Carnival Adjusts Embarkation for Every Ship at One Homeport

Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to guests booked aboard Carnival Vista, Carnival Dream, and Carnival Breeze to alert them to embarkation changes for all sailings between May 27 and June 3.

Every sailing’s final boarding time has been moved up, and guests will need to adjust their boarding documents accordingly.

Embarkation Final Boarding Time Change

Carnival Cruise Line has emailed notifications to guests booked in the next week aboard all three of its ships based in Galveston, Texas, that the embarkation plans for each sailing have been revised, and guests must now be on board no later than 90 minutes prior to setting sail.

This impacts the next sailings of Carnival Breeze, Carnival Dream, and Carnival Vista, with departure dates from Saturday, May 27, 2023 through and including Saturday, June 3, 2023. Guests on any of those sailings are being asked to update their boarding documents.

“If you have completed Online Check-in and your boarding pass does not reflect this revised final boarding time, please return to access and print/download the newly updated version,” the email instructed.

Two Carnival Breeze Western Caribbean sailings are affected – the 5-night May 27 departure as well as the 4-night June 1 departure. Likewise, two Carnival Dream sailings are impacted, the 6-night May 28 departure for a Western Caribbean cruise, as well as the 8-night June 3 Eastern Caribbean departure.

Two 7-night sailings of Carnival Vista are impacted, the May 27 and June 3 departures, both of which are Western Caribbean itineraries.

Typically, all guests must be onboard a cruise ship no later than 60 minutes prior to the vessel’s scheduled departure time. The revised timing for the three ships in Galveston now requires guests to be on board no later than 90 minutes before departure for these six sailings.

All guests must still adhere to their selected arrival appointment windows, and any passengers arriving earlier than their windows will be asked to return at the appropriate time.

At this time, there are no other alterations for any of the ships’ itineraries, ports of call, or cruising routes, and each vessel is expected to arrive back in Galveston on schedule as planned. Similarly, there is no change to final boarding times for cruises departing after June 3.

“Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. We look forward to welcoming you aboard soon,” the email concludes.

No Explanation Given

There has been no explanation for the change in final boarding time for the six impacted cruises, but it may have to do with customs processing times, which requires that the cruise line submit a final manifest to port authorities prior to setting sail.

Local traffic difficulties, construction, or overcrowding could also be influencing this decision in an attempt to streamline the embarkation process.

Read Also: Huge $53 Million Galveston Terminal Upgrade for New Carnival Cruise Ship

During the impacted week, which includes the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend (May 27-29), two Royal Caribbean International ships are also sailing from Galveston.

Allure of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas both have multiple cruises during the adjustment window. Earlier this month, guests booked aboard Allure of the Seas were notified of “newly implemented US Customs and Border Protection policies” that changed the scheduled all aboard time, moving it up by 30 minutes – the same change now made for the Carnival ships’ final boarding times.

It is unknown whether or not these new policies will be permanently implemented or may just be a temporary measure affecting a few cruises.