Earlier today, Royal Caribbean announced it would be repositioning the Adventure of the Seas to Galveston in 2020.  The Adventure of the Seas will sail 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston. 
           Based on Royal Caribbean's booking engine, the Adventure of the Seas will begin sailing from Galveston in November 2020. The ship's 4 night cruises will depart on alternating Mondays and the ship's 5 night cruises will depart on either Wednesday or Friday depending on the week's schedule. Typically, 4 night cruises will sail to Cozumel and 5 night cruises will sail to Cozumel and Costa Maya or Progreso (5 night port of calls vary depending on the cruise). 
            The Adventure of the Seas is a part of Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class ships. Galveston has been homeport to other ships of this size in the past such as the Voyager of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, and Navigator of the Seas. However, in the past, this size of ship sailed 7 night cruises from Galveston. This time a ship of this size will be sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston. The Adventure of the Seas will be joining the Liberty of the Seas, which has been sailing 7 night cruises from Galveston.

Adventure of the Seas Quick Facts:
Year Launched: 2001
Gross Tonnage (approx.):  137,276 gross tonns
Length:  157 feet wide
Double Occupancy:  3,114 guests


For more information about the Adventure of the Seas' cruises out of Galveston please visit Royal Caribbean's website. Information for this post is from Royal Caribbean's press center. Click Here for Royal Caribbean's press center.

        Last week, Carnival Cruise Line announced the name of its 2020 new ship. The ship's name will be the Carnival Mardi Gras, which is a tribute to Carnival's first cruise ship the "TSS Mardi Gras". 
             The original Mardi Gras began Carnival's fleet of ships when it left from Miami in 1972. This ship was purchased used and was only 27,000 tons. 
               In comparison, the Carnival Mardi Gras will be Carnival's largest ship when its makes it debut in 2020. The ship will be Carnival's first liquid natural gas powered ship and, according to Carnival, will be the first ship in North America to be powered by liquid natural gas. The lower berth passenger capacity of the ship will be 5,200 passengers. At this time, we are still awaiting specific details of the ship's features and amenities. The ship's United States homeport will be Port Canaveral, but no additional itinerary information is available at this time. Carnival is expected to release more itinerary details in January 2019. 
                  In 2022, Carnival will be launching another XL class ship that will join the Carnival Mardi Gras. No additional details about the 2022 XL class ship are available at the time of writing. However, in the meantime, we can wait for more details about the Carnival Mardi Gras while it is constructed at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. 

For more information as well as an exterior rendering of the Carnival Mardi Gras:  Click Here  (link will open in a new window and away from RyG's Cruise Guide)
             

     Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding adding a third cruise terminal to Galveston. According to the Port of Galveston's press release, the agreement defined the terms for a long term lease with Royal Caribbean that could lead to up to 60 years. 
         We currently do not have any specific designs or renderings for Cruise Terminal #3. However, the current estimation for the terminal's opening is Fall 2021. The new cruise terminal will be located on Pier #10 which is not too far down Harborside Drive from Galveston's Cruise Terminal #1 and #2. For those that are not familiar with Galveston, the Port of Galveston's current cruise terminals are located right next to each other. In order for a new cruise terminal to be constructed on Pier #10, the Port of Galveston says improvements to the pier bulkhead. Furthermore, parking, loading, staging, and other areas to facilitate the proper homeport operations of a cruise ship will be needed. 

What cruise ship will Royal Caribbean move to Galveston?
We do not have this information yet, but more than likely the ship will be larger than the Liberty of the Seas. The Liberty of the Seas currently sails seven night cruises from Galveston year-round.

​For more information please visit the Port of Galveston's official press release:  Click Here  (Link will open in a new window and away from RyG's Cruise Guide)

        Carnival Cruise Line has posted the Carnival Dream's May 2020 through April 2021 itineraries. The Carnival Dream will sail 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston during this timeframe. 
               The Carnival Dream will begin sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston in May 2019. At this time, the Carnival Dream will be the Carnival Valor's replacement and will mark a capacity increase for 4 & 5 night Carnival Cruises from Galveston. 
                   In the newly released itineraries the Carnival Dream's 4 night cruises will typically depart on Thursdays and sail to Cozumel. The Carnival Dream's 5 night cruise itineraries will depart on alternating Mondays and Saturdays. The ports of call for the 5 night cruises depend on the itinerary. Some of the 5 night itineraries sail to Cozumel & Progreso, but others sail to Cozumel & Costa Maya. If you are interested in a particular itinerary, make sure you check the dates the particular itinerary is being offered.
                 Although the Carnival Dream will be approximately five years old when it begins sailing from Galveston, Carnival has already upgraded many of the ship's features. The Carnival Dream has several Fun Ship 2.0 features such as Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and Bonsai Sushi. 

