This year on July 4th Carnival's ships will not be sailing regular cruises due the service pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, in past years Carnival has had events and special dessert cakes to celebrate Independence Day (Fourth of July) on their ships. In this post I will take a look at some of the activities, events, and special food items Carnival has previously had to celebrate the United State's Independence Day. 

​Does Carnival do fireworks on the ships for the Independence Day holiday?
             One question that is frequently asked is if Carnival Cruise Line does fireworks on the ships. Carnival does not do fireworks shows on their ships for any holidays, such as Independence Day or when celebrating on New Year's Eve. I personally would enjoy seeing a fireworks show from the ship, but right now Carnival does not do fireworks. 

Events Generally Held On Carnival's Ships To Celebrate:

• 4th of July Bash -  Carnival's website shows ships will hold a 4th of July themed deck party in the evening. When I cruised over the 4th of July in 2018, my cruise had a special 4th of July themed deck party at 1:00pm. The time will most likely vary depending on the events scheduled for the day. 
• Misc. Outdoor Activities - Carnival has previously held an ice cream eating contest on the 4th of July. On my cruise over the 4th of July, this event has held as part of the outside deck party. If you cruise during the 4th of July and want to try to be a participant in this event, I recommend looking at your copy of the Fun-Times daily newsletter to see if this event is being held during your cruise. 
• Line Dancing -  Carnival's website shows line dancing is a part of the 4th of July celebrations on the ships. 
• Carnival's website says some of the activities offered may included themed trivia games, bingo, and a slot tournament. The bingo and slot tournament will cost extra to participate. I am unsure of how the bingo & slot tournament games are changed to have a theme related to the 4th of July, but two are events Carnival will generally offer on sea days. 
• For ships with SeaSide Theaters, Carnival will show American themed movies. On my Carnival Valor 2018 cruise, the movies shown were Independence Day and Captain America: The First Avenger. The specific movies that could be shown if you cruise during the 4th of July could vary. 

Is any special food offered during the 4th of July in the buffet?
                Carnival's website does not specifically describe food offered on the 4th of July. However, during my experience on the Carnival Valor in 2018 the ship's buffet served several cakes & desserts that were red, white, & blue. The other food items in the buffet and main dining room on this day were the same as what would typically be offered. Here are a few pictures of the desserts offered during my Carnival Valor 2018 cruise: 

               If you are cruising during the 4th of July in the future I recommend you check out your daily activity newsletter, the Fun-Times, to make sure you don't miss any special events that may be held on your cruise.
If you would like more information about what Carnival's website says will be done onboard check out this page of their website: Click Here (link will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide) 

Carnival Horizon
                    The Carnival Horizon is scheduled to continue sailing from Miami, Florida, and has cruises scheduled through April 2023. During this time the Carnival Horizon will continue primarily sailing 6 & 8 night cruises. ​

Carnival Paradise
                    The Carnival Paradise is scheduled to continue sailing from Tampa, Florida, and has cruises scheduled through April 2023. During this time the Carnival Paradise will continue primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises.      ​

Carnival Panorama
                    The Carnival Panorama is scheduled to continue sailing from Los Angeles, California. The ship has cruises scheduled through April 2023. During this time the Carnival Panorama will continue to primarily sail alternating 7 night cruise itineraries. ​

Carnival Spirit
                     Carnival recently opened the Carnival Spirit's bookings for May 2022 and June 2022 only. During these two months the ship will sail from Brisbane, Australia. 

Carnival Splendor
                     Carnival recently opened the Carnival Splendor's bookings for May 2022 and June 2022 only. During these two months the ship will sail from Sydney, Australia. ​
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It's time to wait for more Carnival ships to be released! I'm hoping more will be posted soon!

