If you’re already looking ahead to your 2026 Carnival cruise and trying to book specialty restaurants like Fahrenheit 555, Bonsai Teppanyaki, or the Dr. Seuss at Sea Breakfast, you might be seeing “sold out” everywhere.
But Carnival just confirmed — it’s not actually sold out.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, recently cleared things up. He’s heard from many guests trying to get those reservations locked in for 2026, and he understands the confusion.
“It isn’t sold out,” John explained. “We have not opened them yet.”
He admitted that the website showing “sold out” isn’t the best way to handle this, and he stated they are trying to get that changed. In a Facebook live video he stated that the website isn’t as simple as flipping a switch, but they are working on it.
Online Communities Mentioned Seeing the Same Issue
This isn’t a new issue for Carnival guests. Similar questions have popped up in online communities. For example, a recent Reddit thread on r/CarnivalCruiseFans featured someone asking, “Specialty Dining Sold Out? I booked Celebration for Feb 2026 and I can add basically anything to my booking… EXCEPT specialty dining? It all says sold out, every single one of them. Is this normal?”
The good news from fellow cruisers on that thread was consistent with John Heald’s message: “Just not opened up yet.”
Others offered advice like, “You are too early. Start checking monthly and at 6 months start checking daily.” Some even suggested that things tend to open up closer to the sail date, with one user noting, “like a week before a ton of things opened.”
What This Means for Your Booking
So, the big takeaway here is not to panic. You will have the chance to enjoy meals at JiJi’s, the Chef’s Table, or any other specialty venue you’re looking forward to. Carnival simply hasn’t opened the booking window for 2026 specialty dining yet.
John Heald promised to let everyone know as soon as those bookings become available. So, keep an eye on his Facebook page and official Carnival announcements.
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