For more information please visit Carnival's official website and view the booking engine. The itinerary information was compiled from Carnival's official booking engine.

This morning Carnival Line Cruise Line announced a major overhaul of the Carnival Victory that will take place in spring 2020. After leaving dry-dock the Carnival Victory will become the Carnival Radiance. This dry-dock will begin on March 18 and end on April 26, 2020 (approximately 38 days). Here are the details we have at this time: 

Where will the dry-dock take place?
This dry-dock is scheduled to take place in Cadiz, Spain. 

What will the ship's new name be?
 Carnival Radiance

When will Carnival announce the ship's homeport and itineraries?
    Carnival's press release says itineraries will be open for booking by mid-November. The Carnival Radiance's page on Carnival's website says November 15th. Furthermore, Carnival's website is allowing people to sign up for an alert that will let people know when the itineraries can be booked. 

What class of ships will the Carnival Radiance be considered a part of?
The Carnival Radiance will be the third member of the Sunshine class. The other two ships in the Sunshine class are the Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Sunrise. Currently, the Carnival Sunrise's renovation has not yet occurred and the ship is still sailing as the Carnival Triumph. 

What are some of the new features and amenities the ship will receive?

• Cucina Del Capitano
• Java Blue Cafe 
• Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
• Bonsai Express 
• The Chef's Table
• Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ
• Lido Marketplace
• Red Frog Pub 
• Piano Bar 88
• Limelight Lounge
• Cloud 9 Spa 
• The Warehouse
• WaterWorks
• SportsSquare
• Serenity Adults Only Retreat

The Carnival Radiance will also have features such as Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, Pizzeria Del Capitano,, deli, Skybox Sports Bar, Seafood Shack, and the Alchemy Bar. These features were already on the Carnival Victory, but will remain onboard for the Carnival Radiance.

For additional information please see Carnival's official press release:  Click Here

        The Carnival Vista is now officially sailing from Galveston, Texas. Last Sunday (September 23, 2018) marked the Carnival Vista's first sailing from Galveston. 

About The Ship:
            The Carnival Vista is the first ship in Carnival's Vista Class. Launched in 2016, the ship offers several of Carnival's popular Fun Ship 2.0 amenities. On the Carnival Vista guests can enjoy features such as Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, Red Frog Pub, Alchemy Bar, Library Bar, Piano Bar 88, Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ, and more! In addition, the ship's Red Frog Pub has an onboard brewery. The Carnival Vista was also Carnival's first ship to have an Imax Theater and Skyride. Besides these features, the Carnival Vista has several pools, WaterWorks amenities, and Carnival's SportsSquare ropes course. The Carnival Vista will offer many exciting features to Galveston cruisers!

Sailing From Galveston:
            The Carnival Vista's tenure from Galveston will primarily consist of two itineraries that depart on Sundays. One itinerary sails to Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, and Cozumel. The other itinerary sails to Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize. Starting in spring 2019, the Carnival Vista's sailings will be primarily on Saturdays. 

Other Carnival Ships From Galveston:
                The Carnival Vista is replacing the Carnival Breeze, which previously sailed 7 night cruises from Galveston. However, the Carnival Vista is currently joining the Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom. In spring 2019, the Carnival Dream will be replacing the Carnival Valor. 

For more information please check out Carnival's press release:  Click Here (will open in a new window and away from RyG's Cruise Guide) 

       The Carnival Triumph is soon going to be known as the Carnival Sunrise. Starting in March 2019, the Carnival Triumph will begin a two month dry-dock that will result in the ship receiving numerous features, layout changes, and a new name. Here are the details we have at this time: 

Where will the dry-dock take place?
This dry-dock is scheduled to take place in Cadiz, Spain. 

What will the ship's new name be?
 Carnival Sunrise

What are some of the new features and amenities the ship will receive?

