Carnival Cruise Line Swaps Sunshine for Spirit for 2027/28 Galveston Season
by Dori Saltzman
Carnival Sunshine. Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is changing its previously announced 2027/28 deployment plan, swapping out Carnival Spirit from Galveston and replacing it with Carnival Sunshine.
With room for 3,000 guests, Carnival Sunshine brings added capacity to the Texas port. With Sunshine, Carnival maintains its four-ship plan in Galveston, offering a wide range of four- to 10-day Caribbean sailings beginning November 2027. Shorter cruises will visit Mexico, while longer sailings will reach a broad selection of Caribbean and Bahamian destinations.
Carnival Spirit, meanwhile, will reposition to Tampa offering a variety of new Caribbean itineraries.
“We’re excited to introduce Carnival Sunshine to Galveston for the first time and bring Carnival Spirit to Tampa,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This move allows us to serve more guests in Galveston where we continue to see strong demand and introduce new, longer Caribbean itineraries for guests sailing from Tampa.”
Additionally, Carnival Sunshine will open eight new sailings, including a special 10-day itinerary visiting Cozumel, Isla Tropicale, Montego Bay, and Grand Cayman.
Carnival Spirit will offer a variety of six-, seven- and eight-day itineraries from Tampa visiting popular Caribbean destinations. Spirit will also offer six eight-day itineraries traveling to the Panama Canal, visiting destinations like Limón, Grand Cayman, and Colón.
