Carnival ships Fantasy and Imagination depart fleet

The Carnival Fantasy in Mobile, Alabama, in 2017. Photo Credit: Alabama Cruise Terminal

Carnival Cruise Line has sold two Fantasy-class ships and will put two others in a layup.

Carnival also will bolster deployment throughout its network of homeports in mainland U.S. drive markets. 

The Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration have been sold and are headed to Turkey. The ships were sold to undisclosed buyers, but they are en route to Izmir, home of one of the world’s largest shipbreaking yards.

The Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination will move into a long-term layup with no timeline identified for their return to service.

The line also made changes to its ship deployment in order to leverage its U.S. homeports. 

The Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile, Alabama, and assume the itineraries that the Fantasy and Fascination had been sailing. Passengers on those ships are being rebooked on the Sensation.   

The Carnival Sunrise will move from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, assuming the Sensation’s itineraries. The change puts a larger, upgraded ship (the Sunrise received a $200 million upgrade in 2019) on short itineraries out of Miami. Passengers booked on the Sunrise’s four- and five-day itineraries from Fort Lauderdale will be automatically moved to sailings from Miami. 

Itineraries for the Imagination and Inspiration from Long Beach, Calif., were cancelled through April. The Carnival Panorama will continue to operate seven-day cruises from Long Beach while the Carnival Miracle will operate shorter itineraries from San Diego to Baja, Mexico. 

The Carnival Radiance will go directly from Europe, where it is scheduled to undergo a $200 million upgrade, to Long Beach in April, to assume the short Baja Mexico itineraries previously served by the Imagination and Inspiration. Passengers will be rebooked on the Radiance, which will have new features including Shaq’s Big Chicken Restaurant and an expanded waterpark.

Carnival cancelled the Fascination’s sailings from San Juan and Barbados this year and next and will not replace them. 

Carnival president Christine Duffy said that the line will continue to invest in its four remaining Fantasy-class ships.

“[They] work so well for shorter itineraries from smaller ports that cannot accommodate our larger ships,” Duffy said. “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.”

Carnival also confirmed that the sister ship to the Mardi Gras will arrive in November 2022. Under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard, the ship will sail out of Miami as previously announced. It will be the Carnival’s second ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas. 

Cruise Lines Could Face Major Drydock Challenge Following Hurricane Damage

The cruise industry could be looking at a monumental impact to their operations following Hurricane Dorian if the Grand Bahama Shipyard’s capacity is taken offline or further limited following an April incident.

The go-to-yard for drydocks and refurbishments in the cruise industry is partly owned by both Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

It is ideally located in the Bahamas, meaning little out-of-service transit time on the way to or from various deployment regions, including the Caribbean in the winter.

The yard is regularly used by cruise vessels from almost all cruise lines for mandatory class drydocking and refurbishment work.

There are few alternatives for big vessels in the region. Shipyards in Newport News, Virginia, and Mobile, Alabama, both have facilities that can handle larger vessels but are generally used for naval purposes and are known to be well booked ahead of time.

Deytens, located in South Carolina, has also played host to the expedition and luxury ships and mid-sized vessels over the years.

Costs at U.S.-based facilities are also higher, and there are challenges in bringing in skilled labour and large amounts of the hotel and marine supplies from foreign countries that are needed for large scale refurbishments, which often see spending of up to $3 million per day in supplies and labour.

With reported widespread damage in Freeport, operations to the yard could be impacted. Housing both permanent and temporary workers could prove challenging unless accommodation vessels are brought in.

Another expensive option could be the Boka Vanguard, a semi-submersible heavy transport vessel operated by Netherlands-based Boskalis, which helped provide a platform for emergency repairs to the Carnival Vista earlier this year.

In Curacao, Damen Shipyards offers a drydock option and has plenty of cruise experience.

Cruise lines could also choose to wet-dock their vessels at industrial piers just about anywhere. The upside being the vessel would be empty and available for hotel refit. Crane access could be limited making logistics of getting supplies off and on the ship challenging.

However, classification societies require ships to come out of the water at regular intervals for inspection.

The most likely option, however, is the regular drydock facilities in Europe. The question is whether they have available space when needed, and the impact of moving ships that were scheduled to drydock in the Bahamas to Europe, mixing up some itineraries and deployment.  

