Baltimore cruisers will have two Carnival ships to pick from in the 2028-29 season. On October 29, Carnival Cruise Line opened bookings for its 2028-29 Baltimore schedule, and the headline is a second ship: Carnival Luminosa.
According to Carnival's announcement, Luminosa will make her Baltimore debut in November 2028, fresh from a dry dock that will refresh her spaces. She joins Carnival Miracle, which is already slated to sail from the port. Together, the two ships will link Baltimore with 22 destinations on trips of six to 14 days, with sailings now open through April 2029.
Where Carnival Luminosa will sail
Luminosa's Baltimore program runs from seven to 14 days. Carnival laid it out in three groups:
- Seven- and eight-day cruises to The Bahamas.
- Nine-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean.
- 12- and 14-day Carnival Journeys voyages to the Southern Caribbean, with calls including Aruba, Curaçao, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Croix, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
Those long Southern Caribbean trips are the standout. From Baltimore, the islands near South America sit several sea days away, so a 12- or 14-day trip is what it takes to reach them without flying. Carnival Journeys is the line's label for these longer, more port-heavy itineraries.
Carnival Luminosa began life in 2009 as Costa Luminosa and joined Carnival in 2022. She's a bit bigger than Miracle, at about 92,700 gross tons and 2,260 guests, and she's known for big windows in her public rooms, the Alchemy Bar and the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse.
Luminosa's move to Maryland follows Carnival's decision to pull her out of Australia. Earlier this month, the line put farewell voyages on sale for Luminosa and Carnival Adventure ahead of their departure from Australia in 2028. We covered those farewell trips here.
Carnival Miracle's new sailings
Carnival Miracle also gets a fresh batch of trips, running from September 2028 to April 2029. The mix covers short getaways, a fall foliage run and a handful of long voyages:
- Six- to eight-day cruises to The Bahamas and Bermuda.
- Nine-day Eastern Caribbean cruises that visit Amber Cove, San Juan and either St. Maarten or St. Thomas.
- Eight Carnival Journeys voyages of 12 to 14 days to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. Ports include Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Tortola.
- Two eight-day Canada and New England cruises in September 2028, calling at Portland, Maine; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Saint John, New Brunswick.
Miracle is a Spirit-class ship that first sailed in 2004. She carries about 2,124 guests at double occupancy, which makes her one of the smaller ships in Carnival's fleet. A dry dock in Cádiz, Spain, finished in May 2025 and added a Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge and a Chef's Table. Before she reaches Baltimore, she spends the 2026-27 winter in Galveston and summer 2027 in Europe.
Carnival's own destinations are in the mix
Many of the Bahamas and Caribbean trips include stops in what Carnival calls its Paradise Collection. These are the line's own destinations, and Carnival named five of them for the Baltimore program:
- Celebration Key on Grand Bahama
- RelaxAway
- Half Moon Cay
- Grand Turk
- Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic
For families, those stops tend to be the easy days: the ship docks or tenders close to the beach, and there's no need to plan a tour.
What it means for Mid-Atlantic cruisers
Baltimore is a drive-to port for millions of people in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Washington, D.C. A second Carnival ship means more departure dates to choose from and a wider range of trip lengths. A family can pick a six-day Bermuda run on Miracle, while retirees with time to spare can book two weeks in the Southern Caribbean on Luminosa, all without a flight.
The schedule also covers the colder months. With sailings running through April 2029, Baltimore cruisers will be able to head south for sun from a home port all winter.
How to book
The 2028-29 Baltimore sailings are open for booking now through Carnival's website, by calling 1-800-CARNIVAL, or through a travel advisor. Carnival didn't list fares in its announcement, so check current pricing when you book. Because the trips are nearly two years out, early bookers will have the widest choice of cabins and dates.