(SPECULATION) Future of the Fantasy Class

[heffy2]

1 hour ago, CategoryQ said:

The Curacao Ports Authority has a picture on FB of Fantasy and Inspiration with the caption: Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration moored at the container terminal for unloading heavy equipment.

 

Someone noted that the generators appear to be removed from the ships.

 

There are also reports that ship tracking sites show Fantasy's next destination as Turkey, where a ship scrapping yard is nearby.

 

No official word from Carnival, and the Fantasy bookings are still available on the website.

I noticed the same thing, and for maybe an hour I was hopeful she was just going to Turkey to repatriate crew. If she was doing that, it's doubtful that she would be going to Izmir. While this time was coming relatively soon, I was hoping to sail in Fantasy one last time in Sept 2021. 😪

[keywest1]

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-fantasy-reportedly-sold-heading-to-scrapyard/

Just on my Twitter feed.

[xDisconnections]

Progress.

[robc1972]

Good, get rid of the old cramped boats showing their age and focus on the bigger better more cost effective ones.

[CategoryQ]

Just now, robc1972 said:

Good, get rid of the old cramped boats showing their age and focus on the bigger better more cost effective ones.

 

I found Fantasy to be more spacious than the newer ships.

I'm sure it wasn't exactly fuel efficient, but I'd think it was a money-maker since it was likely long paid off. But probably a pain to up-keep.

[Cruising89143]

2 hours ago, CategoryQ said:

The Curacao Ports Authority has a picture on FB of Fantasy and Inspiration with the caption: Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration moored at the container terminal for unloading heavy equipment.

 

Someone noted that the generators appear to be removed from the ships.

 

There are also reports that ship tracking sites show Fantasy's next destination as Turkey, where a ship scrapping yard is nearby.

 

No official word from Carnival, and the Fantasy bookings are still available on the website.

Take this with a grain of salt until Carnival confirms it. I still recall walking onto the Fantasy in 1992 and my jaw dropping at the atrium. So bright but I loved it. Farcus interiors will always be one of a kind. Love him or hate him, he marched to the beat of his own drum.
 

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-fantasy-reportedly-sold-heading-to-scrapyard/?fbclid=IwAR2CoVCDcHuhPdMBkgCrehQux1uOCEQXH_mTV6xm8QeQgjovSpSnTWwmU8E

[Roger88]

2 minutes ago, CategoryQ said:

 

I found Fantasy to be more spacious than the newer ships.

I'm sure it wasn't exactly fuel efficient, but I'd think it was a money-maker since it was likely long paid off. But probably a pain to up-keep.

Its definitely a money maker cruiser. I mean just by looking at it one may say that this ship was designed to make as much money as possible. Its spacious yes and in this regard it doesnt feel that comfortable when on board. In any case its a great ship to cruise. Dont see a single reason to hate it 

[jean87510]

Sad to hear this. We cruised out of Charleston in 2011 on her in the Owners Suite. Nicest crew other than the Celebrity Summit.

[Cruiseboy06]

So why Is Inspiration is with Fantasy?  As right now shes showing  her cruises from Long Beach?     I thought maybe the crew from Fantasy is  being transfer to Inspiration

[CategoryQ]

17 minutes ago, Cruiseboy06 said:

So why Is Inspiration is with Fantasy?  As right now shes showing  her cruises from Long Beach?     I thought maybe the crew from Fantasy is  being transfer to Inspiration

 

I've seen speculation that the items from Fantasy were being moved to Inspiration - and also speculation that Inspiration was having its items removed as well and is headed to Turkey next.

[Aoumd]

OP checking back in.  The Fantasy and Inspiration having things removed in Curacao is interesting as is the Fantasy's stated next destination of a major shipbreaking city in Turkey.  Not surprised though.  Wish Carnival would just get over this "we know exactly how many ships we're going to scrap but not naming them" and name names of the ships that are leaving, even if for some reason the Fantasy is not one of them...though I am curious if they are waiting to do so until the scrapper's check clears Carnival's account, to offset the cost of giving out refunds to those who don't want to rebook other itineraries.

