Yet another Carnival cruise ship is moving up the homeport departure time for more than 100 upcoming sailings. Now, Carnival Celebration will begin her sail away party celebrations 30 minutes earlier than originally scheduled, as her departure times have been changed.
Guests booked on upcoming sailings as soon as March 2025 have been notified of the change, and itineraries are being updated on the cruise line’s website to reflect the new departure time.
“We have revised departure time for your cruise and now plan to sail from Miami at 3:30 PM (instead of 4:00 PM) eastern time,” the notification read.
Guests are advised that they need to be onboard Carnival Celebration no later than the final boarding time that will be printed on their boarding pass in order for the ship to depart as now planned.
Because downtown Miami is often the site of festivals and events, such as the Miami Marathon in early February, the Ultra Music Festival in March, and more, travelers need to be aware of potential traffic concerns or road closures as they head to the cruise port.
Even the 30-minute change in Carnival Celebration‘s departure could make a difference for guests who plan to board the ship later in the afternoon. Allowing enough time to reach the terminal will be essential to ensure travelers do not miss their cruise vacation.
The first impacted sailing that will now have the earlier 3:30 p.m. departure time is Carnival Celebration‘s March 2, 2025 departure – a 7-night Eastern Caribbean voyage visiting Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau.
Every 2025, 2026, and 2027 that is currently online and available for reservations is changed in the same way, and all of Carnival Celebration‘s future cruises will now be leaving 30 minutes early.
At the moment, this includes a total of 105 upcoming sailings, through and including the ship’s March 21, 2027 sailing.
The 183,521-gross-ton, Excel-class Carnival Celebration offers a mix of Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries, with more Eastern routes on her schedule. Depending on the departure date, the ship visits such top ports as San Juan, St. Thomas, Nassau, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and more.
More Than 750 Carnival Sailings Now Moved Up
Carnival Cruise Line has issued a rush of similar changes to different ships in different homeports over the past few weeks.
Ships so far impacted with earlier departure times include Carnival Firenze from Long Beach, California; Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral, Florida; Carnival Paradise from Tampa, Florida; Carnival Horizon along with Carnival Celebration from Miami, Florida; Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Maryland; and Carnival Spirit from Mobile, Alabama as well as Seattle, Washington.
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Each ship has had dozens of departures moved up by 30 minutes. While Carnival Cruise Line has not offered details about exactly why the departures will now be earlier, there could be several explanations.
Carnival Celebration Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Just dance)
The growing use of facial recognition technology at many homeports has dramatically improved debarkation efficiency, which means successive cruises can begin embarkation earlier than ever. Once guests are onboard, the ship can be cleared to set sail.
Similarly, greater efficiency in port operations may permit loading and unloading of supplies, waste, and luggage onto ships more quickly, meaning vessels are ready to go sooner than expected.
When cruise ships can leave port earlier, they may be able to reduce the port fees and taxes, creating savings for the cruise line that can also be passed on to guests.
The real good news for guests onboard any of these now-earlier sailings, however, is that their cruise vacations get to begin just that much more quickly.
Thirty extra minutes of fun onboard a Carnival cruise ship is plenty of time to grab an extra Guy’s burger, enjoy the embarkation-day-only Funfetti cheesecake (have a second slice, you’re on vacation!), take an exciting lap on the Bolt rollercoaster, and much more!
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