• Cucina Del Capitano
• Java Blue Cafe 
• Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
• Bonsai Express 
• The Chef's Table
• Cherry on Top
• Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ
• Lido Marketplace
• Red Frog Pub 
• Piano Bar 88
• Liquid Lounge
• Limelight Lounge
• Cloud 9 Spa 
• The Warehouse
• WaterWorks
• SportsSquare
• Serenity Adults Only Retreat

The Carnival Sunrise will also have features such as Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, Pizzeria Del Capitano,, deli, Skybox Sports Bar, Seafood Shack, and the Alchemy Bar. These features were already on the Carnival Triumph and will be in the same general location when the ship becomes the Carnival Sunrise. 

         Today, Carnival Cruise Line announced the Carnival Legend will be repositioning to Tampa, Florida, in October 2019. The ship will primarily sail seven night cruises from Tampa and is replacing the Carnival Miracle, which currently sails 7 night cruises from Tampa.
             Prior to arriving at Tampa, the Carnival Miracle will sail Alaska in summer 2018, return to Australia for the fall/winter of 2019, and return to Alaska for summer of 2019 as well. After the Alaska cruise season in 2019, the Carnival Legend will sail a 16 night Hawaii voyage departing Vancouver on September 26, 2019. This cruise will end in Los Angeles. On October 12, 2019, the Carnival Legend will begin its repositioning with a 15 night Panama Canal cruise departing Los Angeles that ends in Tampa. 
                   Although the Carnival Legend will primarily sail seven night cruises from Tampa, Carnival has a few special voyages planned for the ship. For example, on January 25, 2020, Carnival has an 8 night partial Panama Canal transit cruise from Tampa. Another different itinerary is a 14 night Panama Canal cruise departing Tampa on December 1, 2019. More details about these cruises can be found on Carnival's website. 
                  As of the time of writing this, the Carnival Legend is in dry-dock. Carnival's press release today said the ship is receiving Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, upgrades to Camp Ocean, upgrades to Circle C, and work to the ship's retail spaces. This means the Carnival Legend will have several popular Fun Ship 2.0 features when it arrives in Tampa in October 2019. 

For more information, check out Carnival's website and Carnival's press release. Click here for Carnival's press release. This link will open in a new window away from RyG's Cruise Guide.

        Last week, the Carnival Dream experienced an incident with a water pipe. Around 6:00pm, on Thursday, May 3, a water line broke and effected 50 staterooms on Deck 9. 
         Carnival did a great job handling this incident both onboard the ship as well as from a public relations perspective. After the waterline break, the crew members of the Carnival Dream worked tirelessly to replace hallway carpeting, stateroom carpeting, and bedding that was effected by the water. All of this work was completed in 6 hours according to Carnival's public relations department. 
            The guests in the effected staterooms, received a full refund as well as a future cruise credit from Carnival. Furthermore, Carnival offered these guests a chance to leave the ship and fly home at Carnival's expense if they wished. 

Good job Carnival and the crew on the Carnival Dream for a great job handling this incident!

         This week Carnival Cruise Line announced the Carnival Paradise will sail additional cruises to Cuba in 2019. These voyages are in addition to the Cuba cruises Carnival previously announced for the Carnival Paradise and Carnival Sensation. 
              These 20 newly announced cruises will take place throughout 2019. Here are the itineraries Carnival released:

5 Night Havana & Key West Itinerary
               This itinerary is scheduled to sail to Havana (with an overnight stay) and a visit to Key West. Please note, the overnight stay in Havana is not a full overnight, but means the ship will leave at a designated time (depending on the voyage) overnight. Carnival scheduled 10 of these sailings in 2019. The current scheduled 2019 sailing dates for this itinerary are: March 2, April 13, May 25, June 22, July 6, August 3, August 17, September 14, September 28, and October 26. 

5 Night Havana & Cozumel Itinerary 
                 This itinerary is scheduled to sail to Havana (daytime only) and Cozumel. Carnival scheduled this itinerary for the Carnival Paradise 6 times in 2019. The current scheduled 2019 sailing dates for this itinerary are: January 5, March 16, May 11, August 31, November 9, and December 7. 

5 Night Havana, Cozumel, and Key West Itinerary 
                       This itinerary is scheduled to sail to Havana, Cozumel, and Key West. Each of the three ports will be during the daytime only. Carnival only scheduled this itinerary four times for the Carnival Paradise in 2019. The sailing dates for this itinerary in 2019 are: February 16, June 8, July 20, and October 12. 

For more information regarding these newly announced itineraries please check out Carnival's official press release (click here) for visit Carnival's website (click here). Both of these links will open in a new window and take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide.