Conquest News

[brn2crz]

That's interesting since the Ecstacy is in NOLA until March '06...Was that ad for Jan '06? We are sailing the Elation on March 11, '06 and were told that the Ecstacy would not return until it is refurbished which would be April. Could the Fema contract be ending sooner? Just curious.

 

Heres the link to the add...Don't know how long it will be there because its part of the 12 days of Christmas sale.. But it shows an Ecstasy sailing out of Galveston 1/06.....and various sailings through May..

 

I could be nutty I am on the phone,and editing some work at the same time....:eek:

[birdie16]

Carnival announced they would be back in NOLA "in two weeks" just hours after the hurricane hit. I think they have a history of making wishful thinking promises where NOLA in concerned. NOLA is going to have to do some very big repairs to it's infrastructure before cruises can begin cruising out of their port. They need to repair the port, hotels, parking, restaurants, etc., because people come from all over to cruise out of NOLA and will need to stay overnight...that's a lot of people for NOLA to handle without getting back in business 100%.

 

That being said, I hope I am wrong...the people of NOLA need their city to be back on it's feet that fast, I just don't see it happening.

[Rowan555]

Carnival announced they would be back in NOLA "in two weeks" just hours after the hurricane hit. I think they have a history of making wishful thinking promises where NOLA in concerned. NOLA is going to have to do some very big repairs to it's infrastructure before cruises can begin cruising out of their port. They need to repair the port, hotels, parking, restaurants, etc., because people come from all over to cruise out of NOLA and will need to stay overnight...that's a lot of people for NOLA to handle without getting back in business 100%.

 

That being said, I hope I am wrong...the people of NOLA need their city to be back on it's feet that fast, I just don't see it happening.

 

 

Actually there are quite a few downtown hotels already open - I think by February of 2006 the infrastructure could EASILY support a cruise ship back at port. Unfortunately, the infrastructure can't yet support families living in town, lol, but it WILL be ready for cruise passengers. The French Quarter is up and running, most restaurants are open, and I believe 5 or 6 large hotels are already open. They are planning to have many more open in time for Mardi Gras, which is about 2 months away.

[TexasFyre]

It's slowly going there. My husband does at least 6 conferences a year in New Orleans, and said he didn't think there would be anymore business, his, for at least a year. Just found out he has a conference there Friday, for over 300 people, so it looks like it's starting to come back slowly.

[TxStacey]

Heres the link to the add...Don't know how long it will be there because its part of the 12 days of Christmas sale.. But it shows an Ecstasy sailing out of Galveston 1/06.....and various sailings through May..

 

I could be nutty I am on the phone,and editing some work at the same time....:eek:

 

I missed the link...COuld you re-post it. Thanks

[Isabelle21]

Wonder when they are going to get a ship out of Chicago or Detroit so that I don't have to drive so far;) :D

 

I wish they had a cruise going out of Minneapolis!

[futaba951]

I wish they had a cruise going out of Minneapolis!

 

You may be just one good quake away from cruising out of Vegas. :D

[brn2crz]

I missed the link...COuld you re-post it. Thanks

 

Well...Apparently I did not include it :rolleyes: :confused: :o Lets see if its still there.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/Static_Templates/Promos/christmas05/Offer8_12_12_05.aspx

[jshawnh]

That's interesting since the Ecstacy is in NOLA until March '06...Was that ad for Jan '06? We are sailing the Elation on March 11, '06 and were told that the Ecstacy would not return until it is refurbished which would be April. Could the Fema contract be ending sooner? Just curious.

 

I called Carnival directly yesterday, after getting conflicting stories from travel agents. I was told that the Elation would be out of service while being refurbished through March, and the ecstacy would be sailing. I was going to book the Elation if it was sailing March 25-26 timeframe. I went ahead and booked the conquest instead, for about the same price as the 5 day Ecstacy sailing. We sailed the Ecstacy last year, and did not enjoy it as much as the Elation. YOu might want to call Carnival and double check.

 

S. H.

 

Jubilee MArch 2003

Holiday March 2004

Ecstacy November 2004

Elation April 2005

Conquest March 26 2006!!!

[Kittybork]

Another happy camper here if this is true!! :) I would love to see a different itinerary than the norm though and later hours in the ports of call.. Only time will tell, but I will be booking if the Freedom comes to Galveston for sure!!! :D

 

You brought up something that I have been curious about: why do the ships leave so early from the ports? I assumed that there might be extra port charges if the ship was there after a certain time. Is there any truth to that?

[GoinCruisin]

I called Carnival directly yesterday, after getting conflicting stories from travel agents. I was told that the Elation would be out of service while being refurbished through March, and the ecstacy would be sailing. I was going to book the Elation if it was sailing March 25-26 timeframe. I went ahead and booked the conquest instead, for about the same price as the 5 day Ecstacy sailing. We sailed the Ecstacy last year, and did not enjoy it as much as the Elation. YOu might want to call Carnival and double check.

 

S. H.

 

Jubilee MArch 2003

Holiday March 2004

Ecstacy November 2004

Elation April 2005

Conquest March 26 2006!!!

 

I'm confused by this post. The Ecstasy is being used (out of service) until March, for the relief efforts in NOLA/MS. The Elation is IN service, and sailing every week (the Elation took over the Ecstasy sailings)... Are you saying Carnival told you that the Ecstasy is cruising now? Yes, the Ecstasy will be back after the contract is up... The Elation will be sailing out of Miami in April 06, then out of Port Canaveral starting Nov 06...

