Carnival’s Pinnacle Project

[WorldTraveler151208]

Hello everybody,
Recently, I accidentally came across information about a Carnival’s project known as “Pinnacle Project” from 2004. It was a project for building a huge ship (about 200,000 tons) with many unusual attractions. The construction was canceled due to too high costs (about one billion dollars). It was indeed a bold and futuristic project for 2004, but I think the idea was amazing. Now, after 16 years, Carnival is building the Mardi Gras that is not much smaller than the Pinnacle project, however, it does not have most of the innovative solutions and facilities from that project. The possibilities in construction have changed, and huge Oasis Class ships are already successfully operating on the market. Soon there will be another one, the huge Msc World Class. I think Carnival is ready now and they should come back to that extraordinary idea (of course when this whole mess with the virus will be over).  In my opinion Pinnacle, despite the fact that so many years have passed, would be the only such ship on the market and I am sure that it would be a great success for Carnival. Have you heard anything about this idea, and do you share my enthusiasm about it? Do you also think that Carnival should pull the Pinnacle project out of the archives and think about it again?

[Essiesmom]

Google Carnival Pinnacle Project and you come up with lots of articles about it.  EM

[kwokpot]

While I applaud your enthusiasm now is literally the WORST TIME to consider a new class megaship. I'm not sure why you think it is. I'm very curious as to you thinking here when cruiselines are literally begging for financing and mortgaging their ships for cash. 

[WorldTraveler151208]

55 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

While I applaud your enthusiasm now is literally the WORST TIME to consider a new class megaship. I'm not sure why you think it is. I'm very curious as to you thinking here when cruiselines are literally begging for financing and mortgaging their ships for cash. 

Do not get me wrong.  I mean the project is generally worth rethinking in the near future, not that they should do it right now. I mentioned in the first post that I mean the time after the pandemic.  Actually, I am writing about it now only because I am sitting at home all the time and finally I have time to read more about cruises. I absolutely agree with you that now is not the best time to invest. Nevertheless, I believe that Carnival, as the largest cruise line in the world and owner of several other significant lines, will manage to survive the crisis. I believe that in a few months the situation will stabilize.  Many believe that after the crisis, the cruise lines will struggle with booking cancellations and less occupancy.  However, I think it will not be so bad, because people, tired of sitting at home, will definitely be willing to go on vacation. In fact, the growing interests for cruises for 2021 are already visible in the statistics. Then the cruise lines will start thinking about investments again. Anyway, order books in shipyards are filled by 2023-24, so nothing can be done earlier.

[glrounds]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

While I applaud your enthusiasm now is literally the WORST TIME to consider a new class megaship. I'm not sure why you think it is. I'm very curious as to you thinking here when cruiselines are literally begging for financing and mortgaging their ships for cash. 

 

Exactly. The very existence of cruise lines is in question today as companies scurry to secure HUGE loans just to hang on to the progress they've made so far.

[RWolver672]

From their past history, they will order two more Mardi Gras class ships before they will come up with another class.  

[PhillyFan33579]

19 hours ago, WorldTraveler151208 said:

Do not get me wrong.  I mean the project is generally worth rethinking in the near future, not that they should do it right now. I mentioned in the first post that I mean the time after the pandemic.  Actually, I am writing about it now only because I am sitting at home all the time and finally I have time to read more about cruises. I absolutely agree with you that now is not the best time to invest. Nevertheless, I believe that Carnival, as the largest cruise line in the world and owner of several other significant lines, will manage to survive the crisis. I believe that in a few months the situation will stabilize.  Many believe that after the crisis, the cruise lines will struggle with booking cancellations and less occupancy.  However, I think it will not be so bad, because people, tired of sitting at home, will definitely be willing to go on vacation. In fact, the growing interests for cruises for 2021 are already visible in the statistics. Then the cruise lines will start thinking about investments again. Anyway, order books in shipyards are filled by 2023-24, so nothing can be done earlier.

You are missing the big point that a LOT of people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are struggling financially. These issues are not going to stabilize within a few months. There are a lot of people who are worried about keeping a roof over their head who are not going to be thinking about any vacation, to include going on a cruise, for a long time. 
 

You are seeing a surge in cruises for 2021 because a lot of people are rescheduling cruises they had booked this year until 2021. This may continue for some time if/when more cruises get cancelled this year. But eventually the rescheduling surge  will go away and I don’t think the demand for cruising will be close to what it was just a few short months ago. 

[gkbiiii]

Cancelled - Carnival's Project Pinnacle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzKeVvfOqxA

 

This amazing young man, did an interview with Carnivals lead designer, Joe Farcas, on this revolutionary ship.  The idea of a "people mover" which is like a Disney monorail, at sea.  This would revolutionize cruising, making large ships easier to navigate. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by gkbiiii

[matymil]

On 4/26/2020 at 11:23 AM, gkbiiii said:

Cancelled - Carnival's Project Pinnacle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzKeVvfOqxA

 

This amazing young man, did an interview with Carnivals lead designer, Joe Farcas, on this revolutionary ship.  The idea of a "people mover" which is like a Disney monorail, at sea.  This would revolutionize cruising, making large ships easier to navigate. 

Ive watched this a couple of times. GREAT! series. 

[outdoors27]

Yes, like the OP, I stumbled on this a few years ago and it looked like it would of been an awesome class of ship. The people mover looked really cool as someone here already mentioned. But with all that has transpired maybe it's best it never happened. Maybe it's something that can be revisited after one of two more Mardi Gras class ships are built in the future. 

[gkbiiii]

The problem is, that these ships are so big, they are difficult to travel though, due to their huge size.