Costa Magica to Carnival Fleet

[Stick93]

4 hours ago, jsglow said:

To answer your supposedly serious question from above (although you've obviously made up your mind which is fine), they are 'fully featured ships' with the maximum compliment of bars/restaurants etc. that have done a good job (not perfect mind you) of multi-use public space utilization.  Said another way, they don't have a dedicated nightclub that sits empty 18 hours a day, among other underutilized assets or a completely useless art gallery where a Red Frog Pub should go. Deck 5 does a good job of spreading people out at all hours of the day. And the retrofitted main theater is head and shoulders better than later incarnations on the Vista Class ships. 

 

I will say that the Limelight is a weak link but given their constraints about the best they could do.  And they improved it with Sunrise/Radiance by turning it 90 degrees. It's particularly weak on Sunshine. Now one can say that they shouldn't have added cabins but I think it's fair to assume that the added revenue from those units was part of the overall calculus for the $200MM investment. I personally don't find any of the Sunshine ships 'more crowded'. I think that's especially true compared to the Vista Class.  Of course Sunshine has the best Serenity in the fleet (among the older ships; can't comment on Excels) only given a run for its money by the Spirits.

 

So serious question for you.  How many cruises and how many sea days do you have on one of the Sunshine class ships? Personally, I have something like 7-8 cruises and north of 30 days on all 3 ships combined. And we're back aboard one in a couple of weeks.

I was on sunshine 3 times and besides serenity area which is the best on Carnival the ship is worn and old. They made a big mistake not getting that type of serenity area on Sunrise. I was on sunrise once and it was 8 days of cramped, dirty and a neglected ship and it was only a couple months after it was refurbed into the shape it’s in now.

 

I was on Horizon once and they also did not maximize common areas to fit the number of people. Ship was new but again nobody keeping it up or cleaning when we were on it. 
 

I was on Fascination once and loved the small ship. Great use of common area. 
 

Miracle was my  first ship and prob their best design. 
 

Magic is also well done and better than Vista class but they let her rust away and was filthy when I was on last summer.  
 

I was on been on Splendor as well 4 times and it’s as Carnival as it gets. 
 

Overall carnival can do a better job keeping their ships in better shape from outside in. The product is the same today as when I ent on my fist ship 10 years ago - nothing new. I have not been on the excel ships yet but I can say I have been on ships that are as old as the carnival ship on Celebrity/NCL/RC and they have been modernized better and the companies keep them in better shape. 

 

I will continue to cruise carnival when I can but only when it’s at the low price I want. All things equal I chose the others. 
 

Back to the point - sunshine ships are the worst carnival class and as they made more they missed the mark even more. 
 

 

[Stick93]

2 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

I was on sunshine 3 times and besides serenity area which is the best on Carnival the ship is worn and old. They made a big mistake not getting that type of serenity area on Sunrise. I was on sunrise once and it was 8 days of cramped, dirty and a neglected ship and it was only a couple months after it was refurbed into the shape it’s in now.

 

I was on Horizon once and they also did not maximize common areas to fit the number of people. Ship was new but again nobody keeping it up or cleaning when we were on it. 
 

I was on Fascination once and loved the small ship. Great use of common area. 
 

Miracle was my  first ship and prob their best design. 
 

Magic is also well done and better than Vista class but they let her rust away and was filthy when I was on last summer.  
 

I was on been on Splendor as well 4 times and it’s as Carnival as it gets. 
 

Overall carnival can do a better job keeping their ships in better shape from outside in. The product is the same today as when I went on my first ship 10 years ago - nothing new. I have not been on the excel ships yet but I can say I have been on ships that are as old as the carnival ship on Celebrity/NCL/RC and they have been modernized better and the companies keep them in better shape. 

 

I will continue to cruise carnival when I can but only when it’s at the low price I want. All things equal I chose the others. 
 

Back to the point - sunshine ships are the worst carnival class and as they made more they missed the mark even more. 
 

 

 

[Indytraveler83]

Overall, I think the Sunshined ships are an idea that has sort of had to pass Carnival by.  It's not that the idea is bad, but that the base of each ship gets older no matter what you do to it.  While good maintenance (which Carnival is not particularly known for) can extend the life of a ship, it seems that lately most Carnival ships have about a 30 year shelf life.

