The Carnival Ecstasy recently underwent a nearly two-week dry-dock at the beginning of October 2019. During this time out of service, Carnival added and updated some features in the ship's public areas as well as used the dry-dock time to do some routine maintenance.

New & Updated Features:
             Carnival added Bonsai Sushi Express to the Carnival Ecstasy during this dry-dock. 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. Bonsai Sushi Express is located on the Carnival Ecstasy's Promenade Deck (Deck 9) across from the Crystal Palace Casino. 
             Another new feature is the Dreams Studio venue. The Dreams Studio is an area for private photography sessions with the ship's photographers. This studio is a part of the ship's Pixels Photo Gallery and Carnival sells photo packages for purchase. The Dreams Studio is located on the Carnival Ecstasy's Promenade Deck (Deck 9) on the same side of the ship as Club 02. 
                   When Carnival added the Dreams Studio, this took the place of the ship's old arcade. The Carnival Ecstasy received a brand new arcade in dry-dock that is now located on the Promenade Deck (Deck 9) where the ship's old conference room was located. 

Other Maintenance: 
               Carnival typically uses dry-dock time to refresh carpet and tile on the ship. Carnival's press release said this dry-dock was used to replace tile, carpet, and furniture in areas where work was needed. 

For more information on the Carnival Ecstasy visit Carnival's website: Click Here (will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide and will open in a new browser window). 

         Carnival Cruise Line announced earlier this week the cruise line will have four year-round cruise ships sailing from Galveston starting in May 2021. Currently, three ships sail from Galveston (Carnival Vista, Carnival Dream. and Carnival Freedom). However, starting in May 2021 the Carnival Freedom will leave Galveston and the Carnival Radiance & Carnival Breeze will begin cruising from Galveston. 

Carnival Radiance To Galveston
          The Carnival Radiance will be deployed to Galveston starting on May 14, 2021. While sailing from Galveston, the Carnival Radiance is scheduled to sail a combination of 5 and 9 night cruises with two 14 night cruises currently scheduled. The five night cruises will visit Cozumel and Progreso or Costa Maya, depending on the sailing date. The Carnival Radiance's 9 night cruises will sail to a variety of ports of call. The first nine day option has scheduled port visits to Cozumel, Limon, Panama Canal (partial transit) or Colon, Panama. The second nine day cruise itinerary option has scheduled port visits to Key West, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. The third nine day cruise itinerary option has scheduled port visits to Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay (Roatan), Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. 
                The Carnival Radiance is a sister ship to the Carnival Sunrise and will be undergoing a 200 million dollar renovation next year. During this renovation Carnival will transform the Carnival Victory into the Carnival Radiance by adding many new features and refreshing the ship. 

Carnival Breeze To Galveston
               The Carnival Breeze will be deployed to Galveston starting May 5, 2021. While in Galveston, the Carnival Breeze will be primarily sailing 4 & 5 night cruises. Four night cruises typically sail to Cozumel and depart on Thursdays. Five night cruises alternate between departing on Mondays and Saturdays and sail to Cozumel & Progreso or Costa Maya. 

Carnival Dream Will Switch To Sail  6 & 8 Night Cruises
​                The Carnival Dream currently sails 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston, but starting in May 2021 the ship will begin alternating between 6 & 8 night cruise vacations. The Carnival Dream's six night cruises are scheduled to visit Cozumel, Mahogany Bay or Belize, and Costa Maya. The Carnival Dream's eight night cruises are scheduled to visit Key West, Freeport, 
Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. 

Carnival Vista Will Continue Sailing Seven Night Cruise Itineraries
                   The Carnival Vista is scheduled to continue sailing 7 night cruises from Galveston that depart on Saturdays. One itinerary sails to Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. The other itinerary sails to Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, and Cozumel.

Where Will The Carnival Freedom Be Repositioning To?
                Although there is excitement about the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Radiance coming to Galveston, several people are wondering where the Carnival Freedom will be redeployed to. When I put this post together, the Carnival Freedom's new homeport is not yet announced. I will come back and update this post once I learn more.  

Check Out My Galveston Cruise Tips & Information Page:  Click Here

Itinerary information is compiled from Carnival's press release and booking engine. All itineraries, ship deployments, and ports of call are subject to change. Please check Carnival's website for updated information!

       Norwegian Cruise Line has opened its bookings for the 2021 Alaska cruise season. During the 2021 Alaska cruise season, Norwegian will have three ships that sail to Alaska. The Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Encore, and Norwegian Bliss will all have Alaska sailings at some point in the season.

Norwegian Bliss
           The Norwegian Bliss will sail seven night round-trip Alaska cruises that depart from Seattle, Washington. One of the ship's seven night itineraries includes Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay (scenic cruising), Ketchikan, and Victoria (British Columbia). The ship's other seven night itinerary includes Ketchikan, Juneau, Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier (scenic cruising), Icy Straight Point, and Victoria (British Columbia). 

Norwegian Encore
         The Norwegian Encore will sail seven night round-trip Alaska cruises that depart from Seattle, Washington. The booking engine appears to have only one main itinerary that includes visits to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay (scenic cruising), Ketchikan, and Victoria (British Columbia). 

Norwegian Jewel
              The Norwegian Jewel will primarily sail seven night Alaska cruise voyages that alternate departing between Vancouver, Canada, and Seward, Alaska. Based on the booking engine, it looks like cruises that depart from Seward will end in Vancouver and cruises that start in Vancouver will end in Seward. The Northbound Alaska cruise itinerary that will begin in Vancouver is seven nights and visits places such as the Inside Passage (scenic cruising), Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay (scenic cruising), and the Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising). The Southbound Alaska cruise itinerary that will begin in Seward is seven nights and visits places such as Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising), Icy Straight Point, Juneau, Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier (scenic cruising), Skagway, Ketchikan,and the Inside Passage (scenic cruising). 

The information for each ship was compiled from Norwegian Cruise Line's website. Itineraries and information is subject to change at any time.