Patience Tested in Long Beach: IT Outage Delays Carnival Firenze for 21 Hours

Von RL0919 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY 4.0, Link
For guests aboard the Carnival Firenze, their vacation scheduled for December 15, 2025, began differently than hoped. Instead of casting off lines in the afternoon as planned and setting course for the Mexican Riviera, the ship remained firmly moored at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in California. The cause was not engine failure or hull damage, but a massive failure of the IT infrastructure. This incident vividly demonstrates how dependent modern cruise ships are on a stable data connection.

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The problem began during embarkation. Passengers reported issues using the "Carnival Hub App," which is used for almost all services on board. However, the background failure was much more critical: the ship lost connectivity to external networks.

In modern maritime operations, this digital dedicated line is essential. Without it, passenger and crew manifests cannot be transmitted to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since this data transmission (eAPIS) is required by law, authorities did not grant clearance for departure. Although the Carnival Firenze was nautically fully operational, it was legally prohibited from leaving the port. Furthermore, the network outage meant there was no verification that all guests had digitally confirmed the mandatory safety briefing (E-Muster Drill).

Analog Solutions and a View of the Pier

On board, crew and guests had to improvise. Since the digital point-of-sale systems were down, staff in bars and restaurants recorded orders the old-fashioned way—with pen and paper on receipts. Information was provided via public address announcements rather than the app. The mood was dampened as it remained unclear for a long time when the voyage would begin. The view from the railing—whether looking out to starboard at the pier or to port at the harbor basin—showed the same image for hours: standstill.

Passengers ultimately spent the first night in the port of Long Beach instead of at sea. It wasn't until the following day, December 16 at 1:20 PM, that the ship finally departed with a delay of around 21 hours.

Itinerary Change: Ensenada Cancelled

The long downtime had consequences for the schedule. To make up for lost time and save the highlight of the trip, Carnival Cruise Line decided to adjust the route. The planned stop in Ensenada, Mexico, was cancelled without replacement. Instead, the ship set a direct course for Cabo San Lucas, where the Carnival Firenze is scheduled to stay overnight as planned.

As compensation, guests received an onboard credit of 100 USD per stateroom, as well as a refund of the port fees for the cancelled stop. Currently, the ship is heading south, and systems are running stably again. Hopefully, the technology will now cooperate so that relaxation on board can take center stage.