 

When ships are 10-15 years old, it makes sense to invest in them.  But much of the fleet with this general layout (Destiny and Conquest classes) are getting old enough that such a large investment in a ship that may have less than 10 years left on the clock (at least for Carnival) seems like a poor choice.

 

Still though, seems surprising that an 18 year old ship was simply dumped from the fleet when many older ships play the waters for Carnival Corp.  The only way it makes sense is if they deemed the ship to be unprofitable (the reason much of the Fantasy class was unceremoniously beached as soon as the pandemic hit) which again leads me to wonder what's wrong with it.  

[jsglow]

Thanks for responding @Stick93. Enjoy cruising!

[stobe1]

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

Interesting. Care about sharing why?

It's a few things about Sunshine. I like the pax to space ratio and it doesnt seem crowded. Also the Serenity area is the best in the fleet. Sunrise seemed way too crowded for us. It was like they packed a Dream class ship into a Destiny/Sunshine class. And no offense to anyone on here from New York, but the Sunrise cruise was our first and probably last cruise out of NYC. No one had any sense of personal space and everyone was pushy, loud and obnoxious just like you see when in NYC.

 

As for Radiance, going all the way to California for a 3 day cruise to Ensenada doesn't excite us ay all.

[jsglow]

15 minutes ago, stobe1 said:

It's a few things about Sunshine. I like the pax to space ratio and it doesnt seem crowded. Also the Serenity area is the best in the fleet. Sunrise seemed way too crowded for us. It was like they packed a Dream class ship into a Destiny/Sunshine class. And no offense to anyone on here from New York, but the Sunrise cruise was our first and probably last cruise out of NYC. No one had any sense of personal space and everyone was pushy, loud and obnoxious just like you see when in NYC.

 

As for Radiance, going all the way to California for a 3 day cruise to Ensenada doesn't excite us ay all.

I'll 100% agree with you about that Sunshine Serenity. Spectacular. We've only been on her once for 8 days but remember it well.  I'll suggest to you that your SunRISE experience might be a bit impacted by 1) the NYC thing and/or 2) the pax count when you sailed v. SunSHINE.

 

Apart from the Serenity (which was made possible by a huuuuge expenditure to literally add another deck on the foremast of Destiny to match what was later originally designed into the Triumph/Victory, the ships are essentially identical. So perhaps give Sunrise another try sometime. She runs great 5/5/4 itineraries out of Miami.  They did a better job doing her Limelight after seeing the 'mistakes' on Sunshine. 

 

Lastly, I agree that Radiance is a long way away for a 4 night Ensenada. We've enjoyed her and we're thrilled to be taking her to Hawaii in '25.  As much as we LOVE the Spirit class vessels, Miracle for that many sea days wouldn't be our first choice.

[mz-s]

Sunrise, Sunshine, and Radiance all have essentially the same guest capacity, so the only way one could be more crowded than the other is just down to the passenger mix on that particular cruise. Namely, how many upper berths are sold.

[stobe1]

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

I'll 100% agree with you about that Sunshine Serenity. Spectacular. We've only been on her once for 8 days but remember it well.  I'll suggest to you that your SunRISE experience might be a bit impacted by 1) the NYC thing and/or 2) the pax count when you sailed v. SunSHINE.

 

Apart from the Serenity (which was made possible by a huuuuge expenditure to literally add another deck on the foremast of Destiny to match what was later originally designed into the Triumph/Victory, the ships are essentially identical. So perhaps give Sunrise another try sometime. She runs great 5/5/4 itineraries out of Miami.  They did a better job doing her Limelight after seeing the 'mistakes' on Sunshine. 

 

Lastly, I agree that Radiance is a long way away for a 4 night Ensenada. We've enjoyed her and we're thrilled to be taking her to Hawaii in '25.  As much as we LOVE the Spirit class vessels, Miracle for that many sea days wouldn't be our first choice.

That is totally fair. I concede the point that it may have been the demographics. Maybe we will give Sunrise another chance.

