Carnival switching the Liberty and Valor

Carnival Liberty

The Carnival Liberty's propulsion problems persist, so Carnival Cruise Line said it will continue to operate modified cruises from Galveston, Texas, through the month of November to account for the ship's inability to reach maximum speed.

The five-day cruise departing Nov. 26 will be the Liberty's last from Galveston, as the ship will enter a previously scheduled drydock after that sailing and then be redeployed to Port Canaveral, Fla., to operate short Bahamas cruises starting Dec. 15. The Carnival Valor, meanwhile, will reposition to Galveston from Port Canaveral.

"This change is being made since Carnival Valor is better suited to operate at the higher speeds required for the four- and five-day Mexico itineraries from Galveston while Carnival Liberty is well equipped to handle shorter duration cruises from Central Florida," Carnival said in a statement.

Carnival said its technical team, with the help of outside contractors, "continue to work to fully resolve" the Liberty's propulsion problem.

Carnival canceled two Liberty cruises, the Oct. 31 and Nov. 5 departures, because of the technical issue, and it has modified the Nov. 10, 14, 19 and 26 departures.

For the four- and five-day cruises, Carnival is canceling calls at Progreso, Mexico. During the seven-day cruise departing Nov. 19, calls in Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica, have been scrubbed. All of the modified cruises' departure and return times have been adjusted.

Guests sailing on these voyages will receive a $50-per-person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25% discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of canceling and receiving a full refund.

To allow sufficient time for the Valor to reposition to Galveston, the ship's four-day cruise departing Port Canaveral on Dec. 11 will be shortened to three days. Guests sailing on this voyage will receive a one-day, prorated refund of their cruise fare and a $25 per-person credit to their shipboard account. Guests also have the option of canceling and receiving a full refund.

Carnival will automatically transfer reservations for guests on the Liberty to the Valor and vice versa. Carnival noted that the Valor and Liberty are sister ships with similar accommodations and public venues, including Guy's Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina, the RedFrog Rum Bar and the BlueIguana Tequila Bar.