Cancelling a scheduled drydocking for the third or fourth quarter of 2019 or early 2020 and replacing it with a normal sailing would also pose challenges with a short booking window.

Alabama port gets another chance to woo cruisers

Carnival Cruise in Alabama, 

You might think that a city with its own Carnival Museum, like Mobile, Alabama, would be a good bet for Carnival Cruise Line.

However, Carnival pulled out of Mobile five years ago, citing poor financial results. This year, the line decided to give the city another try, returning this week for at least a year with one of its oldest ships, the 2,056-passenger Fantasy, to offer 4- and 5-day cruises to Mexico.

The move will bring at least 100,000 visitors over the next year to Mobile, which has many of the same charms as New Orleans, and a lot to offer anyone who wants to tack on a pre- or post-cruise stay.

Take that Carnival Museum, for example. While New Orleans has the most famous and well-attended Mardi Gras in the United States, the Carnival celebration in Mobile pre-dates it and claims to be the oldest in the country. Like New Orleans, Mobile was in French and Spanish colonial territory until being annexed by the U.S. in 1813. There are many antebellum homes and seven historic districts within Mobile recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

The No. 1 tourist attraction in Mobile, according to TripAdvisor, is the USS Alabama, a World War II battleship that became a museum after it was retired in 1962. It is about three miles from the cruise terminal.

New since Carnival last sailed from Mobile is the GulfQuest National Maritime Museum. Opened in 2015, the five-story attraction has more than 90 exhibits based on the Gulf of Mexico, and is walking distance from the dock.

Also new since 2011 are a Duck amphibious vehicle tour; an historic trolley tour; and a Mobile River/Port of Mobile boat tour from WildNative Delta Safaris that will run only on cruise departure days.

And baseball fans know Mobile's minor league ballpark is named after native son Hank Aaron, but may not know that it hosts a Christmas light pageant in the off season.

Stacey Hamilton, vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Mobile, said the agency's Very Important Cruiser program provides discounts to almost twenty attractions to anyone that shows a boarding pass.

Mobile is also trying to liven things up on Sunday for cruisers staying overnight before Monday departures.

Hamilton said Visit Mobile is working with the Mobile Arts Council and the Downtown Mobile Alliance to host an arts and crafts market in the historic Cathedral Square and has asked downtown area shops, museums and art galleries normally closed on Sundays to open on those days.

"We've branded this 'Sunday Funday' and will promote this heavily as a reason to come to town on Sundays and have some fun," Hamilton said.

All of these additions helped make Carnival's decision to return to the city.

"Since we were in Mobile in 2011, the Mobile officials have done a tremendous job of creating thousands of new jobs and business investments in the region," said Terry Thornton, senior vice president of itinerary planning at Carnival.

Carnival Fantasy to sail Mexico cruises from Alabama

Carnival Cruise Line will move the Carnival Fantasy to Mobile, Ala., for a year-long series of four- and five-night cruises to Mexico, starting November 2016.

The move cements Carnival’s return to Mobile, a drive-market port that it pioneered and then abandoned in 2011.

The Fantasy will depart Thursdays for Cozumel on four-night itineraries, and depart Mondays or Saturdays on five-night itineraries that will visit either Progreso or Costa Maya.

“Carnival Fantasy’s four- and five-day cruises from Mobile provide consumers with an affordable way to visit stunning Mexican ports from a convenient homeport while offering our valued travel agent partners an exciting new short vacation option to market to their clients,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

If current itineraries hold, Carnival will have ships based in Galveston, New Orleans, Mobile and Tampa for the 2016-17 winter season.

Before it starts service from Mobile, the Fantasy will be renovated, getting new venues such as Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog Rum Bar and Blue Iguana Tequila Bar.

Carnival negotiating return to Mobile

Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that it is in final negotiations for a resumption of cruises from Mobile, Alabama.

In a statement, Carnival said officials met with Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson on Sept. 2 in Miami. 

"We are in the final stages of contract negotiations with the City of Mobile for future cruises from the port,” the statement said. "We expect this process to be concluded by the end of the month.”

Carnival operated at Mobile from 2004 through 2011, occupying a $28 million terminal that has gone largely unused since it departed four years ago.

At the time, Carnival cited prices that were lower than achieved at other ports for the pullout. Carnival also has Gulf Coast cruises that depart from Galveston, New Orleans and Tampa.

