CCL-Carnival Cruise Line has scheduled an expanded set of voyages for Carnival Sunshine for the 2027–2028 season, defining a programme that for the first time in CCL's published deployment includes regular calls on African ports while also broadening its European track and incorporating a specially timed celestial passage.
From late May through October 2027, the vessel is to be based in the Mediterranean and North African waters, operating a sequence of week-long and extended itineraries from homeports Barcelona and Civitavecchia-Rome, visiting port cities in Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Montenegro, and Northern Africa's Tunisia and Morocco. These calls mark CCL's first stops in Africa, with visits planned at La Goulette-Tunis and Tangierreflecting a deliberate extension of the ship’s reach beyond its historical focus on Caribbean and American itineraries.
The expanded set of ports also incorporates destinations new to CCL's regular Europe programme — including Bari in Italy, Bar in Montenegro and Ajaccio on Corsica — alongside the re-introduction of long-absent calls at Genoa, Salerno, Palermo and Catania in Italy, Palma de Mallorca in Spain and Izmir in Turkey.
A notable departure from standard routing is a voyage timed to place Carnival Sunshine in position for the total solar eclipse of August 2nd, 2027; this sailing departs Barcelona on July 25th and covers ports including Marseilles, Genoa, Salerno, Catania, Valletta and La Goulette, with onboard activity aligned with the celestial event.
The ship’s European and North African deployment is framed by transitional ocean passages, beginning with a transatlantic crossing from Norfolk, Virginia, to Dover, England, in mid-May 2027 and concluding with a westbound transatlantic voyage from Barcelona to Miami, calling at Alicante and Málaga in Spain and Tangier prior to arrival. Throughout the season the vessel’s schedule comprises a varied sequence of regional sailings, including multiple departures from Barcelona and Civitavecchia and a single Dover departure.
Upon return to the USA in late 2027, Carnival Sunshine is to commence operations from Galveston, Texas, with a series of cruises of 10- and 4-day lengths, joining other CCL units in that homeport as part of the company's broader deployment strategy for the 2027–2028 period.