Two Carnival Cruise Ships Have Been Sold and Two Others Going to Long Term Lay-Up Status

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

3 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks, shof15, for sharing both the article and the official press release.  One note that I found particularly telling from the press release:

 

Carnival Fascination itineraries from San Juan and Barbados have been cancelled for 2020-2021 as the cruise line focuses its return to operations on mainland drive markets in the U.S.

 

I know why Carnival is doing it, but abandoning the Eastern Caribbean route makes me very sad.  It was my first (and second) cruise on the Valor and I also did it on the Liberty.

 

Also from the press release, quoting Carnival President Christine Duffy:

 

“With our future fleet plan resolved, we are focused on ensuring we are ready to return to operations once it is determined that the time is right to resume cruising in the U.S.,” she said.

 

Two things I got from this - first, this seems to be the end for the major changes to the fleet and from here it's just a matter of canceling cruises as they come up; and second, there's not even a hint of when cruising will resume in the U.S.  Not good news.

 

A few more quickie comments:

 

• I guess Miami will have LNG fueling capability by November 2022; they'll need it for the Mardi Gras sister
• I have a lot of stuff in my closets and in dark corners that are the equivalent of "long-term layup"
• I'm adding Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", Chicago's "You're The Inspiration", Hall and Oates' "Your Imagination", and Human League's "Fascination" to my latest COVID-19 song list.
• Also from Christine Duffy in the press release:  "...we will continue to invest in the four remaining Fantasy class ships that we are keeping in the fleet.  We have many guests who prefer our Fantasy class ships which work so well for shorter itineraries from smaller ports that cannot accommodate our larger ships."  Um, Christine, I think you mean the Ecstasy class, right?
• Still no news about other cruises for October and beyond.  Our staring contest continues.  Who will blink first?

  "this seems to be the end for the major changes to the fleet" ... for now.

  If the virus remains out of control for the long-term future, all cruise lines are toast. But if we have a way to get it to reasonable levels (such as in the Northeast), then perhaps maybe possibly there'd be a way to resume some small-scale, very restricted cruising. But not if Americans keep behaving as if it's "only the flu" and not if CCL executives don't start actually doing their jobs - assembling the experts, engineers and consultants to develop plans. Then asking the CDC if those plans are adequate, and amending them as needed.
  Perhaps both of those conditions are impossible. If so, cruising may go the way of the dinosaur ... because COVID is not going away like a miracle. 
 

[shof515]

Just now, fyree39 said:

Is the Radiance one of the refurbs?

 

yes. the radiance is the carnival victory that is currently waiting to get the planned refurbishment that was suppose to happen a few months ago

[wo5m]

I figure the Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination are done as well. I suspect the only reason they are not being scraped is that the scrapers are at full capacity. Anyone else get that impression?

 

I am really disappointed that Galveston lost the Radiance. I was thinking abut booking at 14 day cruise on her, but looks like Carnival made my mind up for me  

[Indytraveler83]

Does anyone know what "long term layup" really means?  It sounds like the ships will remain in Carnival's possession, but the language of the releases feel like they've already moved on. 

 

I'm going to take this as they don't feel like they will use the ships again, but holding them for "just in case" cruising takes off bigger than expected and they can activate again?

 

Or does someone have more insight?

[ProgRockCruiser]

3 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

Does anyone know what "long term layup" really means?  It sounds like the ships will remain in Carnival's possession, but the language of the releases feel like they've already moved on. 

 

I'm going to take this as they don't feel like they will use the ships again, but holding them for "just in case" cruising takes off bigger than expected and they can activate again?

 

Or does someone have more insight?

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Carnival is hanging on to them until the scrap market demand increases to make it worthwhile to dump them, or someone else comes along to offer them a bit more cash to get them into operation with a new low-cost operator.

[MistyRo76]

58 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

• I'm adding Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", Chicago's "You're The Inspiration", Hall and Oates' "Your Imagination", and Human League's "Fascination" to my latest COVID-19 song list

👆 LOL I love it!

[ch09]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I feel the same way about Breeze though. I’m surprised they’re putting another sort of new ship in California. It seems like Panorama prices have been down compared to Vista and Horizon.

Carnival will not abandon that route. I knew that a newer ship would go there to consolidate it. Since the Radiance is in dry dock, the requirements to dock in California where shore power is required can be done. That is why the Radiance was likely chosen to take that route.

[ch09]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I guess the loser today is Galveston. I haven’t seen anything on a replacement for Radiance.

Carnival has to trim capacity. As a result, the ports with excess ships will be the ones to be cut first. There will not be a replacement for the Radiance.

Edited July 23, 2020 by ch09

[Georgie562]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interesting that a transformed ship will be doing 4 and 5 day cruises.

