July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate her 250th birthday, and Carnival Cruise Line plans to celebrate with her!
To commemorate the big day, the cruise line plans to sail 10 special 3- to 8-day itineraries from six different homeports–Miami, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, New York City, Long Beach and San Francisco. One high point of the celebration is when the seven ships sailing from the east coast meet at sea near Celebration Key in the Bahamas, opening July 2025, and the three ships sailing from the west coast come together near Ensenada, Mexico on America’s Independence Day.
“We’re America’s cruise line, and we’re commemorating this milestone in a big way! Uniting our ships will multiply the fun and make America’s 250th birthday even more memorable for guests who celebrate at sea,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “The cruises we’re opening for sale today offer great variety, so guests can choose their ideal way to take part in a truly once-in-a-lifetime occasion.”
Guests sailing from the east coast, can sail a short getaway on Carnival Conquest or Carnival Glory. Both ships will embark on July 3, 2026, from PortMiami and Port Canaveral, respectively. The 3-day round trip itineraries sail to Celebration Key at Grand Bahama. On July 2, 2026, Carnival Sunrise will embark from PortMiami and Carnival Elation will embark from Jacksonville, Florida on a four-day Bahamas cruise. Carnival Sunrise will call on Half Moon Cay and Nassau, while Carnival Elation will call on Celebration Key and Bimini. Also sailing from PortMiami, Carnival Celebration will offer a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise embarking on June 28, 2026. The itinerary includes Celebration Key, Nassau, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. Carnival Vista will offer an eight-day Eastern Caribbean sailing from Port Canaveral embarking on June 27, 2026. Ports of call will include Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Thomas and Celebration Key. Carnival Venezia will sail from New York City on July 1, 2026. The Fun Italian style 8-day cruise will visit Celebration Key, Nassau and Half Moon Cay.
Guests who wish to sail from the west coast can choose from three ships embarking from California. Carnival Firenze will embark on July 3, 2026 on a 3-day Baja Mexico cruise from Long Beach, and Carnival Luminosa will embark on July 2, 2026 on a four-day Baja Mexico cruise from San Francisco. Both ships will call on Ensenada. Carnival Radiance will embark on June 30, 2026 on a five-day Mexican Riviera cruise from Long Beach and call on Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada.
During the meetups on Independence Day, each ship will celebrate with patriotic-themed deck parties and entertainment as well as special food and drink choices. Carnival Cruise Line will release more details in the coming months, but the sailings are available for booking now.