Carnival Puts Five Ships and 300+ Sailings at Port Canaveral for 2028-29
If you want a Florida departure in 2028-29, pick your length first. Carnival Glory and Mardi Gras run 3-, 4- and 5-night trips, and every 3-night sailing visits Celebration Key. Carnival Breeze leaves Sundays and Carnival Firenze leaves Saturdays on 7-night routes, so check which Eastern or Western itinerary your date falls on. For a longer trip, Breeze's 14-night Southern Caribbean Journeys leave October 15, 2028, November 26, 2028, January 7, 2029 and February 18, 2029. Carnival Festivale's debut is scheduled for May 2027, so confirm that before booking her.
My read is that Carnival is using Port Canaveral as a volume play, and Celebration Key is the draw. More than 200 visits across more than 300 sailings means the private destination anchors the short-cruise product, with every 3-night trip stopping there. The winners are weekend-getaway cruisers and the Florida drive-market, since Glory and Mardi Gras alone cover 3 to 5 nights. The 14-night Carnival Journeys on Breeze are a niche for people who want Grenada, Barbados and Martinique rather than another Nassau stop. Mardi Gras' 5-night schedule is the one to read closely, because about half her voyages visit Amber Cove and Grand Turk with two sea days. That makes the sailing date matter more than the ship name. Festivale, as the fourth Excel-class ship, is the one to watch because she is still being built in Germany. I would confirm the exact itinerary and port mix before paying a deposit.