By
Alex Smith |
Carnival Cruise Line has updated plans for its fleet, confirming that a second LNG-powered Excel-class ship will be delivered in November 2022 by Meyer Turku shipyard.
The new ship will be a sister to Mardi Gras and will showcase may of her features, including the BOLT rollercoaster. She will sail from PortMiami as part of the Carnival’s 50th birthday in 2022.
The cruise line has also sold two of its ships, Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration, as part of a plan to reduce its capacity. Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination have also been moved to a long-term lay-up status, with no timeline for a return to operation.
“We have used this pause in operations to think carefully about our fleet and to build a plan that gives our guests new choices and upgrades to current ship offerings,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We have a great variety of ships across the Carnival Cruise Line fleet and we are thrilled to have been able to confirm a delivery date ahead of what we had anticipated for our second Excel ship, which is exciting news for guests interested in sailing from PortMiami on the sister ship to Mardi Gras. At the same time, we will continue to invest in the four remaining Fantasy-class ships that we are keeping in the fleet.”
As a result of the new plans, several itineraries will now be sailed by different ships. Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile, Alabama to take on itineraries previously assigned to Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination. Carnival Sunrise will then replace Carnival Sensation for its sailings from PortMiami, with guests previously booked on the ship’s four- and five-day itineraries from Florida’s Port Everglades automatically moved to sailings from Miami. Meanwhile, Carnival Radiance will now move directly from Europe after its US$200 million refurbishment and homeport in Long Beach, California in April 2021, assuming the Baja Mexico itineraries previously served by Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration.
Itineraries for Carnival Fascination from San Juan, Puerto Rico and Barbados have been cancelled, as have those to be sailed by Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration from Long Beach until 19 April 2021. Guests and travel agents are being notified directly about impacted sailings.
“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 US,” said Duffy. “With a fleet that gives guests lots of choices in ships, homeports, destinations and features including a multitude of dining, entertainment and accommodation choices, we are very excited about the future for Carnival Cruise Line.”