Carnival cruises from Norfolk: Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Freedom and the May 2027 change

Every cruise that starts in Norfolk is a Carnival cruise, and only one Carnival ship sails from here at a time. Carnival Sunshine has the port until mid-May 2027, and Carnival Freedom takes over later that month. This guide covers both ships, when each sails, where they go and what they cost.

It also covers two lines people often look for with Norfolk, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Neither has a departure from this port.

Which cruise lines sail from Norfolk, VA?

Only Carnival. All 89 sailings on the schedule we track are Carnival departures from Norfolk's cruise terminal, the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. Cruisebound sells no other line from Norfolk, and CruiseTimetables' list, which runs to 31 March 2029, shows Carnival only. Ships from other lines call at Norfolk, but none has a departure from here on either schedule.

We are an independent schedule, not Carnival or the port. The Carnival line page lists every Carnival departure from Norfolk with its fare, and the terminal guide covers the building you board from.

Which Carnival ships sail from Norfolk?

Two, one after the other. Carnival Sunshine sails from Norfolk until 15 May 2027 and Carnival Freedom from 23 May 2027. Visit Norfolk said in July 2025 that Carnival Sunshine had begun sailing weekly from Norfolk that February. Carnival calls Carnival Freedom "a newer ship for Norfolk".

Ship	Norfolk departures	First	Last	Guests	Routes from Norfolk	Lowest fare
Carnival Sunshine	25	14 November 2026	15 May 2027	3,002	Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Bermuda, one transatlantic	$441
Carnival Freedom	64	23 May 2027	28 October 2028	2,980	Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada	$483

Guest numbers come from each ship's page on carnival.com. Fares are the lowest we saw on 3 November 2026, per person for the cheapest cabin listed, with taxes and port fees included. Carnival Sunshine's Norfolk season ends in May 2027, so any Carnival date from Norfolk after that is on Carnival Freedom.

When does Carnival Freedom replace Carnival Sunshine in Norfolk?

In May 2027. Carnival Sunshine makes her last Norfolk departure in the schedule on 15 May 2027, a 15-night one-way crossing to Dover, England. Carnival Freedom arrives on 23 May 2027, at the end of a 15-day Southern Caribbean voyage from Port Canaveral, and starts her Norfolk sailings that day. Carnival announced Freedom's move in September 2025 and Sunshine's in January 2026.

Sunshine's last trips from Norfolk before the crossing are two 5-night sailings, to Bermuda on 1 May 2027 and to the Bahamas on 10 May 2027. Carnival sells the crossing as a Carnival Journeys voyage. On Cruisebound's itinerary it leaves Norfolk at 5 pm on 15 May, stops in Atlantic Canada, calls at Greenock for Glasgow on 26 May, Belfast on 27 May and Cork on 28 May, and reaches Dover at 5 am on 30 May. Its lowest fare on 3 November 2026 was $945, or $63 a night.

Its one Canadian stop is Sydney, Nova Scotia, on Carnival's own itinerary page. Cruisebound listed two Canadian calls on 3 November 2026; we follow Carnival, but check carnival.com before you book. The crossing ends in England, so plan a flight home and check the cruise documents guide for what you need to travel. After Dover, Carnival says, Sunshine sails in Europe until October 2027.

Freedom's sailing of 23 May 2027 is a 6-night Bahamas trip to Celebration Key, Nassau and Bimini. Visit Norfolk's cruise schedule shows Carnival Sunshine on that date. Carnival's announcement, Cruisebound and CruiseTimetables all have Carnival Freedom, so we list Freedom.

Is Carnival Freedom staying in Norfolk year-round?

Yes, as far as any source shows. When we checked on 3 November 2026, the schedule had her leaving Norfolk in every month from May 2027 to 28 October 2028. CruiseTimetables lists her from Norfolk to 31 March 2029, and Carnival said on 8 October 2026 that it had opened her Norfolk sailings through April 2029.

The same Carnival release says Freedom had just finished a 35-day dry dock in Marseille, which gave her a new funnel, a redesigned casino with more than 100 extra gaming machines and a refreshed video arcade. She sails from Port Canaveral until May 2027, then moves to Norfolk.

Where do Carnival cruises from Norfolk go?

To the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean for most of the year, to Bermuda from spring to fall, and to Canada in late summer and fall. Eastern Caribbean and Canada trips last 8 nights. Bahamas and Bermuda trips last 6 nights, apart from Sunshine's two 5-night trips in May 2027.

Route	Sailings	Ships	Ports of call	Lowest fare
Bahamas	27	Both	Celebration Key, Nassau, Bimini, Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays	$441
Eastern Caribbean	36	Both	Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and San Juan on some 2028 trips	$567
Bermuda	17	Both	Bermuda, with a night docked there	$621
Canada	8	Carnival Freedom	Halifax and Sydney, plus Saint John or Charlottetown	$769
Transatlantic	1	Carnival Sunshine	Sydney (Nova Scotia), Greenock, Belfast and Cork, ending at Dover	$945

Fares are from 3 November 2026, on the same basis as the table above. Carnival names its trips in days ("8-Day Eastern Caribbean"), and on these Norfolk sailings the days match the nights. Every Bahamas trip on the schedule calls at Celebration Key. Freedom's Eastern Caribbean trips of 13 May, 24 June and 5 August 2028 call at San Juan in place of Half Moon Cay.

