Carnival Spirit Delays Seattle Departure After Hawaii Repairs
Passengers will receive a one-day prorated fare refund and $250 in onboard credit per stateroom, with eligible independent travel costs considered for reimbursement up to $200 per person.
Carnival Spirit’s departure from Seattle has been postponed from October 8 to October 9, 2026, after repairs extended the ship’s stay in Hawaii. The delayed return will shorten its repositioning cruise to Mobile, Alabama, from 16 nights to 15.
Carnival Cruise Line has also cancelled the voyage’s Cabo San Lucas call to preserve the ship’s reserved full Panama Canal transit on October 19. Calls at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, remain on the itinerary.
In a notification to passengers, Carnival attributed the delay to repair work on October 3 that took additional time to complete. The company has not disclosed the nature of the problem.
Carnival Cruise Line brand ambassador John Heald addressed passengers’ concerns about whether the shortened voyage would affect the canal transit. “No, we still have our slot booked for that,” he said in a video update.
October 13, originally allocated to Cabo San Lucas, will now be spent at sea. The ship is scheduled to be in Puntarenas on October 17, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fare refunds and travel reimbursements
Passengers will receive a prorated refund equal to one day of cruise fare, returned to their original payment method. Carnival is also providing each stateroom with $250 in onboard credit.
Shore excursions purchased through Carnival for the cancelled Mexican port call will be automatically cancelled and fully refunded. Passengers who prepaid for beverage packages, Wi-Fi or gratuities will receive a one-day prorated refund of those charges. Both will be credited to passengers’ onboard Sail & Sign accounts by the end of October 10, separately from the fare refund.
For passengers with independently arranged travel, Carnival will consider reimbursement of non-refundable airfare change fees and other travel-related expenses, up to $200 per person. Guests must submit receipts for those claims.
Flights purchased through Carnival’s FLY2FUN program will be adjusted automatically. The line will contact those passengers individually with their revised flight details.
Heading back from Hawaii
The ship is completing a 15-night Carnival Journeys cruise that departed Seattle on September 23. Its original itinerary included Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Kahului and Hilo in Hawaii, followed by Victoria before the return to Washington.
Built in 2001 by Kværner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Carnival Spirit measures 88,500 gross tons. Carnival’s current listing gives the vessel a guest capacity of 2,134; the number of passengers affected by the schedule changes was not specified.
AIS tracking showed the ship travelling toward Seattle at 22 knots on Monday, close to its top cruising speed. No further embarkation adjustments have been confirmed. Carnival plans to provide passengers with additional boarding instructions before the repositioning voyage begins.
