The Alabama Cruise Terminal in Mobile will welcome two separate cruise lines owned by different parent companies next year.
This will be the first time this has happened in 20 years, the city says. The port will simultaneously handle two ships of contrasting sizes in late March 2028.
The double-ship operation will take place in late March 2026. It will combine the cruising giant Carnival Cruise Line with the domestic small-ship line American Cruise Lines.
Carnival Spirit will dock in Mobile along with the much smaller American Symphony, which accommodates just 180 passengers.
American Cruise Lines’ Ship Symphony to Dock in Mobile Next Year
“It will be the first time. American Cruise Lines is taking people to ports where there are cultural experiences,” said City Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
“Mobile, being as old of a city as we are, there will be a lot of things we have here for people to see that are of interest to their cruisers.”
American Symphony will be on seven-night cruise itineraries when it docks in Mobile for a full day’s stop. It will call at Mobile four times in March 2026.
According to David Clark, president and CEO of Visit Mobile, American Symphony guests will have various options for exploring the city.
“We’ll develop excursions and tours with our partners. They will be all over the city with the attractions we have and food tours, museums, art. We are lining up with our partners with American Cruise Lines to do some cool itineraries,” he said.
Carnival Spirit, recently back on the water after a drydock refurbishment, returns to Mobile for seasonal cruises from October through March.
The ship will return the following year, ahead of Carnival Cruise Line’s new year-round deployment in Mobile from 2027.
The cruise line recently announced it would resume year-round cruises at the port for the first time since the pandemic, although it hasn’t yet disclosed what ships will be deployed.