 

Will be interesting to see what the future Carnival looks like.  I have a feeling that Spirit class ships, along with any remaining Fantasy Classes that don't get scrapped, will be used for the smallest of homeports + bridge-restricted ports (Tampa, Jacksonville, etc.).  Moving larger vessels to other homeports nationwide given the greater importance now of the drive-up market (as some have noted) makes sense if it allows downsizing of the entire fleet, the larger ship will be sailing under a reduced capacity for the foreseeable future (as noted on another thread), and with drive-in markets disincentivizing the concentration of ships in South Florida, whose drive-up market is beyond saturated when few wish to fly to a vessel.  Also curious if shifting more resources to non-US homeports might make sense for Carnival Cruise Line, or just the larger Carnival Corporation -- countries which get over Coronavirus sooner will be in positions to allow their citizens to sail from their homeports sooner.  For instance, for the larger Carnival Corp., I can see Cunard offering more Euro-centric itineraries (rather than crossings) in 2021 which Americans might not be able to sail on if they aren't allowed into the embarkation country.

 

Of course, the itineraries will be equally interesting in "how they're handling that" rather than a "far-flung destinations" perspective, I envision lots of sea days, Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Grand Turk, Amber Cove and other ports where Carnival can control where people go when they go off the ship -- and test those workers entering the port complex to cater to passengers (I recall vessel crew does this in places like HMC?).  All these issues are interconnected, and I'm sure some fascinating (and, until recently unbelievable) analyses and calculations are being done over copious amounts of overtime in the home offices and laptops of Carnival HQ staff.  

Edited July 13, 2020 by Aoumd

[Aoumd]

25 minutes ago, CategoryQ said:

 

I've seen speculation that the items from Fantasy were being moved to Inspiration - and also speculation that Inspiration was having its items removed as well and is headed to Turkey next.

If the latter is true, interesting that they aren't necessarily going in chronological order based on ships' age.

 

Are any Fantasy Classes currently in the Philippines or other Southeast Asian countries after having repatriated crews?  Those ships would be the shortest distance from India, another country with major marine scrapyards.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Aoumd

[ch09]

49 minutes ago, Aoumd said:

If the latter is true, interesting that they aren't necessarily going in chronological order based on ships' age.

 

Are any Fantasy Classes currently in the Philippines or other Southeast Asian countries after having repatriated crews?  Those ships would be the shortest distance from India, another country with major marine scrapyards.

Ecstasy is heading back to the Caribbean through Africa, so that one will survive for now. The Fascination is currently in line transit the Suez Canal, which puts the ship the closest to Turkey of all of the Fantasy class ships. It looks like Aliaga, not Alang is the scrapyard of choice as Pullmantur ships are headed there along with the Fantasy and likely the Inspiration.

Edited July 13, 2020 by ch09

[Cruising89143]

Fantasy mentioned in this article.

 

https://www.cruiseharbournews.com/monarchaliaga.html?fbclid=IwAR1z3VI40XEmlcowuTJZbLq-zPW3I-uhdDeN1xE4B0ytAOoWUicCXbPM8Pc

[cruisin from vegas]

I have a booking on Inspiration Oct 2, 2020...  probably not😢

[Aoumd]

57 minutes ago, ch09 said:

Ecstasy is heading back to the Caribbean through Africa, so that one will survive for now. The Fascination is currently in line transit the Suez Canal, which puts the ship the closest to Turkey of all of the Fantasy class ships. It looks like Aliaga, not Alang is the scrapyard of choice as Pullmantur ships are headed there along with the Fantasy and likely the Inspiration.

Fascination was my first cruise.  She'll live on in my heart and photo album for the memories if she's indeed heading to the scrapper in Turkey.

 

After some sleuthing on various vessel trackers, here's what appears to be going on for all 8 ships:

 

Fantasy is in Curacao with a reported next port of Izmir, Turkey as discussed here.  Inspiration is also in Curacao.  Also as discussed here, the port authority posted to Facebook that equipment is being taken off of both vessels.

 

Fascination, as reported in your post, is at the Suez Canal, with a last reported port of Durban, South Africa.  However, Ecstasy left Mumbai with a next port of Durban (and going from Mumbai to the Caribbean via South Africa is the long way around vs. a direct route Mumbai-Suez), so it's possible that Ecstasy is going to do whatever Fascination did (if they're getting scrapped, perhaps Durban is their Curacao for the removal of valuable/reusable equipment).