Last Updated:  Thursday, July 2, 2019

Please keep in mind itineraries are subject to change at any time and I am not affiliated with any cruise line so I have no control over itineraries. All of this information was compiled from Carnival's booking engine, is subject to change, and does not reflect all sailings that each ship does. When I use the term "primarily sail" I intend to mean this is what the ship does the majority of the time, which does not mean all cruises the ship is scheduled to sail. ​

          Although this year's cruises have been disrupted due to coronavirus, Carnival Cruise Line is already looking to the future. Recently Carnival Cruise Line opened bookings for the 2022-2023 cruise season.
               One of the first ships to have cruises opened for May 2022-April 2023 is the Carnival Panorama out of Long Beach, California. The Carnival Panorama was launched into service near the end of 2019. No other itineraries are open yet out of Long Beach, California. 
                Carnival has also opened a few sailings in May and June 2022 for Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. Right now the booking engine is showing some Carnival Splendor sailings from Sydney during both of these months. The Carnival Spirit is also showing sailings from Brisbane, Australia throughout May & June 2022. Carnival has not opened any itineraries for Australia past June 2022 yet. 
                      Additional itineraries will likely be posted to the booking engine in the coming weeks and months. It is not yet clear if any Carnival ships will be switching homeports, but hopefully this information will be known soon.

This information was compiled by looking at Carnival Cruise Line's booking engine on their website. Itineraries and ship deployments are subject to change. 

       Earlier this week Carnival Cruise Lines announced an extension in the pause in service of cruise operations. The announcement of this pause in service indicated that all Carnival Cruises were cancelled through September 30th. 
              Carnival Cruise Line previously announced some other ships had cancelled cruises that go beyond this date. These ships are as follows:​
1.  Carnival previously cancelled all San Francisco cruises for the year 2020. 
2.  The Carnival Sunrise's cruises through & including October 19, 2020. This cancellation was already announced prior to this week's announcement.
3. The Carnival Legend's sailings through and including the October 30, 2020 voyage are cancelled. This cancellation was already announced prior to this week's announcement.
​4.  The Carnival Radiance's sailings through and including the November 1, 2020 voyage are also cancelled. The Carnival Radiance is supposed to be the transformed Carnival Victory. Construction was supposed to begin earlier this year, but had to stop due to the coronavirus pandemic and an inability to work on the ship in Spain. The cancellation of these cruises was announced prior to this week's additional cancellation of cruises.
​5.  Carnival's announcement also indicated the Carnival Spirit's Alaska, Hawaii, and Trans-Pacific cruises through & including October 6, 2020 are cancelled. This was previously announced.

              Any ships that were not specifically mentioned on Carnival's website are currently cancelled through September 30, 2020. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear if any additional cancellations will occur. 
                 Guests on the affected cruises were given options by Carnival. One option offered is to receive a full refund. The other option is to receive a future cruise credit that is good for the amount paid plus Carnival will offer onboard credit to guests that take this option. If the cancelled cruise was 6+ days, the onboard credit with this option is $600, but if the cancelled cruise was 5 days or less the onboard credit is $300. The full terms and conditions related to the refund option or future cruise credit option should have been emailed to guests. If you are one of the guests trying to make a decision on which option to choose make sure you read the full terms and conditions that were sent to you. 

All of this information was compiled on June 24, 2020. Information is subject to change and additional cancellations can occur. For my information source as well as to check for any updates to information I recommend you check out Carnival's website:  Click Here (you will be taken away from RyG's Cruise Guide) 

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Update: In a subsequent pause in service Carnival Cruise Line announced a suspension of cruises through the end of September 2020. The information in this article is no longer accurate. 

