Yesterday, Carnival Cruise Line announced the Carnival Sensation will begin sailing from Miami to Cuba in 2019. During 2019, the Carnival Sensation will offer 17 cruises that have Cuba as a port of call. These cruises will be five night and have port of call stops at other places such as Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Nassau, and more. The cruises announced for the Carnival Sensation in 2019 are as follows:

Havana and Grand Turk Itinerary
This five night cruise itinerary will have port of call stops in Havana, Cuba, as well as Grand Turk. During 2019, the Carnival Sensation will sail this itinerary four times with departure dates set for May 20, September 9, November 18, and December 16. 

Havana, Nassau, and Half Moon Cay Itinerary 
This five night cruise itinerary will have port of call stops in Havana, Cuba; Nassau, Bahamas; and Half Moon Cay. During 2019, the Carnival Sensation will sail this itinerary five times with departure dates set for June 17, July 15, August 12, September 23, and November 4. 

Havana, Nassau, and Princess Cays Itinerary
This five night cruise will have port of call stops at Havana, Cuba;Nassau, Bahamas; and the Princess Cays. During 2019, the Carnival Sensation will sail this itinerary once on April 22. 

Havana and Grand Cayman Itinerary 
This seven night cruise itinerary will have port of call stops at Havana and Grand Cayman. During 2019, the Carnival Sensation will sail this itinerary on May 6, June 3, July 1, July 29, August 26,October 7, and December 2. 

For more information about these newly announced itineraries check out Carnival's website or visit Carnival's press release. Click Here for Carnival's official press release (will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide & open in a new window). 

The Carnival Paradise is about to undergo a major dry-dock that will last a month. This dry-dock will add brand new staterooms, balconies to several existing staterooms, and many of Carnival's Fun Ship 2.0 enhancements. The Carnival Paradise will resume 4 & 5 night cruises out of Tampa, Florida, on March 26. Here are some of the features added to the ship during its major 2018 dry-dock:

Guy's Burger Joint -  This is a popular Fun Ship 2.0 feature that Carnival has been expanding to its ships. Guy's Burger Joint serves free hamburgers and french fries at lunchtime. Prior to getting Guy's Burger Joint, the Carnival Paradise had a generic hamburger grill on its Lido Deck. The Carnival Paradise's Guy's Burger Joint will be located on the Lido Deck, which is Deck 10.

Blue Iguana Cantina -  The Blue Iguana Cantina is another feature Carnival will add to the Carnival Paradise's Lido Deck. The Blue Iguana Cantina serves burritos and tacos at lunch. Usually, the Blue Iguana Cantina also has some breakfast options too. To compliment tacos and burritos, Carnival's Blue Iguana Cantina also has a salsa bar. The salsa bar has a multitude of options available for cruisers. The Blue Iguana Cantina is complimentary!

Red Frog Rum Bar -  The Red Frog Rum Bar serves frozen drinks and beer for cruisers to purchase. This new Caribbean themed bar will be located on the Lido Deck (10) near the pool. 

Blue Iguana Tequila Bar - The Blue Iguana Cantina Bar serves frozen drinks and beer for cruisers to purchase. This new Mexican themed bar will be located on the Lido Deck (10)  near the pool. 

Camp Ocean -  Camp Ocean is the official replacement to Camp Carnival. Camp Ocean is a youth program that consists of three age groups. Each age group has different activities and is represented by a different sea animal. Ages 2-5 are Penguins, ages 6-8 are Stingrays, and 9-11 are Sharks. Typically, as Carnival implements Camp Ocean the youth program lounges that were previously used by Camp Carnival are upgraded to reflect the this brand new youth program. The Carnival Paradise's main Camp Ocean facilities are located on the Sports Deck (12).  

WaterWorks -  The Carnival Paradise's WaterWorks will be located on the Verandah Deck (11).  Carnival's press release notes the ship will receive an enclosed 300 foot twister waterslide as well as two 82 foot racing slides. In addition, a splash pad area was added too. The entrance to the slides is located on Deck 12 by the ship's funnel.  Prior to having the WaterWorks, the Carnival Paradise had an aft pool. 