 

These 3/4 day cruises out of Long Beach are money makers. Now imagine on a "Sunshined" ship?? It will most certainly attract the demographic now $$

Edited July 23, 2020 by Georgie562

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks, shof15, for sharing both the article and the official press release.  One note that I found particularly telling from the press release:

 

Carnival Fascination itineraries from San Juan and Barbados have been cancelled for 2020-2021 as the cruise line focuses its return to operations on mainland drive markets in the U.S.

 

I know why Carnival is doing it, but abandoning the Eastern Caribbean route makes me very sad.  It was my first (and second) cruise on the Valor and I also did it on the Liberty.

 

Also from the press release, quoting Carnival President Christine Duffy:

 

“With our future fleet plan resolved, we are focused on ensuring we are ready to return to operations once it is determined that the time is right to resume cruising in the U.S.,” she said.

 

Two things I got from this - first, this seems to be the end for the major changes to the fleet and from here it's just a matter of canceling cruises as they come up; and second, there's not even a hint of when cruising will resume in the U.S.  Not good news.

 

A few more quickie comments:

 

• I guess Miami will have LNG fueling capability by November 2022; they'll need it for the Mardi Gras sister
• I have a lot of stuff in my closets and in dark corners that are the equivalent of "long-term layup"
• I'm adding Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", Chicago's "You're The Inspiration", Hall and Oates' "Your Imagination", and Human League's "Fascination" to my latest COVID-19 song list.
• Also from Christine Duffy in the press release:  "...we will continue to invest in the four remaining Fantasy class ships that we are keeping in the fleet.  We have many guests who prefer our Fantasy class ships which work so well for shorter itineraries from smaller ports that cannot accommodate our larger ships."  Um, Christine, I think you mean the Ecstasy class, right?
• Still no news about other cruises for October and beyond.  Our staring contest continues.  Who will blink first?

 

Yep.  The writing was on the wall for San Juan and her relatively exotic itinerary.  We just lost our 'extra exotic' version of that which included port calls at Grenada and Antigua.  Frankly, that's not Carnival's sweet spot unfortunately.  They are best positioned as a mass market cruise ship that takes people on vacation from anywhere from 3-7 days to standardized ports.  We understand that and enjoy them for that purpose.

 

We LOVE getting off the beaten track.  Obviously other providers make that available.  For those more exotic destinations we'll look to small ship cruising on wonderful brands like Windstar and Star Clippers to meet that objective, albeit at a much higher price point.  If you've never sailed a small ship, do consider it.  An absolutely spectacular experience.  

[sanmarcosman]

The west coast and in particular the Port of Long Beach got a big boost with this announcement. Thanks, Carnival!

[sanmarcosman]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

The Radiance will be doing 3 & 4 day cruises from  Long Beach. 

Correct, and thank you as it is important to distinguish the Radiance sailings from those of Carnival Miracle which does the 5 day to Cabo cruises. 

[Saint Greg]

39 minutes ago, Georgie562 said:

 

These 3/4 day cruises out of Long Beach are money makers. Now imagine on a "Sunshined" ship?? It will most certainly attract the demographic now $$

 

I don't know you put a all of these specialty restaurants on a ship and by the time people figure out where they are, the cruise is over. I think this ship needs a cruise long enough for people to get tired of the MDR.

[scpirate]

2 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

John Heald is reading off the Press Release right now on FB Live.

 

So that is the big shake up we've all been wondering about.

 

Hmmm.

We're you actually expecting some ground shaking news from mr.john heald. ? I only look him up because I have a cruise out of Charleston that's mostly paid for and I don't want to be surprised by changes.plus I paid for it with gift cards and I can't get my money back otherwise I'd ask for a refund.my wife told me yesterday she wasn't interested in cruising anymore.the covid Boogeyman got another one.

[Newe08]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I guess the loser today is Galveston. I haven’t seen anything on a replacement for Radiance.

Yeah we were gonna do the Radiance in Jan 2022 with the partial Panama Canal itinerary.  According to John there won’t be a replacement for the Radiance at this time in Galveston,  and that itinerary won’t be moved to one of the other ships sailing out of Galveston.  It’s a lose-lose situation. Lol 

[Indytraveler83]

59 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Carnival is hanging on to them until the scrap market demand increases to make it worthwhile to dump them, or someone else comes along to offer them a bit more cash to get them into operation with a new low-cost operator.

 

That seems to make more sense. Thanks for the insight. 

 

Overall seeing any ships go is sad for the memories that we've had on these ships but if (and that's a big if) things can return to something close to normal, and cruising resumes as it was, these losses aren't as bad as they could have been  Honestly we've all seen Fantasy class retirements coming for a while now (like it or not). 

 

I'm more concerned with the fact that they have announced a new Mardi Gras class ship and progress on the Mardi Gras without any real changes. These new ultra crowded ships may be less capable of converting to post-pandemic cruising than the ones they are retiring. 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Of course Cruise Critic covered as well: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5480/

[embarkation75]

1 hour ago, ch09 said:

Carnival will not abandon that route. I knew that a newer ship would go there to consolidate it. Since the Radiance is in dry dock, the requirements to dock in California where shore power is required can be done. That is why the Radiance was likely chosen to take that route.

