In early February 2026, CCL-Carnival Cruise Line experienced a widespread technology outage that affected multiple vessels in its North American fleet and disrupted routine ship operations.
According to official information and independent reporting, the disruption originated from planned system maintenance conducted over the weekend of February 8th, which led to a failure in several customer‑facing and operational IT platforms used for boarding procedures, passenger services and digital communication tools.
The technology issues resulted in delays in ship embarkation and disembarkation processes at several departure ports on February 8th and 9th. Embarkation systems, including digital check‑in and guest counting, were rendered inoperative by the outage, requiring manual procedures to be implemented by ship and terminal personnel to process boarding and off‑boarding. CCL's mobile application, the Carnival HUB app — normally used for activity schedules, reservations and communication between passengers and crew — was also disabled on affected vessels, compounding operational challenges and impeding access to itinerary information.
The outage did not impede critical navigation or safety systems, which remained functional throughout the incident; however, departures from some homeports were delayed until onboard staff could verify that essential systems were restored or that manual alternatives were in place. At times, services such as onboard internet, point‑of‑sale systems and entertainment platforms were also unavailable until the disruption was resolved.
Homeports/departure ports reported extended wait times, as passengers queued longer than scheduled for boarding and disembarkation. Manual guest processing at terminals and shipboard procedures replaced automated systems that are normally used to expedite these movements, a factor that contributed to slower operations at some terminals. CCL communications to passengers included requests to monitor communications channels for updates on revised boarding times and procedural guidance while systems were offline.
Efforts to restore normal operations continued through the early part of the week following the outage.
Caribbean Cruise Line’s technical teams reported that IT systems were brought back online and that operations were returning to standard procedures, including the re‑establishment of digital platforms and connectivity for passenger services. The company also confirmed that refunds for daily internet charges would be issued for periods when passengers were unable to access those services onboard.
Although the outage’s immediate impacts were confined to schedules and passenger services rather than ship handling or navigation, the incident underscored the reliance of modern cruise operations on integrated IT systems and highlighted areas for future enhancement of technology resilience and passenger communication protocols across the fleet.