Tag Archives: Princess Cay

Cruises Cancelled as Carnival Pride Heads to Drydock in 2026

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Carnival Pride arriving into Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2 Flickr

Carnival Cruise Line has cancelled three cruises onboard the Carnival Pride to accommodate a drydock in early 2026.

According to a statement sent to booked guests, the impacted sailings were set to depart from Baltimore between March 29 and April 12, 2026.

“In our continuous effort to enhance our product, Carnival Pride has now been scheduled for drydock and we’re sorry to inform you that your cruise has been cancelled,” Carnival Cruise Line said.

The cancelled cruises were set to sail to different ports of call in the Bahamas. Sailing for seven nights, the itineraries featured visits to Half Moon Cay, Nassau, Celebration Key and Princess Cays.

Carnival is offering passengers a series of alternatives, including the option to rebook another voyage.

Guests who choose to transfer their reservations will have their cruise rate protected when sailing on a comparable sailing in similar accommodations, the company said.

Carnival is also offering a $50 per person onboard credit (limited to $100 per stateroom) for passengers who choose to rebook their cruises.

For passengers who do not wish to reschedule, the company is offering a full refund of the paid cruise fare and any pre-purchased items.

According to Carnival, the amounts will be automatically returned to the guests’ original form of payment after May 28, 2024.

Following a winter program in Tampa, the Carnival Pride recently repositioned to the East Coast. Currently sailing from Norfolk, the 2001-built cruise ship offers seven- to 14-night cruises to the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Greenland.

Princess Plans for Florida Fleet: Anchorages and Princess Cays Visits

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Sky Princess

With six ships sailing from South Florida, Princess Cruises has put together a detailed plan for what to do with its ships and crew during its temporary suspension of service, according to crew aboard the ships.

The Caribbean Princess, Sky Princess, Regal Princess, Emerald Princess, Crown Princess and Island Princess are in the Caribbean sailing from South Florida and will spend the immediate future at anchorages in the Bahamas with weekly calls into Princess Cays, the brand’s private island.

A substitute port could be Port Everglades, according to a company document.

Calling it an immediate, low-cost layup proposal, the plan keeps the ships ready to return to service on short notice and defers repositioning decisions, according to a letter sent to crew aboard the ships.

The company plans to have the ships stay at Great Isaac Anchorage.

Crew disembarkation plans are pending, and the company plans to have each ship call at Princess Cays once a week, where the crew will be able to use the island.

In its letter sent to the crew, the company also notes operations at Princess Cays will include making space for operations from Carnival Cruise Line vessels.

Carnival to use Royal Caribbean island

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Carnival to use Royal Caribbean island

By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Cruise Lines has arranged with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to use its private island at Coco Cay for selected sailings of two Carnival ships this year.

Starting March 14, the Carnival Fascination will call there 19 times this year on its five-day cruise from Jacksonville, while the Carnival Ecstasy will call 11 times on five-day cruises from Port Canaveral.

For each ship, the calls replace a stop in Key West. The switch is being made to expand and diversify Carnival’s port of call/destination options, Carnival said.

Guests are currently being notified about the itinerary change.

Carnival brands use two other private islands in the Bahamas, Princess Cay and Half Moon Cay, which was developed for Holland America Line.

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said that given the short duration of the cruises and the other ports on the itineraries, it would be difficult to reach Half Moon Cay and still maintain the ships’ published schedule.

In addition, Princess Cay does not offer tender operations, he said.

Asked about payment, Gulliksen said Carnival entered into a commercial agreement with Royal Caribbean for the use of Coco Cay, also known as Little Stirrup Cay.