The Carnival Firenze was delayed nearly 24 hours after an onboard IT outage on Dec. 15 disrupted Wi‑Fi, room service, casino access and in‑room TVs. Connectivity was restored the morning of Dec. 16 and the ship was cleared to sail at 1 p.m. Carnival confirmed it will skip Ensenada and make a double call to Cabo San Lucas, and offered a $100 onboard credit per stateroom to affected guests. The Firenze is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Dec. 21.
Carnival Firenze Delayed Nearly 24 Hours After IT Outage; Guests Given $100 Onboard Credit
AlamyThe Carnival Firenze cruise ship
The Carnival Firenze, scheduled to depart Long Beach on Dec. 15 around 3:30 p.m., was held at the dock for nearly 24 hours after an onboard IT outage disabled multiple guest services and ship systems. Passengers reported loss of Wi‑Fi, room service, casino access, in‑room television and the ability to charge purchases, and social posts documented the disruption.
Hans Blossey/imageBROKER/ShutterstockThe port of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Calif.
A Carnival spokesperson told PEOPLE the ship 'experienced an IT issue that briefly delayed departure' and that technicians were working to restore connectivity. Announcements over the ship's PA warned that if the vessel remained at the pier overnight it would miss its planned call to Ensenada and instead proceed directly to Cabo San Lucas.
AlamyThe Carnival Firenze cruise ship
'The team is actively working on the connectivity matter,' a PA announcement said. 'If we remain docked overnight, we will miss Ensenada and plan to call Cabo San Lucas twice.'
By the morning of Dec. 16, crew members announced that internet service had been restored, and later the Firenze was cleared to sail at 1 p.m. that day. Carnival confirmed it would adjust the itinerary—skipping Ensenada and making double calls to Cabo San Lucas on Dec. 18 and 19.
As compensation for the delay and missed port, Carnival issued a $100 onboard credit per stateroom to affected guests, a company representative told PEOPLE. Cruise tracking service CruiseMapper shows the ship is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Dec. 21.
Passengers used social platforms—including a TikTok user named Sharvon—to share updates and onboard announcements as the situation unfolded, highlighting how reliant modern cruise operations are on IT systems and how outages can affect both services and itineraries during busy holiday sailings.
