Carnival Salutes America’s 250th on 10 Sailings

Carnival Salutes America’s 250th on 10 Sailings

Carnival Cruise Line has unveiled details about 10 sailings for 2026 that will commemorate America’s 250th birthday.

The sailings comprise ship meetups and unique patriotic experiences, the line announced in a press release.

The cruises include itineraries ranging from three to eight days. They will sail from six homeports: Miami, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, New York City, Long Beach, and San Francisco.

On July 4, 2026, America’s 250th birthday, seven ships sailing from east coast homeports will meet up near Celebration Key for a celebration at sea, while three ships will unite off the west coast near Ensenada.

During the meetups, each ship will host patriotic birthday-themed deck parties. The cruises will also feature patriotic entertainment and food and drink offerings.

“We’re America’s cruise line, and we’re commemorating this milestone in a big way! Uniting our ships will multiply the fun and make America’s 250th birthday even more memorable for guests who celebrate at sea,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

From the East Coast, guests can choose from short getaways that include sailings on the Carnival Conquest or the Carnival Glory, both departing on July 3, 2026. These will offer three-day escapes to Celebration Key at Grand Bahama from Miami and Port Canaveral respectively.

Departing July 2, 2026, the Carnival Sunrise will sail a four-day Bahamas cruise from Miami, and the Carnival Elation will sail to the Bahamas on a four-day cruise from Jacksonville.

Guests looking for a longer sailing can select a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Celebration from Miami, departing on June 28, 2026. They will visit Celebration Key, Nassau, Amber Cove and Grand Turk.

An eight-day Eastern Caribbean sailing on Carnival Vista from Port Canaveral, departing on June 27, 2026 – calling at San Juan and St. Thomas – is also available.

For northeastern guests, the Carnival Venezia will leave New York City on July 1, 2026, for an eight-day cruise that visits Celebration Key, Nassau, and Half Moon Cay.

Guests can join the celebration from the West Coast with three cruise options departing from California.

On July 3, 2026, the Carnival Firenze will sail a three-day Baja Mexico cruise from Long Beach over the July 4th weekend, while the Carnival Luminosa sails a four-day option, departing July 2, 2026, from San Francisco. Each feature stops in Ensenada.

On June 30, 2026, the Carnival Radiance will sail a five-day Mexican Riviera cruise from Long Beach, visiting Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. The three ships will also unite at sea on July 4, 2026.

Carnival Elation Resumes Service After Drydock

Carnival Elation Resumes Service After Drydock

The Carnival Elation is welcoming guests back today following a routine drydock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

After two weeks out of service, the 1998-built cruise ship is departing on a short cruise to the Bahamas.

Sailing from Jacksonville, the five-night itinerary features visits to Nassau and Princess Cays, as well as two full days at sea.

Now one of the oldest ships in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, the Elation underwent routine maintenance during the shipyard visit.

Work carried out in the period included class inspections, technical overhauls and upgrades, as well as hotel upkeep and minor updates to public areas and cabins.

The vessel also became the latest to receive the Carnival’s new hull livery, which includes a stately navy-blue hull along with vibrant red and white accents running the entire length of the entire ship. First introduced by the Mardi Gras, the new colours are being added to the entire fleet.

In 2020, during its previous drydock, the Elation received several new venues, such as Bonsai Sushi Express, JavaBlue Café and Alchemy Bar.

A few years before, in 2017, the 70,367-ton vessel had also seen the addition of other signature venues and experiences of Carnival Cruise Line, including the company’s WaterWorks aquapark and new dining options like Guy’s Burger Joint, RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Cantina and BlueIguana Tequila Bar.

The Elation also received new cabins during both refits, with 38 extra cabins added in 2017 and 30 more added in 2020. Private balconies were also added to a total of 98 existing staterooms during the first refurbishment.

Sailing year-round from its homeport in Jacksonville, the 2,040-guest vessel offers a series of four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas.

In addition to Nassau and Freeport, the itineraries feature visits to Bimini and Princess Cays – a private island destination owned by Princess Cruises.

Along with the Carnival Paradise, the Elation is one of the original eight Fantasy-Class ships that remains in service.

Carnival Triumph headed to New Orleans in 2016

Carnival Triumph

Carnival Cruise Line will increase New Orleans capacity when the 3,143-passenger Triumph is transferred from Galveston to replace the 2,052-passenger Elation in the spring of 2016.

The Triumph will sail four- and five-day Mexico cruises from Galveston, starting April 4, 2016. The other ship in New Orleans, the 3,652-passenger Dream, sails seven-day cruises.

The Elation will shift from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Fla., and the Fascination will move from Jacksonville to San Juan. The Elation will sail year-round four- and five-day Bahamas cruises, and the Fascination will sail seven-day Caribbean voyages.

As previously reported, Below is the 12th Feb. article.

Carnival Breeze and Liberty will sail from Galveston

To make way for the new Carnival Vista when it is deployed in Miami in November 2016, Carnival Cruise Line will shift the Carnival Breeze to Galveston, Texas.

Also, Carnival will position the Carnival Liberty in Galveston in 2016. It has just repositioned Carnival Freedom to Galveston, where it is aggressively courting new business.

“Miami and Galveston are among our most popular points of embarkation, and deploying our newest, most innovative ships to these home ports speaks volumes about our confidence in growing these markets,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

The Carnival Triumph and Magic, currently sailing from Galveston, will be redeployed with details to be announced at a later date. 

Prior to the start-up of year-round service from Miami, Carnival Vista will operate a pair of voyages roundtrip from New York, beginning with a three-day cruise Nov. 4-7, 2016, followed by an 11-day voyage departing Nov. 7 and visiting Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua and St. Maarten.  

Carnival Vista will then offer an 11-day transit cruise from New York to Miami from Nov. 18-29, with calls at Grand Turk, Bonaire, Aruba and St. Maarten.

Its first cruise from Miami will be a four-day cruise to Grand Turk, departing Nov. 29. Thereafter it will do alternating six- and eight-day Caribbean itineraries, mixed with a few one-time, one-off voyages, Carnival said.