Costa Magica to Carnival Fleet

[BlerkOne]

I think Carnival is going to operate their business like a business and put ships where they think they can maximize their chances of surviving and not make emotional decisions.

[tidecat]

50 minutes ago, toad455 said:

With the news if the Sensation not returning and the Ecstasy leaving in October, I wonder if the Magica could sail out of Jacksonville? Could a dry dock enabled Carnival to get the ship to fit to sail out of there?

Air draft (height) is the issue in Jacksonville. Carnival isn't going to make the ship smaller when it goes to dry dock. Jacksonville's options are Elation, Paradise, Spirit, Pride, Miracle, and Legend.

[CruiseAdict218]

With the second announcement, Spirit is moving to Jacksonville from March to April 9 and then a new ship will be assigned to Jacksonville, from April 23 and onward; Elation will probably be pushed out of PC up to Jacksonville. Leaving Spirit for PC or else where. 

 

Splendor is seems to only be coming back for the year, whereas Spirit is cancelled out of Australia through 2023. 

 

Costa Magica could end up being in Australia but until there is solid news that cruising is resuming there, will sail somewhere from the US. 

[toad455]

Is the Magica still slated to sail for Carnival by the end of the year(2022)?

[BlerkOne]

23 minutes ago, toad455 said:

Is the Magica still slated to sail for Carnival by the end of the year(2022)?

Supposed to begin mid-2022. Not sure they will make that.

[AQW]

On 2/1/2022 at 9:46 PM, brilliantseas said:

 

• Permanent Carnival Journeys Ship?
  • Carnival Spirit would make an excellent Journeys vessel to sail unique itineraries at premium rates from multiple U.S. ports on a year-round basis.

 

Yes please!!!! I would be excited to see a commitment to expanded Journeys offerings and unique itineraries at all; having all that on a Spirit-class ship would be fantastic.

[Aplmac]

What's this I'm hearing?

Two more (older) boats leaving the Carnival fleet?

 

There's a thread devoted to this, already

but here's the news.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/26730-two-more-ships-to-leave-carnival-cruise-line-fleet.html

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, Aplmac said:

What's this I'm hearing?

Two more (older) boats leaving the Carnival fleet?

 

There's a thread devoted to this, already

but here's the news.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/26730-two-more-ships-to-leave-carnival-cruise-line-fleet.html

Two more "rust buckets" bite the dust.  The Sensation is done now and the Ecstasy will be done in October.  They served their time.  Two more of Farcus's ships are now a memory.

[Aplmac]

9 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Two more "rust buckets" bite the dust.  The Sensation is done now

and the Ecstasy will be done in October.  They served their time.

Two more of Farcus's ships are now a memory.

 

Just two more to go now,

and then their fleet will look really quite modern, overall!

 

Although I must say that Carnival Paradise benefitted 'bigly'

from that new paint job.....

 

[KmomChicago]

47 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

 

Just two more to go now,

and then their fleet will look really quite modern, overall!

 

Although I must say that Carnival Paradise benefitted 'bigly'

from that new paint job.....

 

Are any of the home ports limited to Fantasy class or can they all handle the upgrade to Spirit class?

[toad455]

Not sure about Mobile, but Jacksonville and Tampa can handle a Spirit-class ship.

 

Nothing's been confirmed if either the Sensation or Ecstasy are going to the scrap yard. Sensation seems likely, but I still wonder if Ecstasy may go to another [smaller] cruise line.

[vwrestler171]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

Are any of the home ports limited to Fantasy class or can they all handle the upgrade to Spirit class?

Where the difference in height is only 4ft, I am sure all ports can accommodate a Spirit class ship if they currently have a Fantasy class. 

[brilliantseas]

7 hours ago, toad455 said:

Not sure about Mobile, but Jacksonville and Tampa can handle a Spirit-class ship.

 

Nothing's been confirmed if either the Sensation or Ecstasy are going to the scrap yard. Sensation seems likely, but I still wonder if Ecstasy may go to another [smaller] cruise line.

 

Mobile can accommodate a Sunshine-class, and presumably a Conquest-class ship, if not larger. Carnival Triumph was docked here for repairs after the fire in 2013, and has also handled the occasional hurricane or severe fog diversion from New Orleans if the Mississippi River is closed to ocean traffic. The port does not have any air draft (height above waterline) restrictions, and is also home to a major U.S. Navy contractor. 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by brilliantseas

[EZ1]

On 1/30/2022 at 12:07 PM, CeleBrat said:

We have sailed several Costa ships, and so I can attest that several of the Costa ships have the exact same layout (floor plan?) as some of the Carnival ships.  Down to the placement of the lounges, and strange under-the-theater forward walkways, and atriums.

We've done many Carnivals, & so when we went on the Costa Magica when it first came to FL., a while back, we knew our way around the ship. Heard that it was built by the same guy who did the Carnival ships.  I remember the great pizza at the lunch buffet, the pasta course at dinner, & the toga parties.

 

[EZ1]

following

[KmomChicago]

On 2/5/2022 at 6:19 PM, brilliantseas said:

 

Mobile can accommodate a Sunshine-class, and presumably a Conquest-class ship, if not larger. Carnival Triumph was docked here for repairs after the fire in 2013, and has also handled the occasional hurricane or severe fog diversion from New Orleans if the Mississippi River is closed to ocean traffic. The port does not have any air draft (height above waterline) restrictions, and is also home to a major U.S. Navy contractor. 

