Carnival Cruise Ship Delay After Unexpected Halt

Carnival Cruise Line has informed guests about a delay for the Carnival Vista after the ship unexpectedly stopped at sea while heading back to its homeport in Galveston, Texas. It has resulted in a slightly delayed arrival and departure at its homeport.

Carnival Vista Delay

The Vista-class Carnival cruise ship came to an unexpected stop while it was heading back to the Port of Galveston, Texas, on August 11, 2023. According to an announcement on board at the time by Captain Claudio Bozzo, the Carnival Vista had an issue related to propulsion, resulting in some work.

Even though the standstill was expected only to take 30-45 minutes, passengers onboard have reported it was eventually up to three hours that the ship was halted.

A letter from the Captain to guests on August 11 said, “As I shared in my announcement, our return to Galveston will be later than scheduled tomorrow. We are now expecting to dock at 10:00 AM (CT).“

The letter went on to let passengers know that they may have to adjust their flight departures and keep in mind of any travel time from the port to the airport. Those guests who booked Carnival’s Fly2Fun Air will have their arrangements automatically adjusted.

Read Also: How to Travel from Houston to Galveston, TX Port

Carnival Vista departed Galveston on August 5 on a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise which included calls to Montego Bay in Jamaica, Geirge Twon in Grand Cayman, and then the final call in Cozumel, Mexico, before its eventful return home to Texas.

Impact on the Following Departure

With the August 5 sailing ending later than scheduled, it resulted in a slightly delayed departure for the following August 12 voyage. Guests on the following sailing were informed via a text message that embarkation would be delayed by two hours.

With most guests likely already in and around the Port of Galveston ready for their voyage, no significant impacts are expected on travel arrangements. However, a notice has gone out regarding lane closures via the Galveston Island Causeway between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM on August 12.

The Carnival cruise ship is departing on another Western Caribbean voyage, but with different ports. Carnival Vista will make visits at Roatan in Honduras, Belize, and the final port in Cozumel, Mexico.

Previous Issues, But Dry Dock Coming

Propulsion issues have plagued Carnival Vista since entering service in 2016. The vessel was even forced to undergo a one-of-a-kind floating dry dock within the cruise industry in 2019.

The ship has continued to experience issues on and off, with several itineraries being impacted. One of the most recent was in May 2022, when the ship cancelled a call to Grand Cayman due to a propulsion problem. Sister ship Carnival Panorama, which is part of the same class, has also recently experienced issues related to propulsion, with the latest being in June 2023.

Carnival Cruise Line does have a planned dry dock coming up for the Carnival Vista. The ship will begin its upgrade on January 7, 2024 and during this time, the hope is that the propulsion issues will finally be fixed.

The ship will also receive its new red, white, and blue livery, which has already been rolling out across the fleet since the pandemic. Carnival Vista’s dry dock will be completed on February 14, 2023.

The Carnival cruise ship is 133,500 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 3,934 at double occupancy, along with over 1,400 crew members.