For several seasons, Galveston cruisers have gotten used to seeing two Carnival ships in port: Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph.
In just a few weeks that will completely change.
Carnival Triumph, which has been operating from Galveston for years will sail her last cruise from the island on March 17. After that, she will relocate to the Port of New Orleans.
If you remember, Triumph has seen a rocky past while sailing from Galveston. She was the ship that infamously broke down in 2013, resulting in weeks of negative press for the company after passengers experienced inoperable plumbing while being stuck at sea.
Replacing the Triumph will be the Carnival Liberty, which will continue the regular 4 and 5-day cruises to Mexico. This is an upgrade for the island, as the Liberty is longer, newer (built in 2005), and carries more passengers than the Triumph. The Liberty also comes with Carnival’s popular restaurants and bars, including Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, and the RedFrog Rum Bar.
Carnival Liberty has her first trip from the island on March 18.
Meanwhile, Carnival Magic just returned from drydock upgrades, but won’t be back in Galveston for long. The Magic sails her last cruise from the island on April 10.
Taking her place will be two ships. First is the Carnival Freedom, which was updated in 2014 and first started sailing from Galveston earlier this year. The second is the Carnival Breeze, which came into service in 2012 and is set to arrive in Galveston on May 8.
If all those changes have your head spinning, we have a chart below to help you visualize which ships are in port:
All in all, Carnival is banking big on Galveston with three ships regularly sailing from the island for most of the year. That’s a major investment and a sign that Galveston cruising shows no signs of slowing down.
I am so glad triumph is leaving, I just got off that ship last week after the worst carnival cruise I have ever had,the staff was very rude and the plumbing was coming up through the sink and shower, deck 2 smelled of drugs and toilets. I have received no apologies for this experience an now thinking of finding a new cruise line all together. Which is heart breaking, I love carnival, I can remember being treated as if I was a star!!
I feel the same way about triumph. But after being off. I think I didn’t do my research b4 hand. I mean it’s almost 20 years old. What was I expecting? Im trying the breeze in November has awesome reviews. And is only 3 years
Old.
I cruised on the Breeze in 2014 and can’t wait for trip booked in 2017. Awesome ship. I have sailed several Carnival ships and the Breeze is the best so far!