Carnival Cruise Line Details Big Plan for Three US Homeports
Chalk up another big win for Port Canaveral, soon to be the homeport for one of Carnival Cruise Line’s newest Excel-class ship, Carnival Festivale, the fourth vessel in the class.
The cruise line confirmed the deployment, along with several other future port changes, as part of a broad, April 6, 2025 announcement revealing an ambitious five-year strategic plan.
It was the first time that the name of Carnival Festivale, and her sister ship in the Excel class, Carnival Tropicale, were disclosed. Carnival Festivale will be based at the Central Florida port when she debuts in 2027, joining Mardi Gras, which has been homeported there since her debut in 2021.
But the Space Coast port is not the only winner in Carnival Cruise Line’s future plans. Mobile, Alabama, and Baltimore also received good news, with the cruise line pledging to substantially increase its presence in both destinations.
In Mobile, a drive-to port on the Gulf Coast and an easy embarkation choice for cruisers in the US South, Carnival Cruise Line will expand its presence from seasonal to year-round Caribbean voyages starting in 2027.
Carnival has a 20-year history with the port, which served as the base for Carnival Ecstasy before that ship was scrapped in 2022.
The 2,124-guest Carnival Spirit was deployed to Mobile starting in the fall of 2023 and has since split her time between the Alabama port and Seattle, where she is based for Alaska cruises from mid-April to early October.
The Mobile expansion fits into the cruise line’s strategy to have a presence in secondary markets, helping it maintain its goal to offer a cruise embarkation option that is less than a five-hour drive for half of the US population.
Carnival Cruise Line has not yet revealed whether Carnival Spirit will be the ship deployed year-round. Currently, the ship is scheduled to sail from Mobile only through March 2027.
In Baltimore, the cruise line has decided to boost capacity by basing a larger ship at the port. Currently, the 2,124-guest Carnival Pride serves the port. The Spirit-class ship in 2027 will be replaced by an as-yet-unidentified Conquest-class ship that can accommodate 1,000 more guests.
Carnival Pride has been based at Baltimore since 2009. It temporarily shifted operations to Norfolk, Virginia, following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.
Baltimore is also considered a secondary market and an important drive-to port in the mid-Atlantic US.
Port Canaveral Ready to Welcome New Carnival Festivale
Port Canaveral, the second-busiest cruise port in the world behind PortMiami, is celebrating Carnival Cruise Line’s decision to homeport a second Excel-class ship at the destination starting in 2027.
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Carnival Festivale, which will have the capacity to accommodate up to 8,000 guests, will sail 7-night Caribbean cruises and join the line’s Mardi Gras, also of the Excel class. The addition of Carnival Festivale will enable the cruise line to offer short cruises on Mardi Gras, which currently sails 7-night voyages.
“We’re thrilled that Carnival Cruise Line has selected Port Canaveral as the homeport for their latest Excel-class ship,” said Capt. John Murray, CEO of Port Canaveral.
“We are very proud of our 35-year relationship with Carnival Cruise Line and this deployment is a reflection of our partner’s confidence in our Port to consistently deliver a high-quality experience for its guests,” Murray added.
When Carnival Festivale begins sailing from Port Canaveral she will be the sixth liquified natural gas-powered ship to be based at the port, which has taken a leading role in offering cruise lines access to the cleaner fuel option.
Both Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale are under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.
Carnival Cruise Line Details Big Plan for Three US Homeports