Carnival Cuts Cruise Calls at Mahahual After 25 Years as Royal Caribbean Expands

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — After 25 years of operating at the port of Mahahual, Carnival has begun significantly scaling back its cruise ship calls at Costa Maya, a shift that coincides with Royal Caribbean Group’s purchase of the port in July 2025.

Carnival has not issued a formal statement attributing its revised itineraries to the port’s sale, but a review of published schedules shows a clear change in the frequency of its calls at Mahahual, while its western Caribbean routes add other destinations such as Cozumel, Belize and Roatán.

The decline becomes more evident in the final quarter of 2026. For 2027, available itineraries show the Carnival Legend keeping some calls at Costa Maya, but far less often than in previous years.

The Carnival Legend, for example, is scheduled to call at Costa Maya in January, February and March 2027, alternating with itineraries that include only Cozumel, Belize, Roatán, Grand Cayman or Jamaica.

One published itinerary has the Carnival Legend arriving at Costa Maya on March 5, 2027, after stops in Cozumel, Belize and Roatán. A similar route is scheduled for April 2.

Carnival’s pullback follows Royal Caribbean Group’s completion in July 2025 of its acquisition of the Costa Maya port and adjacent land in Mahahual, a deal worth $294 million.

According to Royal Caribbean corporate documents, the acquired land was to be used to develop Perfect Day Mexico, a new company destination that was slated to open in 2027 but was cancelled by the Mexican government.

The move is reshaping competition among the major cruise lines that use Mahahual as a port of call. Carnival, which maintained a major presence at Costa Maya for decades, now appears far less often in available schedules, while Royal Caribbean keeps a broad lineup of ships sailing to the port.

The 2027 calendars show multiple Royal Caribbean arrivals at Costa Maya, alongside operations by other companies including MSC and Norwegian.

The reduction in Carnival’s calls marks a significant change for Mahahual’s tourism economy, since each cruise arrival drives business for restaurants, shops, transport operators, tour providers and water sports activities.