 

You called it first with a 2 to 1 ship change on the 3-4 day Long Beach itinerary. I'm also not surprised the Miracle remains in San Diego/San Fran at this stage as it made no sense capacity wise or giving up on the lucrative Alaska, Hawaii, and longer Mexican Riviera cruises.

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, Indytraveler83 said:

Does anyone know what "long term layup" really means?  

It can mean many things. The SS United States has been in various stages of lay-up since 1969 and still awaits an uncertain future at a pier in Philadelphia.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by sanmarcosman

[ZoeyVictoria]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

I for one will not be booking any of the first 10 cruises like we did the last time. 

I booked the 14th sailing of the Empress of the Seas when Royal Caribbean brought it back from Pulmantur.  The refurbishment took way longer than expected and cruises were cancelled 3-4 at a time until our 14th sailing became the first.  There were cabins with no a/c,  some that were flooded, practically no a/c in the casino and other public areas.  They did not get all the food loaded before we sailed and the stoves weren’t powerful enough to heat the extra-heavy-duty pans the chef had ordered, so food was scarce and cold.  Then when we finally tried to disembark, there were problems with about 50% of the credit cards, so few people were able to get off the ship without waiting in the overcrowded chaos that was Guest Services.  My late SO was a big guy like you, and made such a loud , noticeable fuss that a supervisor came out and “fixed” our problem to get him out of the lobby; basically, we were thrown off the ship 😂. We kept our sense of humor, and it was so bad that it was actually funny.  It is one I will always remember, but never, ever again do we want to on the very first cruise.

[BlerkOne]

33 minutes ago, Newe08 said:

Yeah we were gonna do the Radiance in Jan 2022 with the partial Panama Canal itinerary.  According to John there won’t be a replacement for the Radiance at this time in Galveston,  and that itinerary won’t be moved to one of the other ships sailing out of Galveston.  It’s a lose-lose situation. Lol 

 

I dunno. With 2 Radiance cruises cancelled for me, I have 2 $600 OBC + 2 $800 deposits credits to transfer to other, existing cruises. Now one is almost paid for. Not bad. Just have to pick the two cruises least likely to be canceled.

[tybrkr17]

Any reason why the Fascination might go before the Ecstasy or Sensation? It is three years newer than the Ecstasy and I think it has the same balcony upgrades as those two. 

 

I would have thought the first four Fantasy class ships that would have got sold off first would be:

Fantasy (Oldest and no balcony upgrade)

Ecstasy (Oldest ship with the balcony upgrade)

Imagination (No Balcony upgrade)

Inspiration (No Balcony upgrade)

 

Leaving Fascination, Sensation, Paradise and Elation. (The four newest Fantasy class ships with the upgrades)

[elcuchio24]

2 hours ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

  "this seems to be the end for the major changes to the fleet" ... for now.

  If the virus remains out of control for the long-term future, all cruise lines are toast. But if we have a way to get it to reasonable levels (such as in the Northeast), then perhaps maybe possibly there'd be a way to resume some small-scale, very restricted cruising. But not if Americans keep behaving as if it's "only the flu" and not if CCL executives don't start actually doing their jobs - assembling the experts, engineers and consultants to develop plans. Then asking the CDC if those plans are adequate, and amending them as needed.
  Perhaps both of those conditions are impossible. If so, cruising may go the way of the dinosaur ... because COVID is not going away like a miracle. 
 

 

We'll take our $$ to the Mexican AIs until cruiselines are back up and running. Hopefully thats soon, 

[MeganGC1983]

15 minutes ago, tybrkr17 said:

Any reason why the Fascination might go before the Ecstasy or Sensation? It is three years newer than the Ecstasy and I think it has the same balcony upgrades as those two. 

 

I would have thought the first four Fantasy class ships that would have got sold off first would be:

Fantasy (Oldest and no balcony upgrade)

Ecstasy (Oldest ship with the balcony upgrade)

Imagination (No Balcony upgrade)

Inspiration (No Balcony upgrade)

 

Leaving Fascination, Sensation, Paradise and Elation. (The four newest Fantasy class ships with the upgrades)

Fascination was due to dry dock in Dec. Maybe that’s why? Perhaps the others all ready have some of that taken care of? Or it’s the itinerary. 

[tybrkr17]

2 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Fascination was due to dry dock in Dec. Maybe that’s why? Perhaps the others all ready have some of that taken care of? Or it’s the itinerary. 

 

I was thinking latest dry dock too but I think it was just scheduled for routine maint and not any major changes? But the itinerary might have more to do with it because Fascination was scheduled for PR and that was all cancelled.

 

And I guess I read somewhere that Ecstasy just recently had a dry dock earlier this year so that might be factor as well. Still interesting though because she is still 3 years older. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by tybrkr17