Carnival Shifts Ships, Revises Schedules for Isaac

 

At 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Carnival Cruise Lines adjusted schedules for several of its ships -- most notably shifting Carnival Legend from the Port of Tampa on Florida's West Coast to Port Canaveral on the state's East Coast.
 
Carnival told TravelAgentCentral.com that it is closely monitoring the path of Tropical Storm Isaac, which is expected to become a Category 1 Hurricane sometime on Sunday/Monday. The line said it's staying in touch with port officials.
 
Based on forecasts for the storm's track on Saturday afternoon, Carnival has adjusted schedules from the Florida ports listed below.

PORT OF MIAMI

Carnival Valor - 8/19/12 Departure: The Port of Miami is expected to close by 11 p.m. on Saturday. Weather permitting, the port will reopen on Monday at noon. Carnival Valor is currently sailing on an eight-day Caribbean cruise and will remain at sea until the port reopens.

Carnival Valor - 8/26/12 Departure: Carnival Valor’s scheduled six-day cruise will now operate as a five-day cruise departing Aug. 27, visiting Grand Cayman and Montego Bay. The scheduled port call in Key West, FL, has been cancelled.
 
Departure time for the Aug. 27 cruise is expected to be 8 p.m., Carnival said. Guests who opt to sail on this voyage will receive a one-day pro-rated refund of their cruise fare and a $50 per person shipboard credit. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund or a future cruise credit equal to the amount of their cruise fare.
 
Carnival Imagination - 8/24/12 AND 8/27/12 Departures: The Port of Miami is expected to close by 11 pm Saturday. Weather permitting, the port will reopen on Monday at noon. Carnival Imagination is currently sailing on a three-day cruise that departed on Friday and will remain at sea until the port reopens.
 
Embarkation for the Carnival Imagination’s four-day cruise on Monday is expected to begin at 4 p.m. and the voyage is scheduled to depart at 7:30 p.m.
 
PORT OF TAMPA
 
Carnival Legend - 8/19/12 Departure:  The Port of Tampa is expected to close by 3 a.m. on Sunday. The line said it's  uncertain when the port will reopen. As a result, Carnival Legend, which normally returns to the Port of Tampa, will instead dock across the state at Port Canaveral, FL. It's expected to arrive at 8 a.m. Sunday. 
 
Carnival will provide complimentary motorcoach service for departing guests from Port Canaveral to the Port of Tampa and Tampa International Airport. It's about a two-and-one-half-hour drive between the two ports.

Carnival Legend - 8/26/12 Departure: Due to the expected port closure in Tampa, Carnival Legend will dock in Port Canaveral on Sunday, arriving at approximately 8 a.m. For guests on the Aug. 26 cruise, which was expected to depart from Tampa, Carnival will instead provide complimentary motorcoach service from Tampa to the ship docked at Port Canaveral.
 
The Aug. 26 cruise is scheduled to sail at 8 p.m. from Port Canaveral. At this time, the Carnival Legend’s seven-day itinerary remains unchanged. However, the line said the itinerary could change depending on the storm's track.
 
Although the Aug. 26 cruise will depart from Port Canaveral, the ship will end its cruise at the Port of Tampa as scheduled on Sunday, Sept. 3.

At the moment, there are no changes expected for any other Carnival sailings departing on or after Sunday, Aug.26, the line said. Stay tuned for additional updates or visit www.goccl.com.