Carnival Cruise Line Releases Shorter Cruises on Excel Class Ships

Carnival Cruise Line has released their first short cruises on their largest class of ships, the Excel class.

Mardi Gras, Carnival’s first Excel class ship, will sail four- and five-night cruises to The Bahamas from Port Canaveral starting on May 22, 2027.

The four-day cruises will visit Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. The five-night sailings will add a port stop in Nassau.  These newly announced cruises are now open for bookings.

The debut of shorter cruises on Mardi Gras will coincide with Carnival Festivale joining the fleet and sailing from Port Canaveral.

In addition, Carnival announced that Carnival Celebration will continue to sail from PortMiami, the Cruise Capital of the World, through at least April 2028.

Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean on Carnival Celebration will visit a variety of ports including Celebration Key, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and Nassau.

Sailings to the Western Caribbean on Carnival Celebration will visit Celebration Key, Cozumel and Isla Tropicale (formerly Mahogany Bay).

Carnival is in the middle of releasing their deployment schedule for 2027-2028. They stated that a variety of cruise options will be unveiled over the coming months.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, gave the following statement about these new cruises:

“With a new Excel class ship on its way to Port Canaveral in 2027, we’re excited to offer more ways to experience these fabulous ships our guests love, with new shorter itineraries on Mardi Gras for the first time.

“Mardi Gras introduced a number of new entertainment and dining options along with the first roller coaster at sea, so it’s fitting that this ship will take on another first for us as the largest-ever to sail short cruises.

“This will give our guests more variety as they choose their next family vacation – whether that’s a short getaway on Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral or a week-long sailing on her beautiful sister Carnival Celebration from Miami.”

Carnival Cruise Line has two more Excel class ships under construction/on order. Carnival Festivale will join the fleet in the spring of 2027 with Carnival Tropicale joining a year later in 2028.