Passengers sailing with Carnival Cruise Line will soon see higher onboard costs, as the company prepares to increase gratuities and adjust select beverage package prices beginning April 2, 2026. The changes were communicated to guests in a recent email notification, confirming that both service charges and the popular Bottomless Bubbles package for adults will be updated later this year.
In message to passengers, Carnival explained:
Carnival’s cruise operation in Australia found itself in the spotlight last week after the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) rolled out a headline-grabbing claim:
Workers earning as little as $2.50 an hour, stuck with “precarious contracts,” “cramped living conditions,” and “poor quality food and water,” plus a long list of other onboard horrors.
Carnival Cruise Line has quietly raised its automatic service charge on beverages from 18% to 20%. While the price increase for guests is relatively small, just 22 cents more for an $11 cocktail, it brings a question crew members have been asking for years:
A routine lifeboat test aboard the Carnival Dream turned into a wild scene in Cozumel on Monday when a lifeboat suddenly snapped loose and crashed into the water.
The incident happened shortly after noon while the cruise ship was docked in Mexico. Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that no one was injured, as the lifeboat was being lowered unmanned for a scheduled inspection.
Carnival Cruise Line is once again under fire after what many are calling an unnecessary and humiliating treatment of a popular Fun Squad and Comedy Club Host Trevor Johnson, who was abruptly forced off the Carnival Valor in Cozumel after submitting a standard two-week resignation notice.
A heartbreaking tragedy happened aboard the Carnival Horizon, where an 18-year-old passenger passed away during a recent voyage, prompting a full investigation by the FBI’s Miami Field Office. The ship returned to PortMiami on Friday, November 8, reportedly earlier than scheduled, to cooperate with authorities.
As the people of Jamaica begin the painful process of recovering from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Melissa, they are not facing this difficult moment alone. Compassion is already moving into action.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras returned to service on October 16, 2025, following its first shipyard visit since its 2020 debut. The Excel-class flagship underwent a technical overhaul and modernization in Marseille, France, beginning on September 27.
Carnival Corporation has become the first cruise company to sign formal agreements with food banks in Mexico, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic to donate surplus meals from its ships. This marks the program's first expansion into Latin America.
The initiative redirects freshly prepared but unserved meals to local organizations that support families in need. It's part of Carnival’s effort to reduce food waste and fight hunger in the communities its ships visit.
On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, Marine Rescue Queensland’s Bribie Island unit carried out a major medical evacuation from the cruise ship Carnival Adventure while the vessel was anchored off Tangalooma, Moreton Bay.
