tidecat

I question whether there's much more left on the table in the US market given that operators are offering discounts this summer given the ongoing issues in the Red Sea: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cruise-operators-offer-summer-discounts-051026361.html I think this move may be more about cost savings, especially since most of the cruising public in AU/NZ will be aware of the Carnival/P&O relationship. Now Carnival only has to run one advertising campaign in the market, consolidate customer service departments, etc. Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean should be at 31 ships by 2028. Carnival might actually be the largest cruise line in the world again, at least intermittently over the next 4.5 years.

PINs can be compromised too as people tend to use things like birthdates. Requiring two-factor authentication would also be a huge deterrent to something like this happening.

I understand the fee based on the size of the ship fee being divvied up based on an estimated number of passengers, but that doesn't explain the comment from @BlerkOne about port taxes increasing when a fare is being repriced ahead of the actual sailing date.

Why would the port taxes change? As long as you are not changing ships or changing the size of your party, the taxes based on the size of the ship and taxes based on number of passengers do not change.

Cucina was never on the Fantasy class (and still isn't on Elation and Paradise). None of the Spirit class, Conquest class, and Splendor have Cucina either. Carnival Magic (2011) was the first to have it, followed by younger sister Breeze (2012). Older sister Dream (2009) still has an upper deck of the Lido restaurant in its place. Sunshine (2013) was the first ship to have it added in a retrofit; her sisters Sunrise and Radiance would eventually follow. The Vista and Excel class ships have had it since they were built. There honestly doesn't appear to be a place to put it on the Conquest class unless if Carnival decides to replace the bar on the port side across from the piano bar (name of the bar varies by ship), but that really only provides space for about 50 diners. Carnival could do a more extensive refurbishment by reconfiguring the theater from three decks to two, but the ROI likely isn't high enough to justify that, especially since Conquest class does primarily shorter cruises.

Princess offers a one-way cruise between Vancouver to Los Angeles that has no other ports of call. Carnival offers some cruises from Australia that are round trip with no ports of call. In both cases these are shorter cruises (3-4 days). Cunard's regular transatlantic voyages between New York and Southampton are typically seven sea days with no other ports. There will be more options outside of the US.

When your cruise is can affect your answer. It was cold and windy on both sea days on my Elation sailing in February, especially on the first sea day, so it made it hard to enjoy the ship's mostly outdoor amenities. Paradise and Elation are the same class of ship, so if I wouldn't want to do a winter sailing on either again. If you're big into gambling or trivia, though, Paradise will have you covered even if the weather is less than ideal.

No one's updated it in the past six months. Firenze is missing also.

Excel class rooms are slightly narrower, but it is not a huge difference for run-of-the-mill balcony cabins. The furnishings certainly are more functional in the Excel class.

Except it isn't just 10 cruises a year. Sailings to the Fjords make up greater percentages of other lines' sailings. Geirangerfjord alone receives roughly 40% of its 800,000 visitors by cruise ship. That capacity has to go somewhere. The regulations also extend to domestic shipping and fisheries. While they will not be emission-free come 2026, there is a target to cut those emissions by 50% by 2030.

Assuming the fourth Excel class in 2027 is accretive to the fleet and not a replacement of an older ship, Carnival would have the option of moving a seasonally-deployed Spirit-class vessel out of Galveston or Mobile and replacing it with something larger. Legend - Tampa (winter)/Europe (summer) Luminosa - Brisbane (US winter)/Seattle (US summer) Miracle - World Cruise (winter)/San Francisco (summer) Pride - Baltimore (year-round) Spirit - Mobile (year-round) Galveston gets a Conquest-class for the #4 spot there, which would now be year-round.

Assuming the fourth Excel class in 2027 is accretive to the fleet and not a replacement of an older ship, Carnival would have the option of moving a seasonally-deployed Spirit-class vessel out of Galveston or Mobile and replacing it with something larger. Legend - Tampa (winter)/Europe (summer) Luminosa - Brisbane (US winter)/Seattle (US summer) Miracle - World Cruise (winter)/San Francisco (summer) Pride - Baltimore (year-round) Spirit - Mobile (year-round) Galveston gets a Conquest-class for the #4 spot there, which would now be year-round.

I was actually inquiring about whether you checked luggage for your flight.

If Carnival were going to reposition a ship to Australia, you could have a World Cruise that starts in Long Beach and a largely-overlapping World Cruise that starts in Brisbane. The first leg could be sold as a combination of the World Cruise from Long Beach and a shorter Transpacific sailing. The last leg would be a combination of the Brisbane World Cruise and another Transpacific. If Carnival plays its cards right, it could line up so that a Spirit class ship winds up in Brisbane for the Australian summer (North American winter) and Luminosa repositions to the US for Alaska and Caribbean service, preferably fresh out of drydock with a more through update to be on brand than she had initially.

I doubt 2025 would be feasible at this point unless if it started in late 2025. If Carnival does this, it would probably be late 2026 or early 2027. Given that the Spirit class is used primarily for Alaska, and that Tampa, Jacksonville, and Baltimore have limited options for what ships can operate there, I could see Carnival doing a world cruise that starts in the fall after the Alaska season from Long Beach. By the time it takes 4-5 months to circle the globe, it's almost time for the Alaska season again. Maybe Carnival tacks on some Hawaii or Mexican Riviera cruises after the World cruise while waiting for the new Alaska season to start.

Did you check any luggage?

The clientele being targeted by newer and larger ships are those new to cruising. More than 80% of the US population has never been on a cruise.

In February AIDA announced a refurbishment program that will cover all of their older ships There certainly would be enough time to change course should circumstances warrant it, but I think Costa would be more vulnerable if current events get out of hand.

Saying something like "gambling is allowed only in the casino or on games sanctioned by the ship" would have been a better way to word it. Because I doubt they'd let people play games like LRC for money even if they were playing in the casino without it being run by the casino department. Princess ran with the concept of the whole ship being a casino by having games that can be played onboard the ship on your device. Even the Princess Prizes feature only works when the casino is open.

The casino department runs Bingo and Deal or No Deal, even if they are held in the theater.

There is another thread about this, but the cruise terminal itself is being used as a command center. Until the JIC, Coast Guard, and Navy clear out there will be no cruising from Baltimore. I would suspect it will come down to when the Dali can be safely towed away from the scene.

Carnival's first quarter FY 2024 10-Q has $2.138 billion in new fixed assets during the quarter. That would have included Carnival Jubilee (reported by Cruise Industry News at $950 million) and Sun Princess (reported as $1 billion). It's possible there may have been some non-ship asset purchases that quarter, but even if not, we're not talking about less than 10% variance. It's also possible there are some costs paid to contractors other than the shipyard associated with placing those ships into service that are being capitalized with the ships. I would expect the price to go up somewhat due to the all of the inflation that has happened since the original Excel class order was placed. I just question whether the amount financed is actually specific to Excel 4, or if it may have been secured in anticipation of the larger order with Fincantieri that so far has not materialized. It's also possible Meyer Werft may have material surcharges built into the price and Carnival would have to cover the worst case scenario for those. Just because they secured $1.4 billion in financing doesn't mean they have to take the entire amount.

Do you have a source for that? I have a hard time believing that the cost nearly doubled from 2020 ($950 million). Cruise Industry News has Excel 4 and Excel 5 at $950 million each, and the 2028 Oasis class ship at $1.45 Billion.

Anyone can beat Royal Caribbean on price - I mean there's a 7-day Celebrity Beyond Western Caribbean sailing in November that is half the price of an Icon of the Seas Western Caribbean itinerary the same week. You could even do Alaska on Carnival in early August for half of what Royal is charging to take you to Cozumel three months later. The real question is can Royal keep up the sky high prices for all of the new builds? If that bubble bursts, there may not be anything left with which to compete.

The Fantasy class may be paid for, but Carnival Corporation will still be recognizing depreciation expense on them until 2028. To use your own words against you, the depreciation on the Fantasy class ships is based on the original purchase price of $300 Million, it is not adjusted for inflation. So you really can't compare the paper costs of the ships themselves. The older ship is less fuel efficient. The port taxes based on time at the port and length of the ship may ultimately be pass-throughs, but they aren't going to be 40% of what an Excel ship pays - and if the cruise doesn't sell out you're stuck with the expense. The crew complement also doesn't scale in a linear fashion; Fantasy class ships carry 920 crew, Excel class has 1735; if it was linear, Mardi Gras would have more than 630 extra crew members. Now if Carnival wants to build another Fantasy class ship today, they would have to pay the inflated price for that ship (approximately $600 Million). That's going to be significantly more per lower berth than the newer ships. New engineering work is probably going to have to be done anyway because I'm sure SOLAS has been updated a few times, so that may add even more costs. A smaller ship will never be more cost efficient.