         Today Carnival Cruise Line announced a plan for a phased in-return to cruise operations after the pause in cruises due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Gradual Ship Reintroduction Plan
              Before discussing Carnival's plan to gradually return ships to cruising, it is important to note this plan is contingent on multiple factors, cooperation with authorities, and may include some different operational protocols.  Carnival had to release a follow-up statement after this morning's press release because media outlets were not fully covering this fact that this plan is contingent on numerous factors. 
              As of today's press release (5/4/2020) Carnival's plan to return to service includes sailings from Galveston, Miami, and Port Canaveral (Orlando). The following ships from these homeports will be allowed to resume cruising on August 1, 2020:

• Galveston, Texas: Carnival Vista, Carnival Freedom, and Carnival Dream
• Miami, Florida:  Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic, and Carnival Sensation
• Port Canaveral, Florida:  Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation

The other Carnival ships will not be returning to service until at least after August 31. It is unclear at this time which homeports or ships will be part of Carnival's next planned phased in return to service. Also, it is important to keep in mind things can change which could alter this current plan.

If you want to read more about Carnival's phased-in return to service or want to learn about which cruises were cancelled today please click here. The link will take you to Carnival's news website. 

       The Carnival Elation has been in dry-dock for the past few weeks to get several new enhancements and maintenance. Now that the dry-dock is almost over, Carnival has started updating its website and the ship's deck plans to reflect some of the changes made to guest areas of the ship. 

1. 30 New Staterooms Added
            At the back of the Promenade Deck, Carnival added 30 new staterooms. These staterooms are located where the Cole Porter aft lounge used to be. Based on the deck plans, most of the new rooms are either balconies or interior staterooms. I will update this once Carnival has updated the booking engine with specific room information. 

​2.  Addition Of A Limelight Lounge
           Due to the Cole Porter nightclub being converted into staterooms, Carnival needed to find a space to replace the old aft-lounge. During this dry-dock, Carnival converted the old nightclub to be a Limelight Lounge. Typically the Limelight Lounge is used for events such as the Punchliner Comedy Club or karaoke. 

3. Alchemy Bar
                The Alchemy Bar was added during this dry-dock. Guests on the Carnival Elation can find the Alchemy Bar located near the back of the Promenade Deck where Gatsby's Great Bar used to be located. The Alchemy Bar concept allows cruisers to have their bartender mix a variety of ingredients together to form custom drinks and cocktails. 

4. Cherry On Top
                     Carnival added a Cherry On Top to the Carnival Elation's Promenade Deck. The Carnival Elation's Cherry On Top can be found on the Promenade Deck near the internet cafe and Java Blue Cafe. Cherry On Top sells a variety of candies and sweets. 

5.  Java Blue Cafe 
                         The Carnival Elation's old coffee bar (called the Musical Cafe) was replaced during this dry-dock with the Java Blue Cafe. The Java Blue Cafe serves a variety of coffees and beverages for a fee. 

6.  Dreams Studio
                         The Dreams Studio was added to the Carnival Elation during this dry-dock. This studio is commonly used for photo sessions scheduled with the ship's Pixels Photo gallery photographers. Guests on the Carnival Elation can find this located by the Carnival Elation's casino where the old formalities shop used to be. 

7.  Bonsai Sushi Express
                             Near the front of the Carnival Elation's Promenade walkway by the casino guests will be able to see Bonsai Sushi Express. Bonsai Sushi Express serves a variety of sushi, sashimi, and rolls to cruisers that want to quickly get a bite to eat. This feature is not complimentary, which means guests do have to pay a little extra.

8.  Routine Maintenance and Work Completed
                              Although cruise guests usually look forward to enhancements made during a dry-dock, one of the main purposes of a dry-dock is do maintenance of the ship. This could vary from work to the ship's systems all the way to carpeting or refreshing basic things in the ship's public areas. 

All of this information is from the Carnival Elation page on Carnival's website. I also looked at the ship's updated deck plan when writing this post. More information could be announced soon, so I will update if I see or hear about anything else! 

        The first day of the voluntary USA cruise suspension is now in progress. This cruise suspension was announced yesterday by Cruise Lines International Association and later confirmed by Carnival Cruise Line. A letter from Carnival states cruises are cancelled through Friday, April 10th. Today in Galveston the Carnival Vista and Carnival Freedom both arrived as normal to let cruisers off.
              I traveled down to Galveston today to see both ships. The Carnival Vista was docked at cruise terminal #1 and the Carnival Freedom was docked at cruise terminal #2. The area outside the cruise terminal was crowded with debarking passengers, but not nearly as crowded as a normal cruise ship turnaround day. Some crew members could be seen in the area around the cruise terminals. It felt like a normal day even though there will be no embarking guests.

