Carnival Cruise Line Announces First-Ever Scheduled Calls to Africa in 2027

Carnival Cruise Line just dropped some big news for the 2027/2028 season for Carnival Sunshine.  The sailings will include first-ever visits to ports in Africa in addition to stops in Italy, France, Spain, and Montenegro.

The newly announced itineraries for Carnival Sunshine represent the first time the cruise line has added African ports into the primary schedule, even though the cruise line has visited some ports in Africa before during repositioning voyages.

Starting in the summer of 2027, Carnival Sunshine will move from the United States to Europe and will offer itineraries never offered by Carnival before.

North Africa

One of the highlights of the new schedule for the 3,000-passenger ship is the addition of Tangier, Morocco, and La Goulette (Tunis), Tunisia in Northern Africa.

This shows that Carnival is branching out and offering more destination-focused options for a fanbase that is growing every year.   You can look at it as an extension of the Carnival Journeys program that offers special sailings that are also destination-focused.

The ship will offer sailings all around the Mediterranean from May through October 2027 while homeporting in Barcelona, Spain, and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy.  Voyages will be a mix of 7-day and longer cruises.

Along with the visits to African ports, the ship will visit new European ports as well, including Bari, Italy; Bar, Montenegro; and Ajaccio (Corsica), France.

Solar Eclipse Cruise

Carnival is also using the appropriately named “Sunshine” ship for a solar eclipse cruise in 2027. On August 2, 2027, a total solar eclipse will track across the Mediterranean and North Africa.

The ship’s July 25 sailing from Barcelona is specifically designed to put passengers in the “path of totality” during the eclipse. While other ships in the fleet, like Carnival Miracle, will also offer views of the eclipse, Sunshine’s position in the Mediterranean is expected to offer some of the longest viewing durations and clearest skies available for the event.

Timeline for Sunshine

The 2027 season involves a series of “transitional” sailings as the ship moves across the Atlantic:

• Eastbound Transatlantic: Departs Norfolk, VA, on May 15, 2027, for a 15-day sailing to Dover, England.
• The Mediterranean Season: A series of 15 sailings from May 30 through October 2027, covering Italy, Spain, Turkey, and North Africa.
• Westbound Transatlantic: Departs Barcelona in late October 2027 for PortMiami, featuring a final stop in Tangier, Morocco, before crossing back to the U.S.

Going to Texas

Following its time in Europe and Africa, Carnival Sunshine will not return to its previous East Coast ports. Instead, it will head to Galveston, Texas, arriving in November 2027.

This move replaces previous plans for Carnival Spirit to homeport there, with Carnival mentioning high demand in the Texas market as the reason for sending the larger, 102,000 gross ton, Carnival Sunshine.