No other cruise line stepped in to take Carnival’s place in Mobile after it left.

In a press conference, Stimpson said Mobile is not negotiating with any other cruise operators. 

Carnival sues Alabama shipyard where Triumph was towed

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where the Carnival Triumph was towed in February after its engine fire.

The suit says deteriorated and inadequate mooring bollards failed during a rainstorm on April 3, allowing Triumph to break free of the pier and damage other vessels and structures. Triumph itself also sustained "significant" damage, the suit says.

The suit seeks at least $12.6 million in damages from BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama Property Holdings LLC. Attorneys for BAE Systems have not yet filed a response.

Also named as a defendant in the suit is Bernadette Johnson, wife of John "Buster" Johnson, a worker who drowned when the Triumph broke free. She had sued Carnival on May 29, the suit says.

In the suit, Carnival seeks a declaration that it is not liable for injuries or damages from the incident.

Carnival said it has claims or expects claims from the Signal Ship Repair shipyard on the Mobile River and from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose dredging ship was hit by Carnival Triumph.

Carnival Triumph evacuated after nearby explosions

Explosions in a US port have promoted Carnival Triumph, which was undergoing repairs nearby, to be evacuated.

Work on the 2,758-passenger ship has been on-going since an engine fire in February left it without power and drifting in the Gulf of Mexico.

Multiple explosions were reported in the port in Mobile, Alabama, caused when two fuel barges were said to have slipped their moorings.

Triumph, which was moored across the river from the incident, has many workers living on board undertaking the repairs ahead of an expected return to service on June 3.

Earlier this month the ship broke free of its moorings in Mobile and collided with a barge. A shipyard worker who was on an adjacent pier at the time was killed in the incident.

Three people were reported to be critically injured by today’s explosions, although none associated with Carnival. The fire was said to have burned out by 8am local time this morning.

Carnival boss Arison makes personal apology

By Phil Davies

The boss of Carnival Cruise Lines parent company Carnival Corporation issued a personal apology over the weekend to passengers involved in the Carnival Triumph accident.

Micky Arison used his Twitter feed to express his feelings after more than 3,100 passengers had their short cruise ruined due to an engine fire which left the ship drifting powerless in the Gulf of Mexico.

The crippled ship was finally towed back into port in Mobile, Alabama, on Friday and the majority of passengers were driven by coach to New Orleans to catch specially chartered flights to Houston or Galveston, where the cruise originally departed.

Passengers complained that toilets and drainpipes overflowed, soaking many cabins and interior passages in raw sewage.

Carnival Corporation chairman and chief executive Arison said: “We are very sorry for the difficult conditions experienced by our guests on Carnival Triumph but glad that all guests are off safe and sound. I want to thank all the Carnival Cruise team members for their tireless efforts.”

He faced criticisim in January last year for failing to travel to Italy and take personal charge of the Costa Concordia crisis in which 32 people died.

Carnival Cruise Lines chief executive Gerry Cahill boarded the ship to personally apologise to passengers.

"I know the conditions on board were very poor," he said. "I know it was difficult. I want to apologise for subjecting our guests to that.

"We pride ourselves with providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this particular case."

Carnival said passengers will be reimbursed in full plus transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage, plus a payment of $500 a person in compensation.

The company has cancelled 14 cruises due to repairs needed to Carnival Triumph.

Flights disrupted by Chicago snowstorm

Dec 21, 2012 

A severe snowstorm in the US Midwest forced more than 90 flights to be cancelled at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said that flights into Chicago were being delayed at their place of departure. Some flights were being delayed by more than two hours.

Blizzard conditions and as much as 1ft of snow are expected from Kansas to Wisconsin, with the Rocky Mountains already affected.

At least four people are reported to have died in the storm which could see temperatures plunge below -17C.

The severe weather could disrupt pre-Christmas travel, officials warned.

Two people died in a car crash in Wisconsin, one was killed in a 25-vehicle crash in Iowa, and a woman died in Utah after becoming stuck in snow. Rescuers in Utah found a woman dead after she tried to walk to find help after her car became stuck in snow.

High winds are reported to have damaged homes and downed trees in Arkansas and Alabama while tornado warnings were in place yesterday for parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.