Carnival Cruise Line announced today an important step in the cruise restart process. Carnival Corporation has received approval from the U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that the Phase 2A Port Agreements for Miami, Galveston, & Port Canaveral have been accepted.
             The Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze are currently scheduled to re-start cruising from Galveston and the Carnival Horizon is scheduled to re-start cruising from Miami in July 2021. Carnival's press release notes Port Canaveral is a re-start priority and specific plans from the port will be announced in the coming days. 
                    This acceptance is an important step in the process to resume cruises because under the CDC's Conditional Sail Order cruise lines must have agreements with homeports prior to the start of simulated cruises or full guest operations. However, there are still more steps to go before cruising can resume.

What specific protocols are involved with these first ships back in service? 
      Unfortunately, this information has not yet been announced for the Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze, and Carnival Horizon's first cruises back. Carnival originally was planning on making an announcement this week, but due to changing guidance and information Carnival is now saying by June 14th. This was communicated in an email to guests traveling on the ships' July and August sailings. 

For more information please check out Carnival's press release:  Click Here (link will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide and to the Carnival News website). 

        Carnival Cruise Line has started the process of releasing the cruise itineraries and departure schedules for summer 2023, fall 2023, and spring 2024. Typically, Carnival makes bookings available in small batches and starts with ships that are staying in the same homeports. Within the next few months, I expect Carnival to continue opening itineraries and when homeport changes are being made Carnival will likely do a press release. For now, we just have to wait and see what additional ship deployments are coming. Please keep in mind itineraries and ship deployments are subject to change & updates may not be posted here. 
​This post was last updated: 5/28/2021

Galveston, Texas
Carnival Vista
The Carnival Vista is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 7 night cruises from Galveston. Cruises for the Carnival Vista out of Galveston are now open for booking through April 2024.

Carnival Breeze
The Carnival Breeze is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston. Cruises for the Carnival Breeze are now open through April 2024. 

Miami, Florida
Carnival Horizon
The Carnival Horizon is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 6 & 8 night cruises from Miami. Cruises for the Carnival Horizon out of Miami are now open for booking through April 2024.

Carnival Celebration
The Carnival Celebration is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 7 night cruises from Miami. Cruises for the Carnival Celebration are now open for booking through April 2024. 

Carnival Sunrise
The Carnival Sunrise is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Miami. Cruises for the Carnival Sunrise are now open for booking through April 2024. 

New Orleans, LA
Carnival Glory
The Carnival Glory is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 7 night cruises from New Orleans. Cruises for the Carnival Glory out of New Orleans are now open for booking through April 2024. 

Carnival Valor
The Carnival Valor is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from New Orleans. Cruises for the Carnival Valor out of New Orleans are open for booking through April 2024.

Los Angeles (Long Beach), CA
Carnival Panorama
The Carnival Panorama is scheduled to continue sailing from Los Angeles, CA and has bookings open through April 2024. The newly released sailings show the Carnival Panorama will have a variety of 6, 7, and 8 night cruise options. 

Carnival Radiance
The Carnival Radiance is scheduled to continue sailing from Los Angeles, CA and has bookings open through April 2024. The newly released sailings show the Carnival Radiance will continue primarily sailing 3 and 4 night cruises. 

New York, NY
​Carnival Magic
The Carnival Magic has cruises from New York, NY scheduled to sail from June 2023 - September 2023. During the Carnival Magic's deployment from New York the ship will primarily sail 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 night cruises. 

San Francisco, CA
​Carnival Miracle
The Carnival Miracle is scheduled to sail from San Francisco from May 2023 - August 2023. During this time the ship will sail alternating 4 and 10 night cruises. The 10 night cruises are scheduled to sail to Alaska and the 4 night cruises are scheduled to sail to Baja. 

Tampa, FL
​Carnival Paradise
The Carnival Paradise is scheduled to continue sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Tampa, Florida. Cruises for the Carnival Paradise are now open for booking through April 2024. 

Mobile, AL
​Carnival Sensation
The Carnival Sensation is scheduled to continue primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises from Tampa, Florida. Cruises for the Carnival Sensation are now open for booking through April 2024. 

All information was compiled from Carnival Cruise Line's booking engine. Please visit Carnival's website for more information. All information is subject to change at any time! Make sure you check Carnival's website or with your travel agent for any changes to the ship's itineraries. ​

       Last week Carnival Corporation announced three of its brands, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Holland America, intend to have Alaska cruises sailing for part of the 2021 Alaska cruise season. 

Vaccine Requirement
     One important note in Carnival Corporation's press release is the Alaska cruise sailings will be for vaccinated guests only. The final dose of the vaccine must have been given at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and the press release notes guests will be required to present proof of the vaccination. 