 

Paradise and Elation are showing up as in the Bahamas with next ports of Half Moon Cay; Sensation is also in the Bahamas.  Nothing definitive there as cruise lines have been anchoring ships and running them around the Bahamas throughout the pandemic.

 

Imagination appears to have last been in any port in late April (Long Beach) but now appears headed to the Panama Canal, which would be the shortest logical route from its last reported port to both Curacao and Turkey.  ETA Panama Canal within the next week.

 

(Disclaimer: SPECULATION) If valuables/reusable equipment is being removed at Curacao and also Durban, we could be looking at the retirement of 4-5 Fantasy Class ships, if not all of them depending on where the ships in the Bahamas + Imagination go next.

 

[ch09]

2 hours ago, Aoumd said:

Fascination was my first cruise.  She'll live on in my heart and photo album for the memories if she's indeed heading to the scrapper in Turkey.

 

After some sleuthing on various vessel trackers, here's what appears to be going on for all 8 ships:

 

Fantasy is in Curacao with a reported next port of Izmir, Turkey as discussed here.  Inspiration is also in Curacao.  Also as discussed here, the port authority posted to Facebook that equipment is being taken off of both vessels.

 

Fascination, as reported in your post, is at the Suez Canal, with a last reported port of Durban, South Africa.  However, Ecstasy left Mumbai with a next port of Durban (and going from Mumbai to the Caribbean via South Africa is the long way around vs. a direct route Mumbai-Suez), so it's possible that Ecstasy is going to do whatever Fascination did (if they're getting scrapped, perhaps Durban is their Curacao for the removal of valuable/reusable equipment).

 

Paradise and Elation are showing up as in the Bahamas with next ports of Half Moon Cay; Sensation is also in the Bahamas.  Nothing definitive there as cruise lines have been anchoring ships and running them around the Bahamas throughout the pandemic.

 

Imagination appears to have last been in any port in late April (Long Beach) but now appears headed to the Panama Canal, which would be the shortest logical route from its last reported port to both Curacao and Turkey.  ETA Panama Canal within the next week.

 

(Disclaimer: SPECULATION) If valuables/reusable equipment is being removed at Curacao and also Durban, we could be looking at the retirement of 4-5 Fantasy Class ships, if not all of them depending on where the ships in the Bahamas + Imagination go next.

 

All ships went through the Cape of Good Hope to get to Asia. The Fascination did not return to Durban after going to Mumbai. It hanged out at Sri Lanka and then the ship hit the Suez Canal where it is now waiting transit. The Masadam and the Veendam are also several days behind which will probably end up in Aliaga.  The situation with the Ecstasy is that it lucked out for now as it recently had a dry dock late last year what is keeping the ship around unlike the Fascination and Inspiration that are due within the next few months. By not doing them, Carnival will save tens of millions. The Ecstasy is also ahead of the Liberty that will definitely be returning to the Caribbean. The Paradise is in the same boat as the Fascination and Inspiration, but that ship will survive due to its big refurbishment two years ago that added balconies that the other ships got 10 years ago and the addition of the Grand Deck near the bridge that also has balconies.

[Aoumd]

2 minutes ago, ch09 said:

All ships went through the Cape of Good Hope to get to Asia. The Fascination did not return to Durban after going to Mumbai. It hanged out at Sri Lanka and then the ship hit the Suez Canal where it is now waiting transit. The Masadam and the Veendam are also several days behind which will probably end up in Aliaga.  The situation with the Ecstasy is that it lucked out for now as it recently had a dry dock late last year what is keeping the ship around unlike the Fascination and Inspiration that are due within the next few months. By not doing them, Carnival will save tens of millions. The Ecstasy is also ahead of the Liberty that will definitely be returning to the Caribbean. The Paradise is in the same boat as the Fascination and Inspiration, but that ship will survive due to its big refurbishment two years ago that added balconies that the other ships got 10 years ago and the addition of the Grand Deck near the bridge that also has balconies.

 

Thank you for the additional information, looks like the AIS tracker website origins/destinations are not always accurate.

 

And yes, I can definitely see how they'd want to pick and choose based on drydock dates!

[scpirate]

On 4/16/2020 at 6:58 PM, Tapi said:

 If Fantasy class ships are paid for, it may be financially feasible to continue operating these ships, even if they aren’t sailing at capacity, or if they are sailing at deeply reduced fares for a while. If Carnival can attract enough people with reduced fares, they can generate extra revenue from onboard spending. 
 

