Friends trying ahead to an autumn crusing subsequent 12 months aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Liberty have been notified that their ship has been chartered and their cruise cancelled.
The impacted voyage is the October 19, 2025 departure, which does give affected visitors greater than a 12 months to make totally different cruise trip plans.
Carnival Cruise Line reached out with the information on Thursday, August 15, 2024 – greater than 14 months earlier than the now-cancelled cruise was to have set sail from New Orleans.
“We’re very sorry to tell you that the ship has been chartered and your cruise has been cancelled,” the notification learn. “We’ve got a wide range of alternate options and are assured you can find one other Carnival cruise that’s full of an equal quantity of enjoyable.”
The cruise line is providing booked visitors each rescheduling and cancellation choices with no payment. If vacationers wish to plan a special Carnival cruise, their total fare price can be protected “on a comparable crusing, in related lodging.” The alternative cruise doesn’t have to be aboard Carnival Liberty or crusing from New Orleans.
Some phrases and circumstances do apply to alternative cruises, nevertheless. Vacation cruises or voyages to Alaska, Hawaii, or Europe usually are not eligible for the fare safety.
Equally, chartered cruises usually are not eligible. Any alternative cruise could also be not than the unique cruise size, however shorter cruises may very well be chosen if most well-liked.
If visitors do rebook on an alternate crusing, they may even obtain a $100 (USD) onboard credit score to get pleasure from on their new cruise.
If vacationers choose to not e book a special cruise or don’t discover one which works for his or her trip plans, nevertheless, they are going to obtain a full refund of the cruise fare, together with the deposit, any pre-paid add-on objects, and any taxes or different charges. This additionally applies to any Early Saver reservations and no payment can be deducted from the refund.
Refunds can be processed routinely if impacted visitors don’t contact Carnival Cruise Line or their journey agent to e book an alternate crusing by Thursday, August 29, 2024. Relying on particular person monetary establishments, refunds could take as much as three weeks to course of.
Learn Additionally: What to Anticipate When You Go on a Carnival Cruise
Why the Cancellation?
Carnival Liberty‘s October 19, 2025 departure was to have been a 7-night crusing. The 110,428-gross-ton, Conquest-class ship is homeported year-round from New Orleans, providing 7-night cruises on each Japanese and Western Caribbean routes, with occasional 6- and 8-night choices.
Throughout her Japanese Caribbean cruises, Carnival Liberty visits ports akin to Key West, Freeport, Nassau, Half Moon Cay, and starting in the summertime of 2025, Celebration Key – Carnival Cruise Line’s new non-public vacation spot on Grand Bahama Island.
The Western Caribbean sailings could go to Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, or Jamaica. Actual ports of name differ based mostly on departure date and cruise size.
Apart from the discover that the crusing has been chartered, Carnival Cruise Line has not introduced what firm or occasion can be happening on board. To be clear, the ship just isn’t being taken out of service for any form of refurbishment or repairs, however will merely be crusing a personal cruise at the moment.
Completely different corporations supply chartered sailings for music festivals, fan occasions such because the well-liked Star Trek cruise, or life-style cruises akin to nudist sailings or LGBT voyages. Chartered cruises could even be organized by giant corporations as a company retreat or teambuilding occasion.
Whereas canceling a cruise in favor of a chartered crusing could be disappointing for already-booked visitors, cruise traces do attempt to present such notification as far upfront as attainable so visitors could make different trip plans.
With 14 months to go earlier than Carnival Liberty‘s new constitution crusing, visitors have loads of time and tons of of Carnival cruises to select from for his or her subsequent oceangoing getaway.