Carnival Spirit misses Puntarenas. Cartagena is the only port left.
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Puntarenas is off. Cartagena, on Tuesday 20 Oct 2026, is the only port call left on this ship.
Cruise Industry News on 20 Oct prints the onboard statement from Captain Lorenzo Calogero. No Carnival newsroom post for this cancellation was found in that article. The clocks and the tour refund below are that report.
This is the same Seattle-to-Mobile repositioning that already lost a day and Cabo San Lucas. That earlier chapter is not this one.
What the captain said
Cruise Industry News says a guest statement cancelled Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on Saturday 17 Oct 2026. The captain’s words on board:
We made every effort to reach Puntarenas, but after sailing a wider route to avoid the most severe weather from Hurricane Trudy, strong opposite currents reduced our speed.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to arrive within the required entry window to call on the destination.
He then says the day is spent at sea on the way to Panama, and that he is sorry the weather is interfering with the plan. Safety of guests and crew comes first. The article’s opening line calls the cause adverse weather on the West Coast. The reason inside the quotation is the wider route around Hurricane Trudy and the currents that followed.
Cabo was already gone. Cruise Industry News says that call was cancelled because the Seattle departure was postponed by one day, so Costa Rica was going to be the first port of this cruise. The one-day delay, the Friday 9 Oct departure, and the cut from 16 nights to 15 are in Cruise Radio, Heather Baxter, 6 Oct, and in the earlier post on this site. Cruise Industry News describes that same delay and does not print the 9 Oct date.
What is left on the route
The original plan, as Cruise Industry News describes it, was a 16-night cruise with Cabo San Lucas, Puntarenas, Cartagena de Indias, and a Panama Canal transit, ending in Mobile.
| Call | Now, in the 20 Oct report |
|---|---|
| Cabo San Lucas | Already cancelled with the Seattle delay |
| Puntarenas, 17 Oct | Cancelled |
| Panama Canal, 19 Oct | Transited |
| Cartagena, 20 Oct | The only port call left |
| After Cartagena | Four days cruising the Caribbean, then Mobile |
The article says the ship transited the canal on Monday 19 Oct and is scheduled in Cartagena de Indias on Tuesday 20 Oct. It then spends four days cruising the Caribbean before Mobile. It does not print the hour in Cartagena, and it does not print the day you arrive in Mobile. Leave an arrival clock out of the plan until the app shows one.
The earlier post on this site still has Puntarenas as Saturday 17 Oct, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. That was the plan on 6 Oct. The 20 Oct report cancels it.
The tour refund, and the older credit
Shore excursions you booked through Carnival for Puntarenas were cancelled. Cruise Industry News says those fares refund to the onboard account. A tour you bought from another company is outside that sentence. Call the operator.
The 20 Oct article does not print a fare refund or a flat onboard credit for the missed Costa Rica call. Do not add one.
The money from the Seattle delay is a separate offer, and it is older. Cruise Radio says a guest notice for that delay gave you a one-day prorated fare refund to the original payment, refunds for Cabo tours booked through Carnival, one-day prorated refunds on prepaid drinks, Wi-Fi, and gratuities, $250 in onboard credit per stateroom, and up to $200 per person for non-refundable travel changes. That article is dated 6 Oct. It does not mention Puntarenas. The earlier post on this site walks the same delay from a Cruise Hive report of the email. Keep those amounts on the delay. They are not a new payment for Costa Rica.
What this means for you
If you are on this cruise, Tuesday 20 Oct is Cartagena, if the app matches the report. The canal day was Monday 19 Oct. After Cartagena, Cruise Industry News gives you four days cruising the Caribbean, then Mobile, with no arrival clock printed. Watch the onboard account for a Puntarenas tour Carnival sold you. Call any other tour seller yourself. Leave a new fare refund off the budget. The one-day fare refund, the $250 per stateroom, and the $200 travel cap belong to the Seattle delay, as Cruise Radio reported them on 6 Oct. Facts above follow Cruise Industry News on 20 Oct 2026 and Cruise Radio on 6 Oct 2026.
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Tier 1 = the cruise line’s own published material · Tier 2 = an established cruise-news outlet- TIER 2Cruise Industry News, 20 Oct 2026: Carnival adjusted Carnival Spirit because of adverse weather on the West Coast. A statement to guests cancelled the Puntarenas, Costa Rica, call that was scheduled for Saturday 17 Oct 2026. The ship is on a repositioning voyage to Mobile that left Seattle. The original 16-night plan included a Panama Canal transit plus Cabo San Lucas, Puntarenas, and Cartagena de Indias. With this change the only scheduled port call is the Colombian port, then the ship heads to Mobile. Captain Lorenzo Calogero's onboard statement says the ship made every effort to reach Puntarenas, sailed a wider route to avoid the most severe weather from Hurricane Trudy, and lost speed to strong opposite currents, so it could not arrive inside the required entry window. He says the day is spent at sea on the way to Panama, apologizes that the weather is interfering with plans, and says guest and crew safety comes first. He also says his team remains committed to a safe, fun, and memorable rest of the voyage. Cabo San Lucas was already cancelled because the Seattle departure was postponed by one day, so Costa Rica was going to be the first port. Shore excursions booked through Carnival for Puntarenas were cancelled automatically, and the fares refund to onboard accounts. The ship transited the Panama Canal on Monday 19 Oct 2026 and is scheduled in Cartagena de Indias on Tuesday 20 Oct 2026, then spends four days cruising the Caribbean before Mobile. The article does not print a Mobile arrival clock, a fare refund, or a flat onboard credit for the missed Costa Rica call.
Cruise Industry News, checked 20 Oct 2026 · Read 20 Oct 2026. Load-bearing source for the captain's statement, the Cartagena date, the canal date, and the excursion refund. The hero is the photo on this article. The file was last modified in December 2024, so it is not a picture of this week. The page does not name a photographer. - TIER 2Cruise Radio, Heather Baxter, 6 Oct 2026: Carnival Spirit made an unscheduled Honolulu repair stop on 3 Oct, cancelled Victoria on the Hawaii cruise, and delayed the Seattle return to Friday 9 Oct. Carnival's statement to Cruise Radio says the repairs were completed that evening and that all safety systems and hotel services kept working. Carnival did not say what was repaired. The 8 Oct Panama Canal repositioning to Mobile then left on 9 Oct, cutting a 16-night voyage to 15 nights, and dropped Cabo San Lucas so the canal time slot would hold. A guest notice, as this article reports it, offers a one-day prorated fare refund to the original form of payment, refunds for Cabo shore excursions booked through Carnival, one-day prorated refunds on prepaid drink, Wi-Fi, and gratuity charges, a $250 onboard credit per stateroom, and up to $200 per person for non-refundable travel changes. The article does not mention Puntarenas.
Cruise Radio, checked 6 Oct 2026 · Read 20 Oct 2026. This is the earlier delay, not the Puntarenas cancellation. Use it only for the Seattle cut and the compensation tied to that delay. The page photo did not load for this check, so it is not the hero.
Prices and policies move. This page was last checked on Oct 20, 2026, 9:05 AM ET.