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay on that 6-night voyage.
The ship’s March 16, 2025 cruise – also a 6-night voyage – will now be visiting Nassau rather than Half Moon Cay, and the time in port will be slightly different than what was planned for the private island.
Carnival Sunrise
Four early 2026 voyages for Carnival Sunrise are impacted, each in a slightly different way. For all four sailings, the ship is homeported from Miami.
First is the ship’s February 7 departure, a 5-night Bahamas cruise. On that sailing, the ship will now be visiting Princess Cays instead of Half Moon Cay, and the order of port visits has changed.
The change is minimal to Carnival Sunrise‘s March 7 sailing, which is only changing the day of visiting Half Moon Cay and with a slightly adjusted port time, though the actual port of call itself is preserved. Neither Nassau or nor Celebration Key are impacted on that 5-night cruise.
On the ship’s March 12 departure, Carnival Sunrise is replacing Half Moon Cay with a stop in Princess Cays instead during the 4-night cruise. The visit to Celebration Key remains unchanged.
Finally, the March 21 sailing date is more dramatically altered, with the ship now visiting Princess Cays instead of Half Moon Cay and the overall port time changed. The days of visiting Nassau and (now) Princess Cays are also changed for the 5-night voyage.
Carnival Pride
Just one cruise is changed for Carnival Pride, but it is a significant one. On the ship’s March 8, 2026 departure, a 7-night Bahamas itinerary from Baltimore, the ship will no longer be visiting either Bimini or Princess Cays.
Instead, Carnival Pride will be stopping in Half Moon Cay and Nassau. The visit to Celebration Key remains unchanged for this cruise.
Carnival Spirit
Likewise, just one cruise aboard Carnival Spirit is impacted in this list of itinerary changes. For the ship’s March 8, 2026 sailing from Mobile, Alabama, the visit to Bimini is now replaced with Nassau, the port order of (now) Nassau and Celebration Key is changed.
Why So Many Carnival Itinerary Adjustments?
Carnival Cruise Line has not explained why so many itineraries are being adjusted in these small ways. Some of the alterations may be due to the new pier construction at Half Moon Cay, during which island operations and capacity may be impacted.
Once the pier is complete, the desire to bring the line’s new Excel-class ships to the private destination may also change plans for other vessels in the fleet.
Read Also: All Carnival Cruise Ships by Age – Newest to Oldest
Similar changes have already been announced for Mardi Gras and Carnival Vista, as well as other itineraries impacted for Carnival Freedom, Carnival Magic, Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine, and Carnival Spirit.
In all cases, any pre-paid shore tours booked through Carnival Cruise Line will be adjusted as needed for changes in port visits, or cancelled if the port of call has been changed. Refunds will be made to the original form of payment.
It is not at all unusual for cruise lines to “tweak” itineraries for more fuel efficiency, streamlined sailing routes, port capacity, or other factors. While some cruise guests may be disappointed at the changes, it is important to note that Carnival Cruise Line reserves the right to change itineraries at any time and without notice if necessary.
By providing advance notice of these changes, the cruise line is giving guests the opportunity to likewise adjust their vacation plans if preferred.
