Could Carnival Leave Jax?

[thelakelander]

No Virgin isn't building a rail line to Port Canaveral. Any connection would be a shuttle bus from the Cocoa station.

[jaxlongtimer]

Found a couple of updates for this thread:

Looks like Jackonville's Ecstasy is for sale:

https://www.cruisehive.com/here-are-five-carnival-cruise-ships-that-might-be-sold-soon/40309

Carnival Ecstasy

The Carnival cruise ship is the second oldest in the fleet and entered service in 1991. The ship is currently listed for sale on the Ferry & Cruise Shipbrokers web site. Carnival Ecstasy was cruising out Jacksonville, Florida before the pause on cruises.

The ship is 70,367 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 2,056 at double occupancy. Her most recent upgrade was in October 2019 which was mainly general maintenance with the only real highlight of a new Bonsai Sushi Express being added.

Then there is this report that the Ecstasy will be Carnival's first U.S. post-COVID voyage:

https://www.traveloffpath.com/cruise-lines-reopening-dates-of-sailings-and-what-you-need-to-know/

US Launch: 4 Day Round Trip Cruise to the Bahamas on October 4th sailing aboard the Carnival Ecstasy

Not sure these reports are in conflict.  Carnival may sail the Ecstasy until it is sold.  Not good for a cruise ship to sit idle for long - maintenance wise or money wise.  But, it appears that when they find a buyer its "outta here!"  Also, if they restart cruises with a ship like the Ecstasy and things go terribly wrong (see Carnival's Diamond Princess fiasco), at least they will be cutting their image damage by dumping the tainted ship from their fleet soon after.  For Jacksonville, the question then is what happens next.

[blizz01]

Are the smaller Norwegian ships still docked around town?  Perhaps that's who they should be courting.

[thelakelander]

Yes, at least two of them are still here. One at Talleyrand and another off Dames Point.

[jaxlongtimer]

Carnival now disposing of 18 ships vs. 13 a few months ago.  Targeting older ones.  Can Jacksonville's Ecstasy survive the cut?  It is now the oldest ship under the Carnival flag (see listing below).  Two caveats:  It was last renovated in 2017 and Carnival may have older ships under other flags of its corporate umbrella.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23505-carnival-to-further-accelerate-ship-exits-18-vessels-to-leave.html

Carnival to Further Accelerate Ship Exits; 18 Vessels to Leave

Carnival Corporation said on Tuesday it will accelerate the removal of less efficient cruise ships from its global fleet.

Previously, the world's largest cruise operator said it 13 ships would exit its fleet, that number has been upped to 18, of which eight have already left the fleet.

"In total, the 18 ships represent approximately 12 percent of pre-pause capacity and only three percent of operating income in 2019," Carnival said, in an SEC filing.

"The sale of less efficient ships will result in future operating expense efficiencies of approximately two percent per available lower berth day ("ALBD") and a reduction in fuel consumption of approximately one percent per ALBD," Carnival said.

"We continue to take aggressive action to emerge a leaner more efficient company. We are accelerating the exit of 18 less efficient ships from our fleet. This will generate a 12% reduction in capacity and a structurally lower cost base, while retaining the most cash generative assets in our portfolio," commented Arnold Donald, CEO, in the filing....

Carnival ships currently by age.  Note the oldest ship on the list!

https://www.cruisehive.com/easy-guide-on-carnival-ships-by-age/27734

    2022 – Carnival Celebration (Excel-class)
    2021 – Mardi Gras (Excel-class)
    2019 – Carnival Panorama (Vista-class)
    2018 – Carnival Horizon (Vista-class)
    2016 – Carnival Vista (Vista-class)
    2012 – Carnival Breeze (Dream-class)
    2011 – Carnival Magic (Dream-class)
    2009 – Carnival Dream (Dream-class)
    2008 – Carnival Splendor (Splendor-class)
    2007 – Carnival Freedom (Conquest-class)
    2005 – Carnival Liberty (Conquest-class)
    2004 – Carnival Valor (Conquest-class)
    2004 – Carnival Miracle (Spirit-class)
    2003 – Carnival Glory (Conquest-class)
    2002 – Carnival Conquest (Conquest-class)
    2002 – Carnival Legend (Spirit-class)
    2002 – Carnival Pride (Spirit-class)
    2001 – Carnival Spirit (Spirit-class)
    2000 – Carnival Victory (Transformed to Carnival Radiance in 2020)
    1999 – Carnival Triumph (Transformed to Carnival Sunrise in 2019)
    1998 – Carnival Paradise (Fantasy-class)
    1998 – Carnival Elation (Fantasy-class)
    1996 – Carnival Sunshine (Transformed from Carnival Destiny in 2013)
    1994 – Carnival Fascination (Fantasy-class)
    1993 – Carnival Sensation (Fantasy-class)
    1991 – Carnival Ecstasy (Fantasy-class)

[Charles Hunter]

If this was covered up-thread, my apologies.
Can any of the newer ships pass under the Dames Point Bridge?  The JEA power lines that cross Blount Island and the river?

[Steve]

I know the Miracle (2004) can. It was here for a while and it does clear, but it's tight (about 6 feet to spare at high tide).

[Ken_FSU]

I know the Miracle (2004) can. It was here for a while and it does clear, but it's tight (about 6 feet to spare at high tide).

Whoa.

That's terrifying.

Do they stop traffic on the bridge?

That's gotta look pretty scary from the driver's perspective.

[Steve]

They did, as there was a visual illusion that the boat would hit the bridge. They had a guy on top of the smokestack with a stick that measured the distance between the top and the bridge.

[BridgeTroll]

I don't think Ecstasy has been at the pier of the cruise terminal for 3 months...

