Carnival Cruise Line has contacted guests booked for two different sailings aboard Carnival Horizon that their itineraries are changing. One of the cruises sets sail next month, but the other isn’t even next year – it’s 18 months away.
Carnival Horizon Itinerary Changes
In an email sent on Friday, November 18, 2022, Carnival Cruise Line has notified guests on two separate sailings of the Vista-class Carnival Horizon that their itineraries are changing.
“We continue to refine operational plans for your cruise and have made some itinerary changes to the sailings listed below,” the email read.
December 2022
The December 18, 2022 sailing, a 6-night Western Caribbean sailing, was initially to have visited Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Now, the ship will visit Montego Bay instead of Ocho Rios in Jamaica, though the other ports of call remain the same.
In Montego Bay, the ship will be docked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., rather than the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that had been planned for Ocho Rios. This gives guests one extra hour to explore the colorful and distinctive port.
No other port times are impacted on the sailing, and the two days at sea – one to begin the cruise, the other to end it – are also unchanged.
June 2024
Surprisingly, the second itinerary change for Carnival Horizon is a completely unrelated itinerary, not even in the same year or the next year. Instead, the second cruise being changed is the June 8, 2024 sailing, an 8-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, which is being much more dramatically altered.
Originally, the itinerary first spent two days at sea, followed by four days of port visits: Aruba, Curacao, and two ports in the Dominican Republic. Another day at sea finished the itinerary.
Now, the revised itinerary is as follows: two days at sea, Bonaire (replacing Curacao), Aruba (date and time both changed), two ports in the Dominican Republic (days and times unchanged), and a day at sea.
For both the December 2022 and June 2024 itineraries, Carnival Horizon is sailing from Miami, where the ship is homeported through at least early 2025.
Other than to “refine operational plans” no explanation is given for either itinerary change. Overall port operations, the deployment of other ships in the fleet, dock construction, and other factors often figure in to itinerary changes.
While the December 2022 change comes on short notice for travelers, the June 2024 change leaves plenty of time to research the new stop in Bonaire and make plans to enjoy that destination.
Shore Tour Options
Because of these itinerary changes, alterations to shore excursions are also necessary.
Tours in Ocho Rios and Curacao have automatically been canceled and will be refunded to guests’ original form of payment, as those ports have been removed from their respective itineraries.
The email states that “tours for Montego Bay will be available for purchase on Carnival.com in two weeks” while tours for Bonaire “will be available for purchase by the end of the year.”
The most popular shore tours in 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 other compensation or credit is offered to guests impacted by these itinerary changes, and cruise lines are not obligated to offer additional compensation when a port of call is changed.
Any cruise line has the authority to change an itinerary at any time, whether just a month before a cruise, more than a year before setting sail, or even while en route to a destination.
