In announcing a new fleet plan, Carnival Cruise Line said it now has a confirmed November 2022 delivery date for its second Excel-class ship, has sold Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration, and put Carnival Imagination and Carnival Fascination on "lay-up status."
As a result, the line has shifted some ships to new home ports, rebooked existing guests onto "replacement" ships and cancelled certain cruises including those from Puerto Rico, Barbados and Australia.
Carnival also said it desires to focus its restart of service with an emphasis on U.S. drive markets and it also reaffirmed its commitment to keeping some Fantasy-class ships in the fleet. See below for more details.
New Ship Delivery
As part of Carnival’s 50th birthday in 2022, Carnival said a November 2022 delivery date has been confirmed by Meyer Turku shipyard for the unnamed, second Excel-class ship in Carnival's fleet; it's now under construction at the Finland yard.
Sailing from Miami as previously announced, this sister ship to Mardi Gras will showcase many of the same features, including BOLT, a roller coaster at sea. Bookings will open this fall; cruisers can register to be the “first to know” about the new ship's itineraries and special open-for-sale promotions at www.carnival.com/ship2022.
Ship Sales and Lay-Ups
Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration have been sold, the line said. In addition, Carnival said that Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination will move to a long term lay-up status with no specific timeline identified for a return to operation.
Ship Shifts and Itineraries
Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile, AL and assume the itineraries previously assigned to Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination, with guests on those two ships being re-accommodated on Carnival Sensation.
Carnival Sunrise will move from Port Everglades, FL to PortMiami and assume the itineraries previously slated to operate by Carnival Sensation. That move provides a larger, upgraded ship for short itineraries; Carnival Sunrise received a $200 million transformation in 2019. Guests booked on the Carnival Sunrise's four- and five-day itineraries from Port Everglades will be automatically moved to sailings from PortMiami.
Carnival Sunrise is part of Carnival’s 50th birthday celebration in 2022. There will be no changes to birthday sailings scheduled for March 5, 2022. For more information visit www.carnival.com/sailabration.
Carnival Fascination's itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico and Barbados have been cancelled for 2020-2021. Carnival said it's focusing its return to cruise operations with voyages that can be reached via mainland U.S. drive markets.
Itineraries for Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration from Long Beach have been cancelled through April 19, 2021. That said, Carnival Panorama will continue to operate seven-day cruises from Long Beach while Carnival Miracle will operate shorter itineraries from San Diego to Baja Mexico.
Carnival Radiance will now move to Long Beach directly from Europe after its $200 million transformation. It will home port there starting in April 2021 and assume the short Baja Mexico itineraries previously served by Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration.
Guests booked on Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration after April 22, 2021 will be re-accommodated on Carnival Radiance, which has upgrades and new venues, including Shaq’s Big Chicken Restaurant and an expanded waterpark.
Separately, Carnival has notified Australian guests that it's extended its "pause" of operations in Australia. Six cruises scheduled between Sept. 25 and Oct. 29, 2020 are cancelled.
Guests and travel advisors are being notified directly about impacted sailings, guest re-accommodations and cancellations. Duffy thanked guests and travel agent partners alike for their continued patience, loyalty and support during this unprecedented time for the cruise industry.
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