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Ecstasy and Sensation are now due to retire

CruiseAdict218

By CruiseAdict218,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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DallasGuy75219

DallasGuy75219

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, toad455 said:

are the ships being scrapped or sold to another cruise line?

Undoubtedly scrapped given the global slowdown in cruises because of COVID.  Not the time for an upstart to be entering the market or a mom and pop cruise line to be buying second-hand ships (and that's pretty much the only market for the now obsolete Fantasy class) so likely to meet the same fate as the first 4 Fantasy class retired.

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toad455

toad455

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, cmichael1221 said:

I wonder if they end up here?  Quote at the bottom says they'll be looking for more ships eventually.

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Margaritaville-at-Sea-Set-to-Launch-in-April-2022

 

Seems like the Sensation is getting scrapped. Maybe the Ecstasy goes to Margaritaville as their second ship?

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ledges1 Great Review Rare

ledges1

Posted
Posted

All cruises after the 10/10 cruise in Mobile are cancelled thru 9/30/23. I just cruised on the Valor in N. O.  with a less than full ship. Mobile does not make good business sense in the current environment. Unfortunate for Mobile. They have a cruise port and parking deck that is owned by the city with no direct revenue to pay down the debt. Without the cruise ship, the deck sits empty.

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jsglow

jsglow

Posted
Posted

Here's the thing. Carnival always has to keep an eye on the tail end of the fleet.  When you can no longer see a way for that final ship to operate profitability, or operate at all for that matter, you cut ties. Both boats will sail to Turkey after finishing their days post Mobile or for crew quarantine purposes. 

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pogoism9

pogoism9

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

I believe they have already accepted that. Why not put the mega ships where you can though? Let's be real. There still are plenty of "smaller" ships that can go to all of the ports who can't handle the mega ships. The Fantasy class is not really any kind of draw. Especially one that can command any type of premium fare or onboard spend.

 

Have they though? Right now, we have XL2 and XL3 being built, and the Costa ship that is being converted (which is a Destiny class). What leads you to believe we won't see an XL4, 5, and 6? At some point they are going to have to either A) Rehab the Spirit ships, or B) design and build out a completely new class from the ground up. I guess they could just transfer some smaller ships from another line, but that's kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul right?

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joelheather

joelheather

Posted
Posted (edited)

Its a bit of cruising nostalgia for us, We sailed on the Sensation just after its inauguration in 1993 I believe. It also was our first cruise. At 70k tons she was the biggest ship leaving Miami that day. Makes me feel OLD she is being retired.  Great memories…

 

Edited by joelheather
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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That's just the reality of being Carnival's most marginal homeport.  When the economy tanks, fuel prices go up, or a global pandemic causes people to cancel or not book in the first place, Mobile is going to be the first to lose service.  

 

It's primarily a drive-to port with limited flights and never will be able to compete with draw of New Orleans (2.5 hours aways) itself along with its bigger ships and more varied itineraries.  Similarly, Tampa and Jacksonville are also within 8 hours driving distance and have more non-cruise activities for the drive-to crowd looking to stay before and/or after their cruise.

 

I agree that Mobile is unfortunately difficult to get to by air and will always be cannibalized by New Orleans. As a drive-to port, Mobile is fantastic. I would take it every day over New Orleans. 

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

Looks like both ships are coming back to the U.S.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ship-operations/two-more-fantasy-class-ships-leave-carnival-second-australia-ship-us-bound

 

But for how long, if Australia does reopen and Carnival wants to get back in the market they may go right back across the Pacific.

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, toad455 said:

 

Seems like the Sensation is getting scrapped. Maybe the Ecstasy goes to Margaritaville as their second ship?

 

I can't imagine Margaritaville at Sea is in a cash position to buy and convert another ship at the moment, unless their investors come forward with another mass infusion of cash. Ultimately, they will grow if the concept is successful, but I think it is still a few years down the road.

 

I think one of their biggest challenges for growth will be the current 2-night schedule out of West Palm Beach. As we saw with the Grand Celebration and Grand Classica, the single terminal limits what they can do if one of the ships has the terminal tied up every other day. Having no competition in West Palm Beach is an advantage to them, and I expect them to stay there, but I would expect we will see them attempt to transition to a 3/4 schedule with sailings, especially if Key West opens up to cruise ships again. Adding Nassau, Bimini, and Key West as options beyond Freeport would make the line more attractive. 

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tidecat

tidecat

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, ledges1 said:

All cruises after the 10/10 cruise in Mobile are cancelled thru 9/30/23. I just cruised on the Valor in N. O.  with a less than full ship. Mobile does not make good business sense in the current environment. Unfortunate for Mobile. They have a cruise port and parking deck that is owned by the city with no direct revenue to pay down the debt. Without the cruise ship, the deck sits empty.

Any chance NOLA loses the short cruise business to MOB, but keeps the longer cruises?

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

Looks like both ships are coming back to the U.S.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ship-operations/two-more-fantasy-class-ships-leave-carnival-second-australia-ship-us-bound

 

Giving the short window of cancellations for Splendor through September, I fully expect it to either supplement or replace Carnival Freedom on the Alaska sailings this summer, before turning around and heading back to Australia. I think Carnival Spirit is likely in the U.S. to stay, with a Conquest or Sunshine class (or Costa Magica) ultimately replacing Carnival Spirit in Australia.

 

Carnival's statement makes it clear that they are still committed to operating a two ship fleet out of Australia in the long term, but the question is whether the second ship will sail out of Australia in Sept/Oct 2022, or stretch to 2023. 

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toad455

toad455

Posted
Posted

Seems most likely that the Elation moves to Jacksonville and the Paradise possibly in Mobile by October 2023. The Costs Magica comes over and does short itineraries out of Port Canaveral. Pride/Legend remain in Tampa and Baltimore. Maybe the Spirit stays over in the US and the Splendor eventually goes to Australia? Spirit could take over the short cruises out of Tampa.

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keels81

keels81

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, brilliantseas said:

 

I agree that Mobile is unfortunately difficult to get to by air and will always be cannibalized by New Orleans. As a drive-to port, Mobile is fantastic. I would take it every day over New Orleans. 

 

I live five minutes from the port here in New Orleans, so that would always be my first pick ... but I'd easily make the drive to Mobile for a different itinerary than what the Valor or Glory offer. One can only visit Cozumel so much.

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BlerkOne "Live from...." Rare

BlerkOne

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, keels81 said:

 

I live five minutes from the port here in New Orleans, so that would always be my first pick ... but I'd easily make the drive to Mobile for a different itinerary than what the Valor or Glory offer. One can only visit Cozumel so much.

That's true, but on short cruises from Galveston, New Orleans, or Mobile, the ports are going to be the  same. Unless you want Veracruz.

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keels81

keels81

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

That's true, but on short cruises from Galveston, New Orleans, or Mobile, the ports are going to be the  same. Unless you want Veracruz.

 

Oh, definitely. I only cruise short cruises out of New Orleans mostly just to get on a boat and get away for a couple of days.

 

I usually save my traveling time (and monies) for flying to a different port for a cool itinerary or ship experience.

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