Carnival Cruise Line contacted customers booked for two different cruises on board Horizon Carnival their routes change. One of the cruises leaves next month, but the other isn’t even next year – it’s 18 months away.
Horizon Carnival Route changes
In an email sent on Friday, November 18, 2022, Carnival Cruise Line informed customers of two separate sailings from the Vista class Horizon Carnival their routes change.
“We continue to refine operational plans for your cruise and have made some changes to the itinerary of the sailings listed below,” the email read.
December 2022
The December 18, 2022 sailing, a 6-night Western Caribbean sailing, was originally scheduled to have visited Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Now the ship will visit Montego Bay instead of Ocho Rios in Jamaica, although other ports of call remain the same.
In Montego Bay, the ship will be docked from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., instead of the 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that had been scheduled for Ocho Rios. This gives guests an extra hour to explore the colorful and distinctive harbour.
No other port times are impacted on navigation, and the two days at sea – one to start the cruise, the other to end it – are also unchanged.
June 2024
Surprisingly, the second route change for Horizon Carnival is a completely independent route, not even in the same year or the following year. Instead, the second modified cruise is the June 8, 2024 sailing, an 8-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, which is much more radically modified.
Originally, the itinerary first included two days at sea, followed by four days of port visits: Aruba, Curaçao and two ports in the Dominican Republic. Another day at sea completed the itinerary.
Now the revised itinerary is as follows: two days at sea, Bonaire (replacing Curaçao), Aruba (date and time changed), two ports in the Dominican Republic (days and times unchanged) and one day at sea.
For December 2022 and June 2024 itineraries, Horizon Carnival is miami sailingwhere the ship is homeported until at least early 2025.
Other than at “refining operational plans” no explanation is given for either route change. Overall port operations, deployment of other ships in the fleet, construction of docks and other factors often influence route changes.
While the December 2022 change comes at short notice for travellers, the June 2024 change allows plenty of time to research the new stop in Bonaire and make plans to enjoy this destination.
Shore visit options
Due to these itinerary changes, modifications to shore excursions are also required.
Tours to Ocho Rios and Curacao have been automatically canceled and will be refunded to customers’ original method of payment as these ports have been removed from their respective itineraries.
The email indicates that “Montego Bay tours will be available for purchase on Carnival.com in two weeks” during visits to Bonaire “will be available for purchase by the end of the year.”
The most popular shore excursions at most cruise ports can sell out quickly, and guests interested in certain experiences should be sure to pre-book their reservations to secure their space.
No further compensation or credit is offered to passengers affected by these itinerary changes, and cruise lines are not required to offer additional compensation when a port of call is changed.
Any cruise line has the power to change an itinerary at any time, whether it’s just a month before a cruise, more than a year before departure, or even en route to a destination.
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