Carnival Cruise Line
             The Carnival Miracle is scheduled to be Carnival Cruise Line's only Alaska ship for the 2021 Alaska cruise season. It was previously announced the Carnival Miracle was taking over for the Carnival Freedom's Alaska itineraries. The Carnival Miracle's Alaska cruises are scheduled to sail round-trip seven night cruises from Seattle, Washington starting July 27, 2021. In September 2021 one 8 night cruise is scheduled to take place to end the Alaska cruise season for the Carnival Miracle.

Princess Cruises
                Princess Cruises has the Majestic Princess scheduled to sail Alaska cruises from July 25 - September 26, 2021. The ship will offer seven night cruises and is scheduled to sail to ports such as Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and have a scenic cruise day in Glacier Bay National Park. 

Holland America Line
                      Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to begin sailing Alaska cruises from Seattle, Washington starting July 24, 2021. The ship has port of calls scheduled for Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and scenic cruises scheduled for Glacier Bay and Stephens Passage. 

For Carnival Corporation's press release please click here. This link will open in another window away from RyG's Cruise Guide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous changes to the cruise industry, including operating plans. Please note the information contained in this post is subject to change and could change at any time. I highly recommend checking your cruise line's website and any recent press releases for the most up to date information. 
                

      Carnival Cruise Line announced this past week a new Red, White, & Blue exterior paint hull design for all ships. The paint scheme will be similar to the one on Carnival's newbuilds, Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. 
           According to Carnival's press release, the Carnival Magic will be the first ship to have this new paint scheme. The Carnival Magic is currently in dry-dock in France and will leave dry-dock with the new paint design. The next ship to receive the paint scheme will be the Carnival Glory, which is scheduled for dry-dock in June 2021. Carnival did not mention the exact order for which ships will be next, but their press release other ships will receive the new colors as they go to dry-dock. 

To View A Rendering Of The Carnival Magic's Exterior Paint Scheme: 
Click Here
This link will take you to Carnival's News website. The rendering of the Carnival Magic is at the bottom of Carnival's press release.

       Today the Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze sailed into Galveston, Texas. The ships will be spending time in Galveston to get the crew vaccinated and continue preparing for an eventual return to cruising. There have not been cruise ships docked in Galveston since April 2020. After the shutdown lasted longer than a month, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean repositioned their ships in their efforts to repatriate crew members home. Since that time Galveston's two cruise terminals have sat without cruise ships. 
              The Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze are the first cruise ships back in Galveston in over a year! This occasion was marked by a "Sail-A-Bration" hosted by the Port of Galveston in between the two cruise terminals. The gathering was open to the public. 
                      I was in Galveston for the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista's arrivals. I watched the ship's arrival on the pier outside of the Harborhouse Hotel and Oceanstar Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum. There was quite a crowd out here and many people brought lawn chairs. I arrived two hours prior to the ships' arrivals and nearly every space along this pier was claimed.  After the watching the ships get close to docking, I headed towards the area in between cruise terminal 1 and 2 for some pictures since this area was open to the public for today's special occasion. 

Carnival Breeze's Arrival
                  The Carnival Breeze sailed out of Galveston until 2018 as a seven night cruise ship, but is now back to sail 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston when cruises resume. The ship arrived first and turned around before docking at cruise terminal #2. Click any photo to make it larger!

Carnival Vista's Arrival
              The Carnival Vista arrived shortly after the Carnival Breeze and did not turn around. The ship docked at cruise terminal #1. Prior to the COVID shutdown, the Carnival Vista sailed 7 night cruises from Galveston. Here are some pictures of the Carnival Vista arriving in Galveston: 

Area In Between Cruise Terminal 1 and 2
This area is normally closed to the public and when cruise ships are in is used to facilitate the delivery of food, supplies, and fuel to the ships. The Port of Galveston opened up the area between the two cruise terminals for public viewing of the ships' arrivals. After the ships docked I walked over to this area to take a look at both ships. A gate separated each cruise terminal from this area, but the gates were opened. The police officers and security guards allowed pictures of the ships to be taken, but we were not allowed to walk onto the cruise terminal piers. 

Additionally, I want to give a shoutout to EZ Cruise Parking. They opened one of their parking lots for today's special event and allowed FREE parking. Thank you to EZ Cruise Parking for their generosity! 

       I love cruising and over the years there are songs that I enjoy listening to in the days before a cruise because these songs remind me of being on a cruise ship. This list is part 1 of 3 of my cruise music playlist. All of these songs have been heard by me on a Carnival Cruise ship. I have included the title & artist of the song as it appears on the playlist I have in Spotify. 

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of this playlist!