What happens when all the current smaller ships are retired with Tampa

[Illbcruzn4life]

4 hours ago, rwilk1129 said:

• Love sailing out of Tampa but would like a newer not bigger ship to sail. Will continue to sail Pride and Paradise and drive to FLL for newer (Princess) ships
•  

Maybe NCL will sail from there when they start building their smaller ships.

[DCDragonfly]

All the Baltimore-DC money didn't stop Celebrity from abandoning Baltimore when they retired the Century class.  I fear Carnival will take the easy way out and do likewise.

[Indytraveler83]

On one hand, it seems like Carnival is slowly pulling the entire Spirit class (and similar builds) from it's other brands to Carnival to replace the outgoing Fantasy class.  

 

On the other hand, it's likely a band aid.  Cruise ships are getting bigger and bigger, and new port opportunities pop up from time to time. It's likely going to be up to the ports at some point to either find a way to accommodate larger vessels or lose them. 

[ShakyBeef]

56 minutes ago, DCDragonfly said:

All the Baltimore-DC money didn't stop Celebrity from abandoning Baltimore when they retired the Century class.  I fear Carnival will take the easy way out and do likewise.

 

Don't remind me.😢 I wish I had had more time with Celebrity Mercury - my favorite ship, so far.  But Royal Caribbean Group already had a ship ported in Baltimore when they moved X out.  They were competing with themselves.  Carnival only has one.  Very different situation.

[Guest BasicSailor]

Is Bigger, Better or ?

 

[natefish95]

The Fantasy class ships were retired when they were 25-30 years old, and the shutdown of cruising was a huge factor. 

 

Start worrying in 5 years because Carnival doesn't even know what they'll do. 

[Purvis1231]

21 hours ago, ledges1 said:

I am surprised that Mobile has survived.  When Ecstasy leaves in October, Mobile will lose a $6 million revenue stream for it's parking deck and a bond debt to service. Carnival has promised the Spirit and taking reservations, however promises have been broken before. I would expect 

Carnival to favor Tampa over Mobile.

I am booked for Mobile for the Spirit, but it will not surprise me if it does not happen.

[Purvis1231]

The future of the cruise industry as a whole is still somewhat questionable. Sure, bookings are up, ships are full but stock prices are still at dirt bottom and who knows what will happen to fuel prices in the next few years. The cruise industry may have built too many ships and once all the newer ships begin sailing many of the older ships will be gone and along with them the small ports will unlikely be left out. 

[Gregoryfo]

On 9/3/2022 at 9:42 AM, ShakyBeef said:

 

As for Baltimore, I would think Carnival will find a way to keep a ship sailing out of it indefinitely.  It is a very profitable embarkation port for the cruise line.  Maryland has the highest median household income of all 50 states ($83,242).  Washington, D.C.'s is even higher ($85,203).  A lot of disposable income is within an hour's drive to the port of Baltimore.   New York and/or Norfolk are not appealing port alternatives to many of us Marylanders.  Many of us would choose another cruise line ported in Baltimore (RCI or NCL, currently) before sailing out of Norfolk or New York.

 

Also, the accommodation of a larger ship in Baltimore would not be accomplished with any amount of groundbreaking on Baltimore's part.  The ship size limitation is based on the clearance of the Key Bridge (185') and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (186').  Groundbreaking ain't gonna change that.😉

 

Spirit Class is perfect for Baltimore, IMO.  But if/when the Spirit Class ships are retired, who's to say that a new similarly-sized ship won't be built or bought by Carnival to port in Baltimore?  Must all new builds be behemoths? 

I saw an article prior to the pandemic about the possibility of building a cruise port outside of Annapolis so the bridges would not be an issue.  Not sure if anything ever came of it or if it was just speculation. 

 

Also, I thought Carnival needed to keep some smaller ships in case Cuba cruising returns.  