New Staterooms:   38 new staterooms will be added to the Carnival Paradise during dry-dock on Deck 14. Previously this area was home to the Sun Deck (14). However, after dry-dock this deck will be known as the Grand Deck. Two of these new staterooms are known as Grand Vista suites that have floor to ceiling windows. Another 22 of these staterooms are junior suites, two are scenic ocean view rooms, and twelve of the staterooms are interior.  

Balcony Staterooms:   Carnival will convert 98 staterooms to have balconies during this dry-dock. These staterooms previously were ocean view rooms (with only a window). Many of these staterooms can be found on the Main Deck, Upper Deck, and Empress Deck in various sections of the ship. 

Total Stateroom Renovation:  Carnival's press release notes all of the Carnival Paradise's staterooms received an interior upgrade to now have a tropical feel. 

Mini Golf Course -  The Carnival Paradise's Mini Golf Course will not change decks, but it will change location. The mini golf course is on the Grand Deck in a place that overlooks the pool. It is unclear if the ship has a jogging track. 

Onboard Retail & Photo Gallery Changes:  Carnival will be added Cherry on Top, which is a pay for venue that allows guests to buy sweet treats and specialties. In addition, all of the Carnival Paradise's onboard retail spaces will be redesigned. For the photo gallery, the Carnival Paradise will be receiving digital screens that will allow guests to view photos.

On a side note, the new highest deck on the ship is now Deck 15. This deck is called the Sun Deck, which was the previous name of Deck 14. 

For more information on the Carnival Paradise I recommend you check out Carnival's official press release (click here) or visit Carnival's website (click here). Both of these places are my sources of information and can provide you with more detail than I gave here. Each link will open in a new window. ​

         Today Carnival Cruise Line announced the homeport of the Carnival Panorama, which is currently under construction and will debut in 2019. The Carnival Panorama's assigned homeport will be Long Beach, California. During the Carnival Panorama's time sailing from Long Beach it will primarily sail 7 night cruises to the Mexican Riviera. 
               Although the Carnival Panorama is currently under construction, we already know several things about the ship. As a member of Carnival's Vista Class it will include features such as the SkyRide, WaterWorks, Bonsai Sushi, Library Bar, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Havana Staterooms, Family Harbor Staterooms, and more. These features were mentioned in Carnival's press release. The Carnival Panorama will carry 3,960 guests (its unclear if this is double occupancy or total number of guests). 
                       Carnival's Long Beach Cruise Terminal was recently upgraded and expanded to allow for bigger ships. Besides doubling the size of the facility's space, Carnival's press release notes that portside power was expanded to allow larger ships to plug into the local electric grid in Long Beach. The renovation also modified the passenger to flow of the terminal. 
                 In addition to announcing the Carnival Panorama's homeport, Carnival also announced it is developing a port in Ensenada. This port of call is typically visited by Carnival ships that depart Long Beach for 3 & 4 night cruises. 
                      Currently, the Carnival Splendor, Carnival Imagination, and Carnival Inspiration sail from Long Beach, California. The Carnival Panorama will be replacing the Carnival Splendor because it is moving to Sydney, Australia. Adding the Carnival Panorama to Long Beach will increase the number of passengers that sail from the port. 

​For more information, check out Carnival's official press release:  Click Here - will open in a new window.

        For the past five years, Carnival Cruise Line has had the Carnival Spirit sailing year round from Sydney, Australia. On a seasonal basis the Carnival Legend would be deployed in Australia too. However, Carnival has announced a major change to its Australia lineup that involves the Carnival Splendor being deployed to Sydney starting in December 2019. 
             Currently, the Carnival Splendor is scheduled to have a maiden voyage from Sydney in December 2019. According to Carnival's press release this will follow a repositioning cruise from Singapore. 
              Prior to its new deployment from Sydney, the Carnival Splendor will undergo a major dry-dock that will involve adding a new waterpark as well as features geared towards Australian cruisers. No additional details about this dry-dock were available at the time of writing. 
              The Carnival Spirit's new homeport has not yet been announced, but Carnival will probably make an announcement soon. 

​If you would like to read Carnival's press release:  Click Here - this link will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide