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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

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The point is valid though. Be careful trusting Carnival.

 

 

I would agree that they tend to shoot from the hip as oppose to being more proactive. The truth is they had a tough couple of years. Tough finances make them make tough decisions late in the game. In the case of Baltimore, it was a total decision based upon the EPA regulations. Much different than pulling out of cities.

 

Some of the other cities decisions were tied to poor bookings. I think they have also re- thought there plan of so many home port cities including seasonal ones such as mobile, savannah, Norfolk etc.

 

 

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Captain Carnival

Captain Carnival

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...Be careful trusting Carnival...

 

The issue here in Tampa isn't with Carnival it's with the bridge and the various options that the Port of Tampa must address and correct so as to allow any future "mega" ships from calling the port home when smaller / midsize ships are no longer afloat.

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EZ4

EZ4

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The issue here in Tampa isn't with Carnival it's with the bridge and the various options that the Port of Tampa must address and correct so as to allow any future "mega" ships from calling the port home when smaller / midsize ships are no longer afloat.

 

You're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. What is the likelihood of that happening?

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Captain Carnival

Captain Carnival

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You're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. What is the likelihood of that happening?

 

Precisely that....the Port of Tampa (and the Tampa Bay are et al) will lose hundreds of millions of dollars should they not be able to receive and vessels.

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loubetti

loubetti

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The issue here in Tampa isn't with Carnival it's with the bridge and the various options that the Port of Tampa must address and correct so as to allow any future "mega" ships from calling the port home when smaller / midsize ships are no longer afloat.

 

Maybe Carnival and other cruise lines might want to help address these issues too, in the form of a check for $200 million or so. Sure, the port city benefits from these bloated behemoth ships, but does not the cruise line?

 

After all, they built a good bridge, but why did the cruise lines then build ships that they knew could not fit under it? Why is that local cities / states always have to be the sole providers of money in order to support cruise lines registered / incorporated in foreign countries? So you can have a nice cruise on the latest and greatest?

 

What if one of these foreign cruise lines built a ship that could not fit under the Verrazano Narrows bridge in New York? Should the Port Authority of NY/NJ tear down the bridge and build a new one for several billion$ just so "Behemoth of the Seas" can get under it and you can enjoy the ship's new ski slope and mountain climbing range?

 

Is there something I am missing here? I think not!

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zephyrhillscruisers

zephyrhillscruisers

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Build a new Skyway Bridge? Build a drawbridge? A tunnel? Just so a few bigger cruise ships can sail in and out?

 

I'm a local resident and avid cruiser, and would love to take a cab to the Port instead of driving to Canaveral, Lauderdale or Miami, but you people are living in a dream world, or seriously need to adjust your meds.

 

This state is having trouble repairing its current roads,bridges and there are pending issues with electricity as well as the ongoing problem of fresh drinking water as well as keeping its schools funded. The locals can't decide on the future of where it's baseball team will play, nor can they even figure out light rail.

 

And you think you can snap your fingers and rebuild one of the largest bridges in the state, eh?

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jackinbox

jackinbox

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Jacksonville has the same bridge issue.
But they only have one major cruise line.....Carnival. Tampa has four. If Carnival were the only line cruising out of Tampa, I'd say it would be far more difficult to make a case for doing something about the imminent problem. Jacksonville would be another Mobile if Carnival pulled out of there.

 

Mobile was a reaction to the post 9-11 fallout with people afraid to fly. It was primarily a drive to port drawing from FL, AL TN and GA. It had about a 7 million population base to draw from. The airport is pitiful though, and once flying came back into favor with the traveling public, Mobile's case as a drive to port was over. Tampa will continue to lose ships as the smaller ones retire and infrastructure beats the hell out of desire.
That's an interesting take and make a lot of sense.

 

The issue here in Tampa isn't with Carnival it's with the bridge and the various options that the Port of Tampa must address and correct so as to allow any future "mega" ships from calling the port home when smaller / midsize ships are no longer afloat.
Exactly. If anything, Carnival is far less affected by this than RCCL as they have gone gangbusters with building megaships and retiring the smaller ones. Carnival is doing so as well, but not on the scale as RCCL

 

After all, they built a good bridge, but why did the cruise lines then build ships that they knew could not fit under it?
I don't think the cruise lines are going to pattern their business model (which nowadays is bigger ships = higher yield) on the logistics of a single port. The cruise lines want to be in Tampa Bay, but the financial rewards of the megaships far outweigh the revenue that would be lost by not being able to sail from Tampa any longer.

 

Why is that local cities / states always have to be the sole providers of money in order to support cruise lines registered / incorporated in foreign countries? So you can have a nice cruise on the latest and greatest?
They aren't asking for money. They are simply saying "We're building bigger ships now and retiring the smaller one. We want to be in Tampa Bay. We hope you'll have a place available for us to dock."

 

I suppose you think that they should never have expanded the runways at TPA to accommodate jetliners several decades ago. Why would the airlines build these big jetliners that couldn't land at Drew Field?

 

What if one of these foreign cruise lines built a ship that could not fit under the Verrazano Narrows bridge in New York? Should the Port Authority of NY/NJ tear down the bridge and build a new one for several billion$ just so "Behemoth of the Seas" can get under it and you can enjoy the ship's new ski slope and mountain climbing range?
The Port Authority of NY/NJ expanded the pier size at the Brooklyn Terminal a few years back to accommodate the Queen Mary 2. Should they not have done that?

 

Besides, you are comparing apples and oranges. Cruise lines NEED to be in the NYC market. They don't NEED Tampa. They want to be in Tampa, but they don't need to be.

 

And you think you can snap your fingers and rebuild one of the largest bridges in the state, eh?
No, I'm advocating for building a new terminal with a couple of piers West of the Skyway.
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cheewiee

cheewiee

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The one thing no one really touched on, was that happens when the Cuba embargo ends.... It's only a matter of when, and Tampa is in a GREAT place to be the departure point of choice for those cruises...

 

 

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pgharea

pgharea

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It's like anything else in life, something's change and others stay the same. I'm not from the TB area but can think of more important issues for tax money to be used on

 

 

• Sent from my screen to yours.

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Captain Carnival

Captain Carnival

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Yes...indeed...build a (partial) tunnel and they will KEEP Coming!!

Edited by Captain Carnival
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EZ4

EZ4

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Tunnels don't solve all your problems. ALDOT is seriously kicking around the idea of building a new high rise I-10 bridge to bypass the twin tunnels in Mobile because of the high rate of accidents and congestion associated with the tunnels. Right now you can speed from coast to coast on I-10 in uninterrupted bliss until you hit the tunnels in Mobile, and then you better have a good book or a Netflix app on your phone.

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Eng23

Eng23

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It seems like a decent option to consider. It might not be cheap to build but it might be cheaper than any option to modify the bridge. Where I live having bridge tunnels that allow large ships to enter the harbor have been essential to the successful operation of our port.

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