That aside, I think that keeping these ships operating from “drive to” ports may be key to Carnival’s recovery. Let me explain. I believe that people will continue cruising and vacationing, but they may set aside a smaller budget than in the past (either because they took a pay cut, lost income, or want to be more conservative with their spending). Someone who had previously budgeted to fly to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale to board a newer ship on a longer itinerary may now be budgeting less, and looking at driving to Jacksonville, Mobile or Charleston to take a shorter and more inexpensive cruise. At the same time, people who used to sail on more expensive cruise lines may now be looking at budget friendly Carnival for a future vacation.

 

Being a price leader, I believe that Carnival will greatly benefit once cruising resumes. It may be the “go to” cruise line for many on a tighter budget. 

I disagree with Charleston cruises being inexpensive and carnival is not the price leader.if your schedule is flexible you can sail on other lines with the same itiniary for less.which is what I have been doing.i have a carnival Cruise booked out of Charleston it is the same itiniary out of San juan.its pretty expensive but flights and hotels in San Juan have jumped considerably since we last went .we stayed on post at fort Buchanan for $60 a night now it's toward the $200 mark last I checked.only reason I booked plus enough obc to cover our gratuities for 10 days.plus Charleston is a 2 hour drive and I get free parking.

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, Aoumd said:

OP checking back in.  The Fantasy and Inspiration having things removed in Curacao is interesting as is the Fantasy's stated next destination of a major shipbreaking city in Turkey.  Not surprised though.  Wish Carnival would just get over this "we know exactly how many ships we're going to scrap but not naming them" and name names of the ships that are leaving, even if for some reason the Fantasy is not one of them...though I am curious if they are waiting to do so until the scrapper's check clears Carnival's account, to offset the cost of giving out refunds to those who don't want to rebook other itineraries.

 

Carnival may not know how many and which ships. Every ship is for sale for the right price. Carnival may have goals of X number of ships, and/or Y number of employees and/or Z number of passenger capacity. Total operating expenses? Etc? I imagine it is much more complicated than that.

 

7 hours ago, Aoumd said:

Also curious if shifting more resources to non-US homeports might make sense for Carnival Cruise Line, or just the larger Carnival Corporation -- countries which get over Coronavirus sooner will be in positions to allow their citizens to sail from their homeports sooner. 

 

 

Carnival Cruise Line caters to Americans and it doesn't make sense to home port ships outside of the US at the moment. If that country would close to Americans, that would be a mess. If only a port stop, maybe another port could be found or just a sea day.

 

[Essiesmom]

3 hours ago, Aoumd said:

 

Thank you for the additional information, looks like the AIS tracker website origins/destinations are not always accurate.

 

And yes, I can definitely see how they'd want to pick and choose based on drydock dates!

AIS does not enter the ship destination.  That is done by the crew onboard, presumably Bridge crew.  I watched a US navy ship go through the Panama Canal with destination The Moon.

[tidecat]

Imagination could be headed east for Caribbean service. A Conquest-class ship gets sent to Long Beach to take the displaced Imagination and Inspiration cruisers.

 

I would expect Legend's 2021 European season to be cancelled, as she could temporarily replace some of the lost capacity in Florida or the Gulf Coast if a Conquest-class ship heads to Long Beach. Europe may also not be wanting Americans to visit.

 

 

[Aoumd]

8 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

AIS does not enter the ship destination.  That is done by the crew onboard, presumably Bridge crew.  I watched a US navy ship go through the Panama Canal with destination The Moon.

Thanks for the clarification; I should have said "destination entered by crew on websites that use AIS to track positions."

That's hilarious re: sailing to the moon via the Panama Canal!

[Aoumd]

Carnival Fantasy is now underway at 15.9 knots heading to Turkey.

 

Fascination is nearing the completion of its Suez Canal transit, but still has no destination programmed in besides "Suez Canal."

[Cruisertoday]

1 hour ago, Aoumd said:

Carnival Fantasy is now underway at 15.9 knots heading to Turkey.

 

Fascination is nearing the completion of its Suez Canal transit, but still has no destination programmed in besides "Suez Canal."

 

Fascination is now headed to Marsaxlokk, Malta where the Sovereign from Pullmantur is currently docked.