[jaxlongtimer]

Carnival has sold the Fascination which sailed from Jacksonville from 2008 to 2016.  The current Jacksonville-based Ecstasy, the oldest ship in the current Carnival fleet somehow has escaped being sold or scrapped so far.

....The Celebration continued to sail between JAXPORT and The Bahamas through April 2008. After a four-month hiatus in service, Carnival restarted Jacksonville-Bahamas cruise service aboard the Carnival Fascination,[5] which provided service from Jacksonville until April 2016...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXPORT_Cruise_Terminal

19 Carnival Ships Sold During the Cruise Industry Shutdown

Carnival Fascination

    Class: Fantasy
    Entered Service for Carnival: 1994
    Gross Registered Tonnage: 70,000
    Guest Capacity: 2,040
    Buyer: Century Harmony Cruise Ltd. (renamed Century Harmony)

The fourth Fantasy-class ship to debut, Carnival Fascination was much loved by cruisers who prefer a smaller ship experience. From late 2017 through early 2018, the ship was chartered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a floating hotel, docked in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, to house relief workers following Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

https://cruiseradio.net/19-carnival-corp-ships-sold-in-2020-and-2021/

[simms3]

We took a family vacation once on one of the Carnival ships out of Jax.  I was not yet 21, and maybe not even 18, but I remember drinking rum drinks and smoking cigars with my dad, and overall it was a very fun trip for our whole family.  Sure our cabins smelled a little like stale smoke, but I think we were barely in them.  My parents have gone on many cruises on many nice ships from the likes of Celebrity and Holland America, and my mother, being from a more European family, grew up taking ocean liners across the Atlantic for travel, so they are seasoned, but I recall all of us having a blast and enjoying the trip and making fast friends with other families.

I can't tell you if it was this ship or another Carnival ship, and it was only 3 or 4 days, but it was a memorable fun time that my family and I will always cherish.

RIP old shithole Carnival ships - you did your jobs well and brought many a smile to many families.

[Adam White]

My parents have gone on many cruises on many nice ships from the likes of Celebrity and Holland America, and my mother, being from a more European family, grew up taking ocean liners across the Atlantic for travel...

Jesus, how old is your mother?!?

My mother actually is European and travels by air like most people (and she turns 77 this year). Maybe she just wasn't fancy enough?

I do remember us taking a hydrofoil from France to England in the 70s, but I think that was a ferry.

[jaxlongtimer]

My parents have gone on many cruises on many nice ships from the likes of Celebrity and Holland America, and my mother, being from a more European family, grew up taking ocean liners across the Atlantic for travel...

Weird. My mother is European and travels by air like most people. Maybe she just wasn't fancy enough.

I do remember us taking a hydrofoil from France to England in the 70s, but I think that was a ferry.

Adam, we might be talking about some different times here.  Even with the advent of planes, it wasn't uncommon to take trans-Atlantic cruises to Europe well into the early 1970's.  Many were packaged with Mediterranean or Scandanavian tours and could take up to 6 weeks, maybe more doable in a slower paced world.  My retired grandparents took one of these once a year for many years.

In many ways, it was the grand times of cruising with fewer but more special ships like the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, France, Norway and United States (once parked at our port for several years upon its retirement).  Ships had more attentive crews and cruise life was a more formal way to travel (many events required male guests to wear tuxes).  Not unlike when I was a kid and you got "dressed up" to go to the airport and/or fly.  Today's world is way different.

By the way, today, often the best cruise deals are trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific when cruise lines are repositioning their ships for changing itineraries so, for those with the time, it might be a more interesting and fun way to cross the seas.

I will agree, in past times, travel, generally, and internationally especially, was more upscale and not always for the masses unless it was a very special event in their life.  Today, with thousands of planes and hundreds of cruise ships, such travel is mostly more affordable and available to the hordes .

The France:



The Norway (once the largest ship in the world):



The Queen Elizabeth (not the QE 2!):



The United States:

[Adam White]

My parents have gone on many cruises on many nice ships from the likes of Celebrity and Holland America, and my mother, being from a more European family, grew up taking ocean liners across the Atlantic for travel...

Weird. My mother is European and travels by air like most people. Maybe she just wasn't fancy enough.

I do remember us taking a hydrofoil from France to England in the 70s, but I think that was a ferry.

Adam, we might be talking about some different times here.  Even with the advent of planes, it wasn't uncommon to take trans-Atlantic cruises to Europe well into the early 1970's.  Many were packaged with Mediterranean or Scandanavian tours and could take up to 6 weeks, maybe more doable in a slower paced world.  My retired grandparents took one of these once a year for many years.

In many ways, it was the grand times of cruising with fewer but more special ships like the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, France, Norway and United States (once parked at our port for several years upon its retirement).  Ships had more attentive crews and cruise life was a more formal way to travel (many events required male guests to wear tuxes).  Not unlike when I was a kid and you got "dressed up" to go to the airport and/or fly.  Today's world is way different.

By the way, today, often the best cruise deals are trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific when cruise lines are repositioning their ships for changing itineraries so, for those with the time, it might be a more interesting and fun way to cross the seas.

I will agree, in past times, travel, generally, and internationally especially, was more upscale and not always for the masses unless it was a very special event in their life.  Today, with thousands of planes and hundreds of cruise ships, such travel is mostly more affordable and available to the hordes .

The France:



The Norway (once the largest ship in the world):



The Queen Elizabeth (not the QE 2!):



The United States:

Perhaps. As I said, my mother is actually from Europe and never used ocean liners for travel. And she was born in 1944. But maybe some people did, that makes sense, though I question how "European" it is. The only family I have that crossed the Atlantic on ships were my paternal great grandparents, who came over from Poland in the early 1900s.