Reported maintenance work is expected to delay the Carnival Dream’s departure from Nassau by several hours on Christmas Eve. However, the cruise line says the ship’s overall itinerary and return to Galveston remain unchanged.
There will be a short delay on Christmas Eve for a Carnival Cruise Line ship that left Galveston earlier this month in the Bahamas because of repair work. The company says the boat will return to Texas on time, though.
The Carnival Dream left Galveston on December 19 and is now traveling through the Bahamas. On Wednesday, it will stop in Nassau. Cruise Hive, a news site for the cruise business, said on Tuesday that maintenance work will make it three hours later for the ship to leave Nassau.
Instead of leaving as planned at 6 p.m. local time, the story says the Dream will leave Nassau around 7 p.m. The ship will then continue its trip back to Galveston.
A Carnival Cruise Line representative told the Houston Chronicle that the maintenance will not change the ship's general plans or its planned return to Texas. The Dream is still on track to get to Galveston by 8 a.m. The Dream is scheduled to arrive in Galveston on Saturday.
A spokesperson said, "If a maintenance issue comes up during a voyage, our team takes care of it right away and makes sure operations run safely."
During the trip, the Carnival Dream stopped at several ports in the Bahamas, such as Celebration Key, which is Carnival's private destination, and Half Moon Cay, a private island that cruise ships can reach.
Maintenance delays can make passengers nervous, but people who work in the business say that they happen all the time. Ports are often where cruise ships do routine or minor maintenance, which can cause short delays that do not affect the general sailing schedule.
Carnival has not said how often maintenance takes place during busy voyages, but reports from the cruise industry suggest that ships usually address mechanical or technical issues between port calls. In more critical cases, maintenance needs can change plans or cause ships to leave later than planned.
As an example, Princess Cruises' Regal Princess changed a few trips leaving from Galveston in late 2024 and early 2025 for what the company called "preventative maintenance." Most cruise ships also go into dry dock every couple of years for big repairs, inspections, and system upgrades.
In this case, the Carnival Dream's repair was minor, as it only kept the ship in Nassau for a few extra hours. The short delay should not get in the way of holiday parties on board, such as those on Christmas Eve.
Carnival officials say the trip is still on track for people returning to Galveston this weekend, and there have been no changes to the ship's planned landing time.
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