On the schedule, Carnival Sunshine has 11 departures of 6 nights and 11 of 8 nights, and Carnival Freedom has 31 and 33. Most 8-night trips leave on a Saturday and most 6-night trips on a Sunday. Each route has its own guide: Bahamas, Caribbean, Bermuda and Canada.

What do Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Freedom have on board?

Much of what is on board is the same on both. Each has a WaterWorks water park, a Serenity adults-only area, Guy's Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina at no extra charge, Playlist Productions shows and the Punchliner Comedy Club. Freedom is the bigger ship by tonnage and length but carries slightly fewer guests.

	Carnival Sunshine	Carnival Freedom
Guests	3,002	2,980
Crew	1,040	1,150
Gross tonnage	102,853	110,000
Length	892 feet	952 feet
In service	1996, as Carnival Destiny; rebuilt and renamed in 2013	2007
Sports and play	SportSquare, with a ropes course, jogging track, ping pong, foosball and giant chess	Mini-golf
Included food	Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Lido Marketplace, Seaday Brunch	Two dining rooms, Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Pizza Pirate, Lido Marketplace, Seaday Brunch
Food at extra cost	Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, JiJi Asian Kitchen, Bonsai Sushi, Cucina del Capitano, JavaBlue Café	Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi Express, Seafood Shack, JavaBlue Café
Spa cabins	Cloud 9 Spa interior, balcony and suite cabins	None listed

The table comes from Carnival's ship pages, apart from the "in service" row, which is from Wikipedia's histories of the two ships.

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival's page says her Serenity area covers three decks, with recliners and a waterfall, and that her WaterWorks has the Speedway Splash slide. The bars it names are RedFrog Pub, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, SkyBox Sports Bar, Alchemy Bar and Havana Bar. It marks Havana Bar, RedFrog Pub and the Cloud 9 Spa as extra cost. The spa cabins come with unlimited use of the spa's thermal suites. Camp Ocean, for kids, and Seuss at Sea are included.

Carnival Freedom

Carnival's page lists three youth spaces, Camp Ocean among them, a WaterWorks slide, mini-golf and a Serenity adults-only retreat. For drinks it names Scott's Piano Bar, the 70's Nightclub, Alchemy Bar, Heroes Tribute Bar and Lounge, RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Tequila Bar and RedFrog Pub, which also has live music and pub games. Seuss at Sea is included. The bars in its activities list and the Cloud 9 Spa cost extra.

How much does a Carnival cruise from Norfolk cost?

On 3 November 2026 the lowest Carnival fare from Norfolk was $441 per person, for the cheapest cabin listed, with taxes and port fees included. By length, the lowest was $441 for 6 nights, $567 for 8 nights and $639 for 5 nights. Fares change daily, so check the current price before you book.

Per night, the lowest was $74 on a Bahamas trip, $71 on the Eastern Caribbean, $104 to Bermuda and $96 to Canada. The fare is only part of the cost. Carnival's pages list bars, specialty restaurants and the spa at extra cost on both ships. The cheap and last-minute guide and the cheap cruises page sort the lowest fares.

Are there Royal Caribbean cruises from Norfolk, VA?

No. Royal Caribbean has no departure from Norfolk in Cruisebound's catalogue or in CruiseTimetables' list, which runs to 31 March 2029. Visit Norfolk's cruise schedule, which ran to December 2027 when we read it on 3 November 2026, lists no Royal Caribbean ship at all, not even a port call.

That includes 2026. The 6 departures from Norfolk on the schedule for 2026 are all on Carnival Sunshine, and the cruise season guide lists them. If you came here looking for Royal Caribbean cruises from Norfolk, the Carnival trips above are what leaves from this port, and cruises by month shows them by date.

Are there Norwegian (NCL) cruises from Norfolk, VA?

No. Neither Cruisebound's catalogue nor CruiseTimetables' list has a Norwegian departure from Norfolk. Norwegian Pearl is scheduled to stop here in 2027, on cruises that start somewhere else. A July 2025 Visit Norfolk post says the 2,400-passenger ship is scheduled to call each week from April to August 2027, 20 visits in all.

The same post says the visits make Norfolk "an itinerary stop", where passengers can take guided excursions or explore on their own. Visit Norfolk's schedule lists Norwegian Pearl on Sunday 21 March 2027 and on Tuesdays from 13 April to 31 August 2027, except 18 May. Neither schedule we check has a Norwegian Pearl cruise that starts in Norfolk.

Which other cruise ships call at Norfolk?

Visit Norfolk's schedule lists a handful of ships from other lines. It marks its 2026 visits "port call only" and does not mark its 2027 entries either way. None of these ships has a departure from Norfolk in Cruisebound's catalogue or CruiseTimetables' list, so we do not list them as sailings.

Date	Ship
10 November 2026	Seabourn Ovation
18 May 2027	Volendam
15 July 2027	Regatta
1 September 2027	Crystal Serenity
1 October 2027	Mein Schiff
14 October 2027	AIDAluna
22 October 2027	Mein Schiff
27 October 2027	Zuiderdam
2 November 2027	AIDAluna
10 November 2027	Seabourn Quest

These are the dates on Visit Norfolk's schedule when we read it on 3 November 2026. It also listed AIDAdiva and Zuiderdam in late October 2026. To find a cruise you can start in Norfolk, use the schedule or search by date.