
In a first, Carnival puts an Excel-class ship on short cruises
The four-day sailings will only visit private Carnival ports, with stops at Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. The five-day itineraries add a third stop in Nassau.
The first five-day sailing will depart on May 22, 2027, and the first four-day cruise will leave on May 27, 2027.
The Mardi Gras is Carnival's first Excel-class ship, entering service in 2021. It was the first cruise ship to feature a rollercoaster, Bolt.
Carnival has two other ships in the Excel class: Celebration and Jubilee. Two more are on the way in 2027 and 2028: Festivale and Tropicale.
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USA Today
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New Carnival Festivale aims to make a splash with families
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Yahoo
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Carnival Cruise Line passengers debate cabin etiquette conundrum
Carnival Cruise Line passengers debate cabin etiquette conundrum originally appeared on TravelHost. When it comes to cruise cabin etiquette, there are several unwritten rules. Most of those rules are about being a good neighbor to the other cruise passengers staying in the cabins around you. Cruise cabin etiquette rules say you shouldn't slam cabin doors, play loud music, or be generally noisy in cabins or in the hallways around them. Cabin walls are pretty thin and sound carries easily. If you have a balcony cabin, you should also avoid being loud on your balcony or peeking around at your neighboring cabin's with being respectful to your cruise neighbors, you should show respect to your cabin attendant, too. Don't leave a mess in your cabin that makes their demanding job even harder. While most cruisers agree on these unwritten cabin etiquette rules, the acceptability of some cruise cabin behaviors is still up for debate. On his popular Facebook page where he answers hundreds of questions from cruise passengers each day, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald raised one of those etiquette items for discussion on Aug. 6 after receiving a question about it. Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise. Carnival Cruise Line rep discusses leaving items for next cabin guests 'Someone on our [cruise Facebook group] asked a question regarding leaving items in the cabin for the people on the next cruise. They had left some unused toiletries and a bottle of wine they were gifted by their travel agent. They left this because they didn't drink alcohol,' an unidentified passenger wrote to Heald in a message he shared on his page. In the Facebook group, cruisers were divided on whether leaving items in your cabin for the next guest is appropriate. 'The replies fell into two camps, the first being that it was fine to do that as long as you left a note saying that you no longer needed the items and explaining it was for them to enjoy. The second opinion was that it was wrong and that it was weird to do this,' the passenger passenger wanted to get Heald's thoughts on the matter. Although he didn't offer an opinion, Heald did explain the proper protocol to follow if you do leave items in your cabin at the end of your cruise. 'If you decide to do this though there are a couple of things to note please,' Heald said. 'Tell your cabin attendant that you are leaving them for the next guests so that he or she will not remove them from the cabin.' Heald also noted that passengers can leave sealed, factory packaged items for their cabin attendants if they wish, with one exception. 'Secondly if you decide to give any items to the cabin attendant to keep please kindly remember they are not allowed to accept any alcohol as they are not allowed to take it to their cabin,' he you leave items in your cruise cabin for the next guest? A number of passengers reported in comments on the post that they leave behind unopened cans of soda or bottles of wine left over from their cruise in hopes that the next passengers will enjoy them. Not everyone appreciates that kind of gesture, however. Some cruisers noted that they would be skeptical of anything left behind by another passenger. 'In this day and age, I probably would not trust anything left in the room. I would turn it over to the cabin steward for disposal,' Lou Wassenaar commented. Multiple passengers also pointed out a potential problem with leaving behind a bottle of wine to gift to the next cruise guest.'I might leave unopened soda or waters, but probably not wine. You never know if the next occupant might be opposed to drinking or even a recovering alcoholic,' Ann-John Hoover commented. For many Carnival passengers, there's only thing that seems appropriate to leave behind in your cabin at the end of a cruise — a rubber duck. 'Only thing I would ever leave is a hidden duck, and I would leave another for the attendant with a note saying to leave the hidden one. Other than that, I think it's weird,' Denise Decker wrote. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by TravelHost on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword