Carnival Cruise Line has opened its 2028-29 Port Canaveral schedule, and there is a lot here for cruisers who like having choices. More than 300 departures are planned aboard five ships, with itineraries ranging from quick three-day Bahamas escapes to two-week Carnival Journeys voyages deep into the Southern Caribbean.

The lineup includes year-round sailings aboard Carnival Breeze, Carnival Firenze, Carnival Festivale, Carnival Glory and Mardi Gras. Between them, Carnival is covering The Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean and Southern Caribbean while also putting a heavy focus on its Paradise Collection destinations.

For cruisers who already like sailing from Port Canaveral, the big takeaway is simple: Carnival is giving this homeport a very broad mix of trip lengths and destinations rather than leaning on one standard seven-day pattern.

More than 200 visits to Celebration Key

Celebration Key plays a major role in the new deployment. Carnival says the 2028-29 schedule includes more than 200 visits to the destination, alongside calls at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay; Amber Cove; Grand Turk; Puerta Maya; and Isla Tropicale.

That means travelers interested in Carnival’s Paradise Collection will have plenty of opportunities to book a cruise with one of those stops on a Port Canaveral sailing.

Carnival Glory will be particularly important for Celebration Key fans, because every one of its sailings in this deployment will include a visit there.

Short cruises on Carnival Glory and Mardi Gras

If you are looking for the kind of cruise that fits into a long weekend or a shorter vacation window, Carnival Glory and Mardi Gras will handle the three- to five-day side of the schedule.

The two ships will sail Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean itineraries from Port Canaveral. Again, Carnival Glory stands out here because Celebration Key is included on every sailing.

That gives cruisers a fairly straightforward option if the goal is a shorter trip with one of Carnival’s newest destination experiences built into the itinerary.

Carnival Breeze and Carnival Firenze take on week-long cruises

For travelers who prefer a more traditional week-long cruise, Carnival Breeze and Carnival Firenze will rotate between Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.

The announced destinations include Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Thomas, Belize, Cozumel and Isla Tropicale.

This part of the deployment gives Port Canaveral cruisers access to two different Caribbean styles without changing homeports. Eastern Caribbean itineraries bring in ports such as San Juan and St. Thomas, while Western Caribbean options add destinations including Belize and Cozumel.

Carnival Festivale adds six- and eight-day options

Carnival Festivale will fill another useful niche in the schedule with six- and eight-day itineraries.

The ship’s six-day Eastern Caribbean voyages will include Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay.

Eight-day itineraries will reach farther. Eastern Caribbean sailings will include San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten, while Southern Caribbean voyages will visit Aruba and Curaçao.

For cruisers who want more than a week but do not necessarily want to commit to a full two-week voyage, these itineraries sit in a nice middle ground.

Carnival Breeze will offer four 14-day Journeys cruises

The longest sailings in the new Port Canaveral schedule will come from Carnival Breeze, which is set to operate four 14-day Carnival Journeys voyages between October 2028 and February 2029.

Those cruises will visit 13 destinations across the Southern Caribbean. Carnival specifically listed Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, Aruba, Curaçao, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Kitts among the ports included.

These voyages are the clear option for travelers who want to use Port Canaveral as a starting point for a much more destination-heavy Caribbean itinerary.

Five ships give Port Canaveral cruisers a lot of flexibility

The strength of this deployment is not just the total number of sailings. It is the spread of choices across five ships and several trip lengths.

• Carnival Glory and Mardi Gras cover short three- to five-day getaways.
• Carnival Breeze and Carnival Firenze handle rotating week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
• Carnival Festivale offers six- and eight-day Eastern and Southern Caribbean voyages.
• Carnival Breeze also adds four 14-day Carnival Journeys sailings.

Put together, that gives cruisers the ability to choose a sailing based on vacation time first and then narrow down the ship and destination mix that works best.

Why this matters for cruisers

Port Canaveral is already one of Carnival’s major homeports, and this 2028-29 release significantly expands the number of ways travelers can use it. Someone planning a quick Bahamas escape, a classic seven-night Caribbean vacation or a longer Southern Caribbean trip can now find those options within the same home port.

The schedule also makes Carnival’s newer destination strategy much more visible. With more than 200 Celebration Key visits and additional calls at Paradise Collection destinations including RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and Isla Tropicale, these stops are becoming a central part of the cruise line’s Port Canaveral offerings.

For travelers already thinking ahead to 2028 and 2029, the new sailings are now open for booking.

Source: Carnival