Carnival unveils ex-UK solar eclipse cruise as part of new 2026 programme

 

Carnival Cruise Line has revealed it will operate a solar eclipse cruise as part of its newly launched ex-UK 2026 summer season.

 

The 11-day Carnival Journeys Eclipse voyage on Carnival Legend will depart Dover on August 9, with the solar eclipse taking place on August 12, when the ship is at sea. The cruise will call at Le Havre (Paris); St. Peter Port, Guernsey; Vigo, Spain; Lisbon and Leixões (Porto); Le Verdon (Bordeaux), and Zeebrugge (Brussels). Prices start from £1120pp.

 

The itinerary is part of a programme of nine ex-UK cruises from Dover in summer 2026, with nine to 12-day voyages on sale now, departing from June 7 to October 23. Prices lead in at £772pp. Cruises will take place on Carnival Legend, which will return to Dover following its successful 2024 season.

 

Northern Europe sailings will visit destinations such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, as well as several stops in ports across Ireland, England and Scotland, in addition to one cruise with four stops in Iceland.

 

Scandinavia and Baltic cruises will stop in Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium, while a Mediterranean cruise will call at destinations in Portugal, Spain and France.

 

Carnival Legend will also offer nine and 12-day cruises from Civitavecchia (Rome), visiting the like of Istanbul and Kusadasi (Ephesus) in Turkey; Piraeus (Athens) and Mykonos in Greece; Naples (Amalfi/Pompeii), Italy, and Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia. The ship’s final cruise from Europe in 2026 will be a 14-day Carnival Journeys voyage departing November 1, 2026, from Civitavecchia to Tampa, Florida.

 

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: “The chance to see a total solar eclipse while having fun exploring the cultural richness of Spain, Portugal and France aboard Carnival Legend is a truly special opportunity – among a lineup of many phenomenal cruises. And as the popularity of Carnival Legend’s 2024 Europe sailings prove, it’s never too soon for our loyal guests to start planning their next summer vacation.”

 

Elsewhere in the line’s 2026 summer programme, Carnival Miracle will join Carnival Spirit in sailing from Seattle to Alaska, starting from May 7.

 

Seven-day sailings will depart every Thursday and visit Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, British Columbia. Also available are two Carnival Journeys sailings on Carnival Miracle; a nine-day option with an added visit to Sitka, or a 10-day cruise to the Inside Passage also visiting Icy Strait Point. Prices start from £927pp.

 

Carnival Spirit’s Alaska sailings will operate from April 28 through to September 15. Upon its return to Seattle on September 23, the ship will depart on a 15-day round-trip Carnival Journeys cruise to Hawaii, with stops in Honolulu, Oahu; Nawiliwili, Kauai; Kahului, Maui and Hilo, Hawaii; as well as a visit to Victoria, British Columbia.

 

Also new are four Carnival Journeys cruises that transit the Panama Canal to reposition Carnival Miracle and Carnival Spirit before and after the summer in Alaska. The voyages feature visits to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and Cartagena, Colombia. Prices start from £1200pp.

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