Carnival Cancels Bookings Made During Website Glitch

Carnival Cruise Line is canceling bookings made during a recent website outage — and here’s what you need to know if you were affected.

Carnival Cancels Bookings Made During Website Glitch

During a planned IT maintenance window last weekend, something went wrong on Carnival’s website. Prices appeared at levels far below normal. Many travelers jumped on what looked like a great deal — but Carnival says those prices were never meant to be offered.

The cruise line is now canceling all reservations made during that window.

What Carnival Is Saying

Carnival addressed the situation directly with affected guests. “We regret to inform you that we will not be able to honor your reservation request,” the company stated. All money paid will be returned.

“The reservation has been cancelled, and any monies paid will be credited to your original form of payment,” Carnival confirmed.

What You’ll Get Instead

Carnival isn’t just walking away empty-handed. As a goodwill gesture, the cruise line is giving each affected stateroom a $100 non-transferable onboard credit. There’s a catch, though — you must apply it to a new booking by August 31, 2026.

“Since your travel plans were just made with us, we hope you will find another itinerary that suits your vacation needs,” Carnival added.

What Happened During the Maintenance Window

Carnival’s website was down for scheduled maintenance over the weekend. During that time, several features were unavailable. These included logging into accounts, creating bookings, online check-in, and pre-cruise purchases like shore excursions and specialty dining.

“We’re making some behind-the-scenes improvements, so a few features will be temporarily unavailable, including logging into your account and creating or managing bookings,” the company’s message read. Carnival expected full service to return by Saturday afternoon, May 9, 2026.

A Pattern of IT Trouble for Carnival

This isn’t the first time Carnival has dealt with tech problems this year. Earlier in 2026, a separate IT outage affected ships sailing in North America. That issue caused delayed departures from several homeports.

Carnival’s President Christine Duffy addressed that earlier outage personally. She confirmed the system was back online and stressed that navigational and safety systems were never impacted.

Bottom Line for Cruise Travelers

If you scored what seemed like an unbelievable fare on Carnival last weekend, don’t be surprised if a cancellation email lands in your inbox. Check your original payment method for a refund and look out for your $100 onboard credit offer. It may still be worth planning that Carnival vacation — just at the regular price this time.