[jedi bobs]

I was on the sunrise when she was the Triump and it was out of NOLA.  I felt for the first time like we were packed in there, very crowded. If they added Cabins that would make it that much worse, and I would probly not go on a Sunshine class ship durring peak season for that reason, maybe off peak, if the price is right. (On a side note the triumph cruise that I was on on the way up the Mississippi the last curve before you get into port the captian took that curve very fast and the ship listed.)

 

[mz-s]

18 minutes ago, jedi bobs said:

I was on the sunrise when she was the Triump and it was out of NOLA.  I felt for the first time like we were packed in there, very crowded. If they added Cabins that would make it that much worse, and I would probly not go on a Sunshine class ship durring peak season for that reason, maybe off peak, if the price is right. (On a side note the triumph cruise that I was on on the way up the Mississippi the last curve before you get into port the captian took that curve very fast and the ship listed.)

 

 

I agree, I absolutely would not recommend a Sunshine class cruise during peak season.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 2/10/2023 at 4:08 PM, Stick93 said:

I was on sunshine 3 times and besides serenity area which is the best on Carnival...

Sorry, since you have not sailed on the Excel Class yet that assumption is incorrect.  Have been on the Excel Class five times and have four more booked.  The Serenity area is about three times the size of any of the others in the fleet.  It doesn't have a waterfall, but it does have a pool, multiple hot tubs, a bar, a salad area, recessed seating and many loungers and beds to enjoy.

[tidecat]

10 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Sorry, since you have not sailed on the Excel Class yet that assumption is incorrect.  Have been on the Excel Class five times and have four more booked.  The Serenity area is about three times the size of any of the others in the fleet.  It doesn't have a waterfall, but it does have a pool, multiple hot tubs, a bar, a salad area, recessed seating and many loungers and beds to enjoy.

There actually is a small waterfall in the Serenity area from Deck 19 to Deck 18, at least on Mardi Gras.

 

[CruizinSusan70]

37 minutes ago, tidecat said:

There actually is a small waterfall in the Serenity area from Deck 19 to Deck 18, at least on Mardi Gras.

 

Where at?  Not where the small infinity pool in the Loft 19 area is located.

[tidecat]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Where at?  Not where the small infinity pool in the Loft 19 area is located.

It's on the dark blue wall of the pool on the Serenity area, at the forward end of the pool.

[Eli_6]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:58 PM, tidecat said:

Guests, generally speaking, love the Sunshine class. However the conversion costs are much higher, and the potential additional revenue is limited.

 

Luminosa is better suited for the Australian and Alaskan markets. I also expect Carnival to offer their first World Cruise on Luminosa in 2025 or 2026 given how well the Transpacific cruises seem to be selling.

Interesting regarding the world cruise.  That would be pretty cool if they did that. 

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, tidecat said:

It's on the dark blue wall of the pool on the Serenity area, at the forward end of the pool.

Oh, it's a one story decorative waterfall, not a three story one that cascades similar to the one on the Sunshine.

[vwrestler171]

On 2/10/2023 at 3:05 PM, Indytraveler83 said:

Overall, I think the Sunshined ships are an idea that has sort of had to pass Carnival by.  It's not that the idea is bad, but that the base of each ship gets older no matter what you do to it.  While good maintenance (which Carnival is not particularly known for) can extend the life of a ship, it seems that lately most Carnival ships have about a 30 year shelf life.

 

When ships are 10-15 years old, it makes sense to invest in them.  But much of the fleet with this general layout (Destiny and Conquest classes) are getting old enough that such a large investment in a ship that may have less than 10 years left on the clock (at least for Carnival) seems like a poor choice.

 

Still though, seems surprising that an 18 year old ship was simply dumped from the fleet when many older ships play the waters for Carnival Corp.  The only way it makes sense is if they deemed the ship to be unprofitable (the reason much of the Fantasy class was unceremoniously beached as soon as the pandemic hit) which again leads me to wonder what's wrong with it.  

What ship was only 18 when they got rid of it?

[tidecat]

12 minutes ago, vwrestler171 said:

What ship was only 18 when they got rid of it?

Costa Magica. She was completed in October 2004. Costa Fortuna was completed 11 months prior and will presumably be the next to go.

 

Carnival nearly sold Carnival Destiny before refurbishing her into Carnival Sunshine in 2013, a few months shy of Destiny having completed 17 years of service.