November 20, 2025
New Deployment Supports Continued Growth in the Texas Market and Growing Interest in Longer Caribbean Itineraries from Tampa
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE PRESS RELEASE. MIAMI (Nov. 20, 2025) – Carnival Cruise Line today announced a change in its 2027/28 deployment plan, saying that Carnival Sunshine will homeport in Galveston, Tex. instead of Carnival Spirit, and Carnival Spirit will now homeport in Tampa, Fla. Sailing 3,000 guests, Carnival Sunshine brings added capacity to Galveston to support the market’s growing demand for cruising, while also homeporting the ship at the Port of Galveston for the very first time. Carnival Spirit’s move to Tampa includes offering a variety of new Caribbean itineraries.
“We’re excited to introduce Carnival Sunshine to Galveston for the first time and bring Carnival Spirit to Tampa,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This move allows us to serve more guests in Galveston where we continue to see strong demand and introduce new, longer Caribbean itineraries for guests sailing from Tampa.”
With Carnival Sunshine’s arrival, Carnival maintains its four-ship plan in Galveston, offering a wide range of four- to 10-day Caribbean sailings beginning Nov. 2027. Shorter cruises will visit Mexico, including calls in Cozumel and Progreso, while longer sailings will reach a broader selection of destinations, including Cozumel; Belize; Celebration Key; RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay; Grand Turk; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Limón, Costa Rica; Colón, Panama; Isla Tropicale, Roatán; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Additionally, Carnival Sunshine will open eight new sailings, including a special 10-day itinerary visiting Cozumel, Isla Tropicale, Montego Bay, and Grand Cayman. To view the sailings, click here.
Carnival Spirit will offer a variety of six-, seven- and eight-day itineraries from Tampa visiting popular Caribbean destinations including Belize, Isla Tropicale and Grand Cayman, as well as Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico. Carnival Spirit will also offer six eight-day itineraries traveling to the Panama Canal, visiting destinations like Limón; Grand Cayman; and Colón. On Jan. 30, 2028, the ship will offer a 13-day Carnival Journeys cruise visiting Grand Cayman, Limón, Colón, Aruba, Curaçao and Ocho Rios. To view sailings, click here.
For additional information on Carnival Cruise Line and to book a cruise vacation, call 1-800-CARNIVAL, visit www.carnival.com, or contact your favorite travel advisor or online travel site.
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ABOUT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the first cruise line to sail over 100 million guests and is proud to be known as America’s Cruise Line, for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than any other. Since its founding in 1972, Carnival has continually revolutionized the cruise industry and popularized the cruise vacation as an affordable and fun travel option. Carnival operates from 13 U.S. and two Australian homeports, as well as seasonally from Europe and employs more than 50,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.
Carnival’s fleet of 29 ships reflects an exciting period of growth that continues with the addition of five ships through 2033: a fourth and fifth Excel class ship scheduled for 2027 and 2028 respectively; followed by three additional new ships from an innovative new class currently under development. Carnival’s newest guest offering is its all-new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, which recently debuted on Grand Bahama.
MEDIA CONTACT: media@carnival.com