Here are some pictures from my visit down to Galveston: 
Click Any Picture To Make It Larger!

       The coronavirus outbreak situation has affected numerous people across the world. Cruise lines around the world have been feeling the impact of the coronavirus situation. Today (3/13/2020) Cruise Lines International Association Announced a voluntary suspension of US cruise operations. The voluntary suspension is scheduled to begin at 12:00am on Saturday, March 14, 2020. 
(Note:  Cruise lines can take this a step further and voluntarily suspend operations for longer if they wish).

What about cruises currently sailing?
               There will be numerous cruise ships throughout the United States that are scheduled to dock tomorrow for homeport operations (this is normal). When these ships dock, the ships will conduct debarkation operations. However, this voluntary suspension of cruises means that embarking guests will not be getting on. For cruises expected to end at a later time, most likely these cruises will end their voyages at the normally scheduled time unless an individual cruise line makes the decision to end the cruise earlier or is instructed to do so by authorities. 

What if my cruise was one of the sailings that is now suspended?
                  Check your cruise line's website for specific information about how cancellations are being handled. The entire coronavirus situation has been evolving over the past few weeks and cruise lines are having to constantly update information available to guests, travel agents, and employees. 

I Need To Talk To My Cruise Line, But The Phone Lines Aren't Working: What Should I Do?
                         The only thing I can recommend is you keep trying. Several people have reported online that calling cruise lines has been extremely difficult and the phone wait times have been long. This is due to several people calling with questions and to cancel or modify a booking. If you use a travel agent, I recommend calling him or her. 

This information is intended to be generic. For more information on the CLIA voluntary suspension I recommend you click here to view CLIA's press release. Please note, information is subject to change and can vary by cruise line. Please check with your cruise line for the latest information. 

           One lunch option offered on a few of Carnival's ships is a custom pasta station. When a guest arrives at the pasta, they are instructed to fill out a form that has a variety of pasta, sauce, and fillings that go into a custom pasta bowl. When the guest is finished filling out the form, a hostess will bring the form to crew members cooking the pasta and they will make the bowl to the guest's specifications. 

What ships have the Pasta Bar? 
                The Carnival Dream, Carnival Breeze, Carnival Magic, Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Panorama, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Sunrise have the pasta bar.  Unfortunately, not all ships have the pasta bar.  This feature is expected to be on the Carnival Radiance (transformed Carnival Victory) and Mardi Gras when these ships debut.

Is the Pasta Bar the same as Cucina Del Capitano?
                    On all of the ships that have the pasta bar (except for the Carnival Dream) the pasta bar is located in Cucina Del Capitano's space at lunch. At lunch, the Cucina Del Capitano space is used for the complimentary pasta bar. Cucina Del Capitano serves a variety of Italian dishes to guests at dinner for a fee (it is s a specialty dining venue).  Some people have confused the pasta bar and Cucina Del Capitano in the past. Keep in mind the pasta bar is only open at lunch and is complimentary. Cucina Del Capitano is only open at dinner and is not complimentary. If you are confused about what is free or not, ask a crew member before ordering (just to be safe). 

What options are available for my pasta bar bowl?
Pasta Types:  Linguini, Penne, & Farfalle
Sauce:  Pomodoro (Tomato Basil), White Clam Sauce, Bologonese (Meat Sauce), Alfredo, & Butter Sauce
Other Items: Grilled Chicken Strips, Italian Sausage, Garlic Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Onions, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant, Broccoli, Spinach, and Arugula 

Besides custom pasta dishes, the Pasta Bar also has meat lasagna. For a side dish, guests can ask for a caesar salad and/or bread. 