[Lane Hog]

Building a new port outside the Skyway could be a far cheaper option for Carnival and RCL in the long run at Tampa, but environmentalists would kill the idea in a heartbeat.  Tampa also appears to be off-limits to the largest container ships due to the restrictive air clearance.

[Joebucks]

On 9/3/2022 at 7:15 AM, BasicSailor said:

They could always tender you to where the larger ships berths. But that's talking more expense. One day they will give up on the ports or relocate them as to where they can catch bigger fish. 

 

 

 

How do you figure this? When you are a large cruise company, you don't grow by continuing to oversaturate the same ports. Different options brings more locals and other vacationers who may want to travel to that area. Tampa is a great strategic port for those on the gulf side of Florida.

[matymil]

On 9/3/2022 at 6:57 AM, mondello said:

I’d have to think Carnival would have a formula to determine the most cost effective way to continue cruising from Tampa after Paradise. I’ve cruised from Miami, Port Everglades/FLL, Tampa, Galveston, and New Orleans. I’d rather Carnival return to Port Everglades/FLL.

 

Carnival has shown with the rebranding of ships from Costa and the millions spent on Sunshine, Sunrise, and Radiance, they can find a ship for Tampa when needed.

I always preferred going out of FLL over Miami. Did they ever state why they stopped leaving from there? Was it just a logistics issue with them only being 45 mins apart?

[mondello]

3 minutes ago, matymil said:

I always preferred going out of FLL over Miami. Did they ever state why they stopped leaving from there? Was it just a logistics issue with them only being 45 mins apart?

Last I heard was about a year ago. They were dredging the channel and redoing the turnaround basin. If I’m not mistaken, they were building a new terminal. No idea if and when Carnival may return. Also, there was a new convention center and other construction in the nearby area.

[vwrestler171]

Its more on the ports to do something to keep the cruiselines there.  There are other ports that will fit the ships and the cruiselines can easily move elsewhere.

[bguppies]

On 9/3/2022 at 1:06 PM, Pyrate13 said:

 As for lowering the water level as someone else posted, how do you lower the water in the entire Tampa Bay other than the natural tides?  You sure can't lower the water just under the bridge and dredging only lowers the seabed, not the water.

Excellent point.

[mz-s]

On 9/3/2022 at 10:20 PM, natefish95 said:

The Fantasy class ships were retired when they were 25-30 years old, and the shutdown of cruising was a huge factor. 

 

Start worrying in 5 years because Carnival doesn't even know what they'll do. 

 

I think the Fantasy class was retired because they don't have many balconies or suites. The Spirit class doesn't have that problem.

 

The Spirit class can sail for Carnival for longer than the Fantasy class did if the demand for them remains.

[Guest BasicSailor]

10 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

How do you figure this? When you are a large cruise company, you don't grow by continuing to oversaturate the same ports. Different options brings more locals and other vacationers who may want to travel to that area. Tampa is a great strategic port for those on the gulf side of Florida.

This one got a burst of laughter from me.😁 Thinking of all those five-day cruises that visit those same ports day in and day out. Oversaturated a bit much 😉. But there is a love for Tampa by my myself and others.

[ddavis5us]

I live in Tampa and think that Carnival will find a way to keep the Legend/Pride and Paradise operating.  I can't remember the source, but I saw about six months ago that on a per passenger basis the Paradise is one of the highest revenue grossing ships (per passenger) in the fleet.  It surprised me at the time but the 4/5 day schedule seems to have has a high alcohol revenue add to the fare.  Also, Norwegian and RCL sail out of Tampa with their smaller ships in the winter, so I don't think they would want to vacate the market to them.  

[sunonfire]

You forgot Celebrity. Also before Covid hit MSC and Holland America were scheduled to sail from Tampa last year. Royal usually has 2 ships from Tampa for the winter months.

[ddavis5us]

I stand corrected.  We sailed on Celebrity Constellation from Tampa in Feb of this year.  (Had a great time!)  I forgot.  Holland does also sail from Tampa but as it is Carnival owned, not direct competition.