Carnival Adjusts Three Alaska Sailings, Two Ships Impacted

Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to guests on three different Alaska sailings on two of its ships this summer, alerting them to itinerary changes. This comes just as the Alaska season is getting underway, and impacts sailings on Carnival Miracle as well as Carnival Luminosa.

Three Alaska Sailings Altered

Three Carnival Cruise Line cruises to Alaska have been modified from their original planned itineraries, according to an email sent to guests booked on the impacted sailings.

Travelers were notified on May 4, 2023, about the changes, two of which are for late June sailings, and the third altered cruise is in late July.

Carnival Miracle Alaska Cruises Adjusted

Two sailings of Carnival Miracle have been adjusted, both in different ways. The June 26, 2023 departure has the port days in Juneau and Skagway swapped, and the departure time in Skagway is also adjusted.

Now, instead of the cruise visiting Skagway on Friday, June 30 and Juneau on Saturday, July 1, Carnival Miracle will visit Juneau on Friday and Skagway on Saturday. Furthermore, the ship will now be in Skagway from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. instead of the original 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., losing one hour of port time.

For the July 24, 2023 Carnival Miracle departure, the visit to Icy Strait Point has been cancelled and replaced with Sitka, and the visit days and port times for Juneau and Skagway have also been adjusted.

In total, guests will gain two additional port of call hours when all port times are compared. One hour is lost in Skagway, but five hours are gained in Juneau, while two hours are lost in Sitka compared to Icy Strait Point.

Carnival Luminosa Itinerary Adjusted

Just one sailing has been adjusted for Carnival Luminosa, which just began its Alaska season the day the schedule change was announced. The June 28, 2023 departure has had the order of visits to Juneau, Skagway, and Sitka changed, while the port times for Juneau have been adjusted.

Originally, the ship was scheduled to visit Juneau on Friday, June 30, from 1-10 p.m. Now, Carnival Luminosa will be in Juneau on Saturday, July 1, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., enjoying four additional hours in Alaska’s capital city.

The ship will be in Sitka on Friday from 1-10 p.m. (a loss of one hour in port), and in Skagway on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (a loss of five hours in port).

For all three adjusted cruises, pre-purchased Carnival shore excursions will be automatically adjusted to the new time and date before the cruise begins, or cancelled if necessary.

“Thank you for your understanding,” the email concludes. “We look forward to welcoming you aboard for a FUN and memorable cruise.”

At this time, there are no confirmed adjustments for Carnival Spirit, the third ship in the Fun Ship fleet to be sailing Alaska in 2023.

Why the Changes?

No explanation has been given for the itinerary adjustments, but there could be several reasons why shuffling the days in port and adjusting visit times may be necessary.

In Skagway, in particular, the White Pass Railroad Dock continues to be under repair from rockslide damage in 2022, and is unable to safely accommodate two large ships simultaneously. Depending on which ships are scheduled in port on particular days, itinerary adjustments may be necessary to ensure all vessels can safely dock.

Just recently, Royal Caribbean International adjusted many Alaska sailings for Quantum of the Seas due to the difficulties in Skagway.

In Juneau, it is possible that changes may be related to the proposed limits on cruise vessels, though those limitations are not scheduled to take effect until 2024.

Any guests booked with any cruise for an Alaska sailing this year should stay in close contact with their cruise line for possible itinerary adjustments, as additional shuffling is likely the busier the season gets.