General Tips For Filling Out The Order Form:
1.  Do not forget to write your name on the form. This helps the crew members keep track of who each order belongs to.
2.  If you want extra of something or very little of an item, feel free to write a little note by the item on the form. Since this food option is very custom, the bowls are put together as each order is placed. It should not slow down the process to put a little or extra of an item in a bowl for a guest. 

Is this venue open daily on the cruise?
               On typical cruises, the pasta bar is open each day at lunch of the cruise (including port of call days). You can check the Pasta Bar's hours in the Carnival Fun-Times newslettter or on the Carnival Hub App's dining section. 

Can I get my food to go from the Pasta Bar?
                    Although you cannot order your food to go, once you have it you are able to take it with you. Some people prefer to get their food and eat it outside or in the main buffet. 

Is pizza served at the Pasta Bar?
                     Although the Pasta Bar has an italian theme, pizza is not a part of the Pasta Bar concept. All Carnival ships have a pizzeria open 24 hours that is complimentary. Look for your ship's pizzeria on the Lido Deck if you are hungry for pizza. 

       Carnival Cruise Line's 2020 newbuild, the Mardi Gras, is still under construction and will be making its debut later this year. Carnival recently updated the deck plans of the Mardi Gras to include some virtual tours of some of the ship's public areas. Once the ship enters service and has completed cruises, I am sure we will see many Mardi Gras cruise reviews with pictures, but at this time Carnival has given us some virtual tours of a few public areas to enjoy. 
      Viewing these virtual tours is extremely easy. I will give you a step by step tutorial on how to find these virtual tours on Carnival's website: 

​1)   Go to Carnival Cruise Line's official website. The Mardi Gras has its own separate ship page & profile that contains a variety of photos, information, deck plans, and more. To make this easy on you, here is a direct link to this page:  https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/mardi-gras.aspx#home    (Link will open in a separate window) 

2.  Once you are on the Mardi Gras' page on the Carnival website look for a page called "Deck Plans". When this first comes up you may have to click another button that says "View Deck Plans". If this is the case for you click on "View Deck Plans". When you have the screen below appear you will be in the right place: 

4.  When you click on the deck of your choice, it should appear. You can zoom in using a scroll bar at the bottom of the deck plan. Find a public area with a red circle that has a white cross in it. This means that you are able to see more on this public area. Click on that red circle and a little pop-up should open that pertains to that area. At the bottom of this little pop-up you should see "Images" and "360-View". Click on the "360 View" to view the virtual tour. If "360 view" is not listed, that probably means this area of the ship has no virtual tour available. ​

These Areas Have The 360-View Virtual Tours Available On The Deck Plans:
These areas have 360 views (in no particular order): ​
Deck 4:  Family Harbor Lounge
Deck 5:  Cloud 9 Spa Thermal Suite
Deck 6:  Piano Bar 88, Mardi Gras Theater, Atrium Lobby, Punchliner Comedy Club, Java Blue Cafe, Cherry On Top, Fortune Teller Bar, The Brass Magnolia & Emeril's Bistro 1396
Deck 7:  Mardi Gras Casino, Alchemy Bar, & Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse 
Deck 8:  Havana Bar, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Bonsai Sushi, La Piazza, Rudi's Seagrill, Guy's Pig & Anchor Brewhouse, The Watering Hole, & Patio Pool
Deck 16: Street Eats, Blue Iguana Cantina, Beach Pool, & Red Frog Tiki Bar
Deck 17: Guy's Burger Joint & Red Frog Tiki Bar
Deck 18: SportsSquare, The Utlimate Playground, & Carnival WaterWorks

Some Additional Notes:
-   These 360 views (virtual tours) Carnival has provided are of renderings. The ship is still under construction, which means the actual public areas are not finished yet.

     Thank you Carnival for providing this feature on the Carnival Mardi Gras' deck plans! While these are only renderings, cruisers can still use these to tour the ship and get excited about their upcoming vacation.