 

The Elation has a 4 day cruise out of Galveston, on March 30th...

 

Perhaps I misunderstood your post... could you clarify what they told you?

[GoinCruisin]

You brought up something that I have been curious about: why do the ships leave so early from the ports? I assumed that there might be extra port charges if the ship was there after a certain time. Is there any truth to that?

 

Ships pay for the time they are in port... however, some ports have restrictions on how long (into the evening) a ship can be in port... Not all ports require the ships to leave early.. Cozumel being one (where some ships are there until midnight... or used to be)

[Kittybork]

Yes, the Ecstasy will be back after the contract is up

 

I've read that Tulane has contracted two Carnival cruise ships to serve as dorms when the campus reopens. I don't know which ships, or if the contracts have been signed.

[GoinCruisin]

I've read that Tulane has contracted two Carnival cruise ships to serve as dorms when the campus reopens. I don't know which ships, or if the contracts have been signed.

 

I read they were looking into ships, but Carnival wasn't mentioned. Can you point us to that article? I would guess it would be one of the ships already contracted... but they have already started booking those, and I know Carnival does NOT want to go through THAT again

[Kittybork]

I only found one "news" story that mentioned Carnival, and it is actually more of a personal interest story:

 

http://www.dailyvanguard.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/03/43915c9e0dc46

 

The Tulane web site mentions the cruise ships but not the cruise line or the ship's name:

http://www.tulane.edu/housing2.html

 

If I come across something more informative, I'll post it.

[Stircrzy]

I'm confused by this post. The Ecstasy is being used (out of service) until March, for the relief efforts in NOLA/MS. The Elation is IN service, and sailing every week (the Elation took over the Ecstasy sailings)... Are you saying Carnival told you that the Ecstasy is cruising now? Yes, the Ecstasy will be back after the contract is up... The Elation will be sailing out of Miami in April 06, then out of Port Canaveral starting Nov 06...

 

The Elation has a 4 day cruise out of Galveston, on March 30th...

 

Perhaps I misunderstood your post... could you clarify what they told you?

 

I'm real confused, but that's the state I generally live in...

 

I have a 4-night cruise booked with 8 cabins on the ELATION out of Galveston on March 2, 2006.

 

Or *DO* I??!?

 

The advertising does say the ECSTASY.

 

Just get me on a ship out of Galveston on March 2...won't really matter which one, but I would like to know before I go!

[GoinCruisin]

I'm real confused, but that's the state I generally live in...

 

I have a 4-night cruise booked with 8 cabins on the ELATION out of Galveston on March 2, 2006.

 

Or *DO* I??!?

 

The advertising does say the ECSTASY.

 

Just get me on a ship out of Galveston on March 2...won't really matter which one, but I would like to know before I go!

 

Here's where the problem lies... Carnival is now referring to everything as the Elation/Ecstasy. Because the Elation took over the Ecstasy sailings... so that is probably where the confusion is??

[Stircrzy]

Here's what I just now found on the Carnival site:

 

"

IMPORTANT UPDATE

: Due to Hurricane relief efforts Ecstasy's sister ship, Elation, will take over her exact itinerary for future sailings

through March 2, 2006."

 

(Guess I'm going on the ELATION after all...and the following cruise date will sail on the ECSTASY, with the Elation going into refurb before it heads to Florida??)

[cruzzza]

That's right, the problem probably lies in the fact that Carnival is not referring to the Elation sailings as "Elation" sailings. They are referring to them as Ecstacy/Elation sailings. For example, I am booked on an Ectasy sailing on the Elation. Sounds confusing, doesn't it. The ship I will actually be on is the Elation. Maybe that's part of the confusion.

[Kittybork]

Actually there are quite a few downtown hotels already open - I think by February of 2006 the infrastructure could EASILY support a cruise ship back at port. Unfortunately, the infrastructure can't yet support families living in town, lol, but it WILL be ready for cruise passengers. The French Quarter is up and running, most restaurants are open, and I believe 5 or 6 large hotels are already open. They are planning to have many more open in time for Mardi Gras, which is about 2 months away.

 

I stayed in a hotel there this past weekend. Though some are open and running, they have limited services just as many of the restaurants have limited hours, and in some cases, limited menus. It's a start, but they still have a ways to go. One of the waiters told us that a big part of the problem is a lack of people to perform all of the services. There are "Help Wanted" signs everywhere.

[TxStacey]

I guess alot of us are CONFUSED...I am sailing SOMETHING out of Galveston for 5 days on March 11. I wonder when the Ecstacy will go into refurb as was stated in a press release a few months ago? I guess I need to call Carnival. I will post when I find something out.

[TxStacey]

Here's the scoop from my conversation with Carnival a few minutes ago...I will be sailing the Elation in March...They will not be getting the Ecstacy back to Galveston until May according to the rep I spoke to. He said that it is still under contract with FEMA and then will go into refurbishment. Let's hope this is truly the case..He assured me it was in spite of the 12 days of Christmas ad that went out.

[brn2crz]

Ok...assuming the Ecstasy is a mis-print.What about the Bahama's part?:cool:

[big_duck]

Ok...assuming the Ecstasy is a mis-print.What about the Bahama's part?:cool:

 

Somebody at Carnival's advertising agency needs a good 'pankin.

[GoinCruisin]

Ok...assuming the Ecstasy is a mis-print.What about the Bahama's part?:cool:

 

The ELATION will be going to the bahamas... but not until October of next year...