Retirement of smaller ships

[BlerkOne]

Just now, notscb said:

 

Carnival direct doesn't have as many, but Carnival Corp. certainly has many, many ships under different brands that they have already started moving around

Carnival Corp doesn't have as many. HAL and Princess, for example, both lost multiple ships.

[CruiseAdict218]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival Corp doesn't have as many. HAL and Princess, for example, both lost multiple ships.

While I doubt either of those brands will lose anymore ships for the time being, Carnival will probably pick up a few more Costa ships to get them back in service. 

[BlerkOne]

10 hours ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

While I doubt either of those brands will lose anymore ships for the time being, Carnival will probably pick up a few more Costa ships to get them back in service. 

I think Costa might only have one without restart plans and Carnival doesn't have sufficient crew for the Carnival ships currently sailing and Celebration starts cruising next month.

[CruiseAdict218]

21 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I think Costa might only have one without restart plans and Carnival doesn't have sufficient crew for the Carnival ships currently sailing and Celebration starts cruising next month.

Well they just cancelled deployment for Fortuna so I’m curious what they’re plans are now, while I think crew is a big issue, seems there’s more to this as well.

[toad455]

Carnival still has yet to switch over the two Costa ships for Carnival China. The Atlantica and Mediterranea are still sitting idle.

[Beezo]

1 hour ago, toad455 said:

Carnival still has yet to switch over the two Costa ships for Carnival China. The Atlantica and Mediterranea are still sitting idle.

 

From a paperwork and ownership perspective, these are officially "off the books" from carnival as they have transferred to the Chinese partnership. Since China remains closed for all cruising, those ships remain out of service.  I believe one of the new Chinese-built ships for that line is near completion as well.

 

Brian

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Beezo said:

I believe one of the new Chinese-built ships for that line is near completion as well.

It is currently scheduled for sea trials in May, 2023, and delivery in July, 2023.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Some rumors amongst the officers and staff on the Ecstasy's final few sailings is with some Costa ships coming (ones that haven't been announced yet) and some ship shuffling around they suspect the Elation will be sent off to retirement in 2023. (Yes I know they are booking her through 2024 and has a dry dock scheduled in early 2023 as of now..just a rumor from them)

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

Some rumors amongst the officers and staff on the Ecstasy's final few sailings is with some Costa ships coming (ones that haven't been announced yet) and some ship shuffling around they suspect the Elation will be sent off to retirement in 2023. (Yes I know they are booking her through 2024 and has a dry dock scheduled in early 2023 as of now..just a rumor from them)

I talked with the Captain some on the final revenue sailing of Ecstasy and don't recall any of those rumors.

[Illbcruzn4life]

17 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I talked with the Captain some on the final revenue sailing of Ecstasy and don't recall any of those rumors.

Is it true that people were taking things off the walls and other items for souvenirs from the ship?

[BlerkOne]

24 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Is it true that people were taking things off the walls and other items for souvenirs from the ship?

Yep. and Carnival auctioned off some and others were headed for Miami.

[tidecat]

4 hours ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

Some rumors amongst the officers and staff on the Ecstasy's final few sailings is with some Costa ships coming (ones that haven't been announced yet) and some ship shuffling around they suspect the Elation will be sent off to retirement in 2023. (Yes I know they are booking her through 2024 and has a dry dock scheduled in early 2023 as of now..just a rumor from them)

Here's a scary thought: Carnival pulls Elation AND Paradise from service next year. Miracle takes over for one of them, Spirit takes over for one of the other.

 

Elation is scheduled for drydock 1/21-2/10/23, Paradise is scheduled for 10/8-10/29/23.

 

This buys time for a converted Costa ship to pick up Miracle's Alaska service in mid-2023, with the option to replace Spirit in Mobile or resume Miracle's service from Long Beach. Of Firenze is still going to be bases in Long Beach as of Spring 2024, I don't see a spot for Miracle in Long Beach past then anyway.

 

I just hope that if Carnival scrubs Elation, thy do it in the next month before my final payment is due on Mardi Gras.

[Lane Hog]

One of the two tagged for China could easily be redirected once the Chinese built is certified next year.

I'd question whether or not Carnival will ever run a smaller ship under the Carnival brand, but I could see them shifting more ships around to create a smaller market brand.  Carnival by Costa could have been the first dip of the toe towards a larger branding shift.  I keep looking at HAL and Princess's target (older Boomers looking for an elite adventure) and wonder if that's a shrinking demographic which won't be backfilled as quickly as it's dying off...

[Beezo]

2 hours ago, tidecat said:

Here's a scary thought: Carnival pulls Elation AND Paradise from service next year. Miracle takes over for one of them, Spirit takes over for one of the other.

 

Elation is scheduled for drydock 1/21-2/10/23, Paradise is scheduled for 10/8-10/29/23.

 

This buys time for a converted Costa ship to pick up Miracle's Alaska service in mid-2023, with the option to replace Spirit in Mobile or resume Miracle's service from Long Beach. Of Firenze is still going to be bases in Long Beach as of Spring 2024, I don't see a spot for Miracle in Long Beach past then anyway.

 

I just hope that if Carnival scrubs Elation, thy do it in the next month before my final payment is due on Mardi Gras.

 

I think you are spot on.  Costa was over capacity as it was pre-covid and will most likely continue to reduce the allocated fleet.  Since the pandemic, they've shed Victoria, neoRomantica, Luminosa, Mediterranea, and Atlantica.  Soon they will release the Venezia and Firenze to Carnival as well, leaving them with 10 ships across 5 classes of ships and zero new builds.  There are significant synergies from a cost perspective by having a similar fleet type. I predict you may see Fortuna & Magica (Destiny/Sunshine class ships) and/or the Deliziosa and Diadema (solo Spirit and Dream class ships, respectively) move to Carnival.  Moving Deliziosa and Diadema may make sense in this synergies process since that would leave Costa with only Destiny, Conquest/Concordia, and Excellence class ships in various passenger capacities.

 

 

 

[toad455]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Costa is completely gone in ten years.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/17/2022 at 12:17 PM, mz-s said:

Well if Carnival doesn't have a ship that can fit there, I don't see what option they have. This is decades in the future though, the Spirit class isn't going anywhere and it's basically the same size as Fantasy class.

Since when is a Spirit Class ship at 88.5 K tons the same as a Fantasy Class ship at 70 K tons?

[tidecat]

4 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Since when is a Spirit Class ship at 88.5 K tons the same as a Fantasy Class ship at 70 K tons?

It is the air draft (height above the waterline) that is the biggest constraint for Tampa, Jacksonville, and Baltimore. In that regard both classes are very close to each other. Jacksonville has the lowest bridge clearance at 175 feet; Tampa is 180 feet and Baltimore is 185 feet.

 

Spirit class ships are about 108 feet longer and less than 3 feet wider than Fantasy class ships. Given most newer vessels are well over 1,000 feet long, the length is typically not an issue. Both classes are narrow enough to transit the Panama Canal, even before the newest set of locks were opened.

 

Gross tonnage is a nonlinear measure of volume. The shape of enclosed spaces on the ship determine the ship's gross tonnage. The extra length on the Spirit class accounts for most of the difference in gross tonnage.