Carnival’s Excursions Go Ticketless

May 7, 2025 Randy Young

It’s the first day of your cruise. You walk into your cabin, bags are everywhere, you’re checking out the view from your balcony, putting stuff around the room. You see some papers on the desk and push them aside. Days later, when it’s time for your excursion, you’re in a panic. You can’t find the tickets they left you for your cruise line-booked excursions. I know it’s happened to me more than once. Now, Carnival is making the process a lot easier.

Carnival Launching Ticketless Excursions

Carnival is looking to remove the hassle I just mentioned by getting rid of excursion tickets altogether. They’re currently piloting a program using a new platform to give guests virtual tickets. This means no more worrying about where you put your tickets and it’s one less thing to worry about bringing off the ship.

How Carnival’s Ticketless Excursions Work

Even though Carnival developed a whole separate platform for these virtual tickets, they tried to make the experience as seamless as possible for guests. You won’t have to download another app or visit a different website; the details will be integrated into the existing Carnival HUB app. According to Carnival, “in-app notifications will put important details, like meeting times and locations, at guests’ fingertips.”

You also won’t have to bring your phone with you. While the details are in the app, the virtual ticket is tied to your Sail & Sign card. Before leaving the ship, look for the location in the HUB app, show up at the designated spot, and scan your Sail & Sign card.

Ticketless Excursions Make Last-Minute Bookings Possible

Besides less hassle for guests, Carnival mentioned that this new system allows last-minute bookings. Guests can see real-time availability in the HUB app without having to stand in line at the Shore Excursions desk, and tour operators in the port can sell the excursions on demand.

Program Starts at Celebration Key and Then Rolls Out to the Fleet

This new platform is scheduled to be up and running for the launch of Celebration Key on July 19. Their goal is to have all excursions at that destination on the new platform. After that, Carnival will roll out the system to other Caribbean and Mexican ports. It’s expected to be available for Alaska and European ports by next summer.

My Take: Streamlining the Process Without Creating More Hassle (Hopefully)

The way excursions are done now is messy and wasteful. Carnival has to print and deliver your tickets, you have to remember to bring them with you, then when you get to the meeting spot, a tour guide has to flip through pages and pages of names to check you off. It gets even worse if your ports of call or times change, and they have to print new tickets and rush to deliver them to thousands of cabins. With the new system, it’s as easy as scanning to buy a drink or get on the ship.

I like that Carnival isn’t tying this only to your phone but instead using your Sail & Sign card. Guests who prefer to leave their phones locked in their cabin safes are still fine. Still, you will need the HUB app to find meeting locations and times, which some people might not like.