More Europe! Cruise giant Carnival unveils more far-flung itineraries — including one with a twist

3 weeks ago 5

Exciting news, Carnival Cruise Line fans: You're getting more options for a sailing in Europe.

The Miami-based cruise giant on Tuesday announced it would position one of its 27 ships, the 2,124-passenger Carnival Legend, in the region for nearly six months in 2026.

The deployment will include Carnival's first-ever solar eclipse cruise — an 11-night sailing from Dover, England, kicking off Aug. 9, 2026. The voyage will include a day positioned at sea to watch a relatively rare total solar eclipse that will be mostly visible from a small portion of the Atlantic Ocean.

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The solar eclipse will occur Aug. 12, 2026, across a narrow arc of the ocean between the coast of Spain and Iceland.

Carnival Legend's eclipse sailing also will bring stops in Le Havre and Le Verdon (the port for Bordeaux) in France; St. Peter Port, Guernsey; Vigo, Spain; Lisbon and Leixoes (the port for Porto) in Portugal; and Zeebrugge (the port for Brussels) in Belgium.

In addition to the solar eclipse cruise, Carnival Legend will sail eight more Northern Europe voyages from Dover, with itineraries that range from nine to 12 nights. It'll also operate six Mediterranean cruises out of Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) in Italy.

The Mediterranean cruises will be either nine or 12 nights in length.

Known for its focus on cruises out of North American ports, Carnival offers relatively few sailings in Europe, making these itineraries somewhat rare.

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Carnival also positioned Carnival Legend in Europe for this summer and plans to send a single ship (the 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle) to Europe for an extended summer season in 2025.

Two other Carnival ships — Carnival Valor and Mardi Gras — will operate transatlantic cruises to and from Europe in 2025 as they head to and from overhauls at shipyards.

In its Tuesday announcement, Carnival said Carnival Legend would kick off its 2026 Europe season May 24, 2026, with a 14-night transatlantic voyage from Miami to Dover.

In addition to sea days, the transatlantic sailing will bring calls at Liverpool, England; Holyhead, Wales; and Dun Laoghaire (the port for Dublin) in Ireland.

Sailings from Dover will bring calls at Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Some of the voyages will also include stops in the British Isles, and one sailing will focus on Iceland with four stops in the country.

The Scandinavia and Baltic cruises, which are part of the deployment, will visit Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.

The six sailings from Civitavecchia will include stops across Italy, various Greek islands, Turkey and Croatia.

Among the highlights of the Mediterranean sailings will be visits to Istanbul and Kusadasi in Turkey. The latter port is the gateway to the famed ancient ruins of Ephesus.

The schedule includes stops at Piraeus (the port for Athens) and Mykonos in Greece, as well as visits to Naples, Italy, and Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Carnival Legend will end its deployment in Europe in 2026 with a 14-night return journey across the Atlantic beginning Nov. 1, 2026. The sailing will begin in Civitavecchia and end in Tampa with calls at Cartagena and Malaga, Spain, plus Gibraltar and Bermuda.

Carnival is just the latest major cruise line to announce a solar eclipse sailing for 2026. In recent weeks, Holland America has announced three eclipse-watching cruises for 2026. Windstar Cruises, Princess Cruises and Atlas Ocean Cruises also have announced plans for solar eclipse sailings.

Carnival Legend is one of Carnival's four Spirit Class ships. The line often uses the four vessels for its more far-flung itineraries.

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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