Carnival Cruise Line announced it will homeport a fourth ship in Galveston starting in fall of 2025, enhancing its commitment to the popular drive-to port on the Texas coast. Carnival Legend will operate a series of Western Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises, and bookings officially opened on September 21, 2023.
Carnival Legend to Sail Western Caribbean from Galveston
The Port of Galveston, the fourth-busiest in the US based on cruise arrivals, will add another Carnival Cruise Line ship to its home-port roster starting in October 2025, when the line deploys the 2,124-guest Carnival Legend.
Carnival Legend, a Spirit-class ship that entered service in 2001, will sail 4- to 10-day Western Caribbean cruises as well as several Panama Canal voyages from the Texas port.
She will join three other ships based at the port: the 3,646-guest Carnival Dream, 3,690-guest Carnival Breeze, and the 6,500-guest Carnival Jubilee, a new-build set to enter service this fall.
“Carnival Legend’s deployment in Galveston strengthens our already robust portfolio of sailings from Texas, adding more variety to the offered itineraries, as well as another ship choice, and more opportunities for cruises to Mexico and other Western Caribbean that fit any vacation length,” said Fred Stein, vice president of revenue planning and deployment at Carnival Cruise Line.
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Between October 2025 and early 2026, Carnival Legend’s schedule alternates between short and longer cruises, including 5-day sailings calling at Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.
Four-day weekend getaway cruises also feature a call at Cozumel, while 10-day voyages will visit multiple ports such as Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Mahogany Bay, Roatan (Honduras); Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico.
A special 8-day Christmas sailing is set for Dec. 18, 2025, calling at Mahogany Bay, Roatan; Belize, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.
Panama Canal Voyages Also to Be Offered
Two Carnival Journeys cruises that transit the Panama Canal are planned. One voyage, which repositions Carnival Legend to Galveston, departs San Francisco on October 6, 2025.
The 16-day sailing calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Puntarenas, Costa Rica, before transiting the Panama Canal. The ship will call at Cartagena, Colombia, before arriving in Galveston.
A second Panama Canal cruise operating under the Carnival Journeys banner sails roundtrip from Galveston on February 2, 2026, calling at Montego Bay, Jamaica; Aruba; Curacao; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon (Panama Canal), Panama; Limon, Costa Rica; and Cozumel, Mexico.
Three more 10-day Panama Canal cruises, not classified as Carnival Journeys cruises, have departure dates between October 2025 and March 2026. (Carnival Journeys sailings feature less-visited ports and provide enhanced onboard activities.)
Carnival Legend has 50 suites and 630 balcony cabins, and features many of the cruise line’s signature venues, such as Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, the RedFrog and Alchemy bars, plus the popular WaterWorks Aqua Park, and The Punchliner Comedy Club.
Galveston is a fast-growing port that attracts ships from all of the major lines, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, and others. The port is a major drive-to embarkation port for cruisers hailing from the Southwest and the Gulf Coast cities.
Carnival Cruise Line’s soon-to-launch mega-ship, Carnival Jubilee, will homeport at the Texas facility, which is in the process of expanding and upgrading Cruise Terminal 25 at Galveston Wharves to accommodate the 183,521-gross ton ship, due to arrive at the port in December 2023. Improvements at the port total about $53 million.
When all four Carnival Cruise Line ships are operating from the Port of Galveston, they will have capacity to attract a total of nearly 16,000 cruise guests between them.
