Carnival opens 300-plus Port Canaveral cruises for 2028-29

Carnival’s new five-ship Port Canaveral schedule includes more than 200 visits to its Celebration Key private island, and every Carnival Glory sailing stops there.

Carnival Cruise Line just put cruises on sale that won’t leave the dock for about 18 months.

On Nov. 5, Carnival opened its 2028-29 Port Canaveral schedule: more than 300 departures on five ships sailing year-round. Trips range from three-day Bahamas getaways to 14-day Southern Caribbean voyages, the cruise line said in a news release.

The star of the lineup is Carnival’s own private destination. The schedule includes more than 200 visits to Celebration Key on Grand Bahama, and every Carnival Glory sailing stops there.

Cruise Hive reported the schedule runs from May 2028 through April 2029. By our math, using the guest counts Cruise Hive published, the five ships carry about 21,400 guests combined.

Here’s a look at Celebration Key:

Which Carnival ships sail from Port Canaveral in 2028?

Here’s the lineup, with guest counts from Cruise Hive:

• Carnival Glory (2,980 guests): Three- to five-day trips to the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. Three-day cruises spend a full day at Celebration Key. Four-day cruises add Nassau or RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay.

• Mardi Gras (5,270 guests): Also three to five days. About half the five-day trips visit Celebration Key, Nassau and RelaxAway. The rest head to Amber Cove and Grand Turk.

• Carnival Breeze (3,690 guests): Week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises leaving Sundays, plus four 14-day Carnival Journeys.

• Carnival Firenze (4,126 guests): Week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises leaving Saturdays.

• Carnival Festivale (5,356 guests): Six- and eight-day Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises.

Week-long stops include Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Thomas, Belize, Cozumel and Isla Tropicale, Carnival said.

What are Carnival’s 14-day Journeys from Port Canaveral?

These are the longest trips on the schedule. Carnival Breeze sails four of them round trip from Port Canaveral, Cruise Hive reported:

• Oct. 15, 2028

• Nov. 26, 2028, the Sunday after Thanksgiving

• Jan. 7, 2029

• Feb. 18, 2029

Carnival said the Journeys cruises visit 13 Southern Caribbean destinations, including Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Kitts.

Two weeks in the Southern Caribbean in January. Just saying.

What is Celebration Key?

It’s Carnival’s private destination near Freeport on Grand Bahama. Cruise Hive describes beaches, lagoons, food trucks and waterslides. Carnival’s newsroom marked its first birthday this year.

Celebration Key is part of what Carnival calls its Paradise Collection. The other stops in that group on this schedule are RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay; Amber Cove; Grand Turk; Puerta Maya; and Isla Tropicale.

The island shows up on every Glory cruise, on Festivale’s six-day Eastern Caribbean cruises, and on some Mardi Gras and Breeze trips.

What is Carnival Festivale?

Festivale is Carnival’s fourth Excel-class ship, a sister to Mardi Gras. Cruise Hive reported it’s under construction at Meyer Werft in Germany and scheduled to debut in May 2027. Carnival’s own site lists it as coming in 2027.

From Port Canaveral, Festivale’s six-day Eastern Caribbean cruises stop at Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. Its eight-day cruises go to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten, or to Aruba and Curacao.

How do you book Carnival’s 2028-29 Port Canaveral cruises?

They’re on sale now at carnival.com, by calling 1-800-CARNIVAL, or through travel advisors and online travel sites. Carnival didn’t list prices in its release.

Port Canaveral is about an hour east of Orlando, and Disney Cruise Line sails from there too. If your family likes to bolt a cruise onto a theme park trip, this is the port that makes it easy.

Carnival has been busy rolling out 2028-29 schedules. It opened sailings from Baltimore on Oct. 29, according to its newsroom.

Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Hat Tips:

• Carnival Cruise Line (Nov. 5, 2026), the 2028-29 Port Canaveral lineup, itineraries, Celebration Key visits and booking details

• Cruise Hive (Nov. 5, 2026), the tip, guest counts, departure days, May 2028 to April 2029 window, Journeys dates and Festivale details

• Cruise Industry News (Nov. 5, 2026), confirmation of the ship lineup and itineraries

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