 

Would love to see Mobile support a larger, newer ship!

[jsglow]

I put the chances that the renamed Costa Magica with her $200MM retrofit price tag is headed to homeport in Mobile Alabama at exactly zero point zero.

[tidecat]

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

I put the chances that the renamed Costa Magica with her $200MM retrofit price tag is headed to homeport in Mobile Alabama at exactly zero point zero.

I think Sydney is the intended destination, whether that happens or not depends on the Australian government. It looks like Spirit will be wintering in Miami for 2022-23, so the natural bump would be to put Magica in Miami, and Spirit in Mobile, even if only temporarily. Of course, if Elation or Paradise is the ship that was intended for Mobile, Carnival may just move that one earlier than scheduled and park Spirit in Jacksonville or Tampa.

 

The other possibility is that Magica is going to the West Coast, and will wind up sending Miracle back east. This still gives five Spirit/Fantasy class ships for use in Mobile, Jacksonville, and Baltimore, and both slots in Tampa, while allowing Spirit and Splendor to go home.

 

Just because a ship is available to book right now out of a port doesn't mean that can't be changed.

[brilliantseas]

8 hours ago, tidecat said:

I think Sydney is the intended destination, whether that happens or not depends on the Australian government. It looks like Spirit will be wintering in Miami for 2022-23, so the natural bump would be to put Magica in Miami, and Spirit in Mobile, even if only temporarily. Of course, if Elation or Paradise is the ship that was intended for Mobile, Carnival may just move that one earlier than scheduled and park Spirit in Jacksonville or Tampa.

 

The other possibility is that Magica is going to the West Coast, and will wind up sending Miracle back east. This still gives five Spirit/Fantasy class ships for use in Mobile, Jacksonville, and Baltimore, and both slots in Tampa, while allowing Spirit and Splendor to go home.

 

Just because a ship is available to book right now out of a port doesn't mean that can't be changed.

 

Carnival canceled Spirit sailings from Australia through 2023. I suspect and hope that she remains in U.S. waters, with Magica providing a capacity upgrade for the Australian market. 

 

What I am not familiar with is bridge clearances in Australia and NZ? Was Spirit chosen for the Brisbane market because of bridge clearances, or solely for her smaller capacity? 

[brilliantseas]

8 hours ago, tidecat said:

I think Sydney is the intended destination, whether that happens or not depends on the Australian government. It looks like Spirit will be wintering in Miami for 2022-23, so the natural bump would be to put Magica in Miami, and Spirit in Mobile, even if only temporarily. Of course, if Elation or Paradise is the ship that was intended for Mobile, Carnival may just move that one earlier than scheduled and park Spirit in Jacksonville or Tampa.

 

The other possibility is that Magica is going to the West Coast, and will wind up sending Miracle back east. This still gives five Spirit/Fantasy class ships for use in Mobile, Jacksonville, and Baltimore, and both slots in Tampa, while allowing Spirit and Splendor to go home.

 

Just because a ship is available to book right now out of a port doesn't mean that can't be changed.

 

I can't imagine Carnival expanding capacity out of SoCal in the near future. They are doing a lot of discounting for Radiance and Panorama and recent trip reports are stating passenger counts of between 700 and 1,000 on Radiance, which is disappointing for a ship that should be benefitting from the marketing push after her $200 million refresh. 

 

Miracle could stay for Alaska and Hawaii sailings, but I don't expect Carnival to add another vessel for 3/4/5 day sailings out of Long Beach or San Diego anytime soon. 

[woodscruise]

4 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

What I am not familiar with is bridge clearances in Australia and NZ? Was Spirit chosen for the Brisbane market because of bridge clearances, or solely for her smaller capacity? 

Brisbane has a new cruise berth near the airport, that still has not had a ship berth at yet. It is at they start of the Brisbane river. New Zealand does not have problems with ships docking and bridges, as RCL has Ovation of the Seas sailing around New Zealand in the past. I think the reason the Spirit was sent to Brisbane is because of the smaller capacity.

[mondello]

I see online that Australia reopened to tourists today. Wonder how long it will take for Carnival to resume cruises there?

[Hunter69]

Yes, the new Brisbane terminal has the capability of those 6000 passenger RCL mega ships.

Carnival will have the larger ship out of Sydney, why it's the world's best harbour & demand higher from our largest city.. 

The best thing about Brisbane is 7 day cruise a weeks turnaround, Sydney is a extra2 days for same destinations..

[Hunter69]

3 hours ago, mondello said:

I see online that Australia reopened to tourists today. Wonder how long it will take for Carnival to resume cruises there?

It's up to our State governments to agree with our Federal Government. We are having a national election in  2-3 months, so where expecting around August-September. Plus John H has said there could be a Trans-Pacific cruise coming up..

[brilliantseas]

14 hours ago, Hunter69 said:

It's up to our State governments to agree with our Federal Government. We are having a national election in  2-3 months, so where expecting around August-September. Plus John H has said there could be a Trans-Pacific cruise coming up..

 

No doubt Carnival Splendor returns to Sydney after the 2022 Alaska season. 

 

I don't think Spirit returns to Australia.