A sad month indeed...

[Caliber1]

Sorry OP, but if she weren't leaving, there would be no repo cruise for us to take through the Panama canal. :D Oh yeah, in 14 days.

[glrounds]

I do not recall the Holiday being there, but I sailed on the Jubilee to Mex Riv. Elation was then there afterward.

 

I've also sailed the JUBILEE, ELATION as well as the PRIDE out of LA to the Mexican Riviera. I don't remember the HOLIDAY making this run, however. :confused:

I agree, Baltimore is getting a beautiful ship. The PRIDE is my favorite ship out of my favorite class of ships in the Carnival fleet. Tickled we still have the SPIRIT out of San Diego to do the lower 8-day Mexican Riviera, which is terrific. :)

[Kurbanfan]

I've also sailed the JUBILEE, ELATION as well as the PRIDE out of LA to the Mexican Riviera. I don't remember the HOLIDAY making this run, however. :confused:

 

I agree, Baltimore is getting a beautiful ship. The PRIDE is my favorite ship out of my favorite class of ships in the Carnival fleet. Tickled we still have the SPIRIT out of San Diego to do the lower 8-day Mexican Riviera, which is terrific. :)

 

Holiday just did the 3 and 4 day to Baja........

[Maxax]

We're doing our first Spirit Class ship this summer. We've done 5 Conquest Class ships to date....and we are very muchly...looking forward to the Legend this summer!

[bluehenfan]

will be on the Pride on 6/6 and reading all the previous posts has really gotten me excited! Can't believe we can be at the port in 45 mins.

[CarnivalPride]

They've still got a good 7-10 years of Carnival left in them before they get shipped off to a European or Asian subsidiary, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Carnival never puts brand new ships on 3 and 4 day cruises and they still need something to fill the role of what the Fantasy class does in say Jacksonville and Tampa where the bigger 100,000+ ton ships can't fit under the bridges.

 

Is Carnival really going to build a new class of 70,000-85,000 ton ships to take the place of the Fantasy and Spirit class ships to put on short 3, 4 and 5 day itineraries and secondary ports when it comes time to start retiring those classes of ships?

 

Obviously they have never really faced that issue before because replacing the Celebration, Jubilee and Holiday is easily accomplished with a Fantasy class ship that still fits under those bridges and on those starter itineraries, but when it comes time to replace the Fantasy and Spirit class ships that are small enough to fit into these ports, will we see another class of brand new mid-size ships, or will Carnival simply consolidate cruises into the larger ports that can handle the 100,000 ton ships without worrying about things like bridges?

 

As I said, perhaps in the future, Carnival should consider a new Panamax category of ships. I personally would base the design on the Spirit Class, however, they would feature one extra deck and would have updated amenities (such as spa staterooms). I would keep the efficient layout of the Spirit Class, with no split decks.

 

Speaking of this, I wonder whether the Spirit Class ships will be retired before or after the Destiny/Triumph Class when the time comes to retire them. The Destiny/Triumph Class ships are larger, but the Spirit Class ships are newer. Overall, it seems that Carnival has given preferrential treatment to the Destiny/Triumph Class, considering that they are getting Seaside Theater installed.

 

As for whether or not the Spirit Class was originally intended to go to another cruise line, I doubt it, as around the same time, other cruise lines were also introducing Panamax ships (such as RCCL and the Radiance Class). Also, the Fantasy Class ships were built by Kvaerner-Masa Yards as were the Spirit Class.

[spencercoop]

The design of the Spirit class ships was made for Carnival Corp. Both Carnival and Costa have Spirit class ships.

 

I am hoping the build a Spirit class ship thats a little bigger that gets a seaside theater and the waterworks park. That would be a good ship.

[jessemon]

The design of the Spirit class ships was made for Carnival Corp. Both Carnival and Costa have Spirit class ships.

 

I am hoping the build a Spirit class ship thats a little bigger that gets a seaside theater and the waterworks park. That would be a good ship.

Also HAL in the Zuiderdam class. The Queen Victoria was based on the same design also.....

[777mjrseb]

Sorry to see you sad!!! Some of us are lucky with the Pride coming over to our coast. If the Pride had not been scheduled to visit Florida, I would not have had the chance to book on her. So I am excited to board the Carnival Pride on April 5th. I am sure she will make it over to California once again someday!!!

 

I have heard many wonderful things about this ship... so I am very excited as well.

[777mjrseb]

The design of the Spirit class ships was made for Carnival Corp. Both Carnival and Costa have Spirit class ships.

 

I am hoping the build a Spirit class ship thats a little bigger that gets a seaside theater and the waterworks park. That would be a good ship.

 

That sounds like a great idea!!! :D

[glrounds]

Holland America's VISTA class uses the same hull as Carnival's SPIRIT class. Originally designed for speed and "fit" through the Panama Canal, the need for the "fit" ability isn't that necessary today. With so many cruise ships, instead of running to Alaska every summer, through the canal to the Caribbean for the winter, now many cruiselines just keep their ships in the same general area and utilize them in warmer ports during the winter and up to Alaska for the summer (Carnival SPIRIT- exotic Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Alaska in the summer).

[CarnivalPride]

Holland America's VISTA class uses the same hull as Carnival's SPIRIT class. Originally designed for speed and "fit" through the Panama Canal, the need for the "fit" ability isn't that necessary today. With so many cruise ships, instead of running to Alaska every summer, through the canal to the Caribbean for the winter, now many cruiselines just keep their ships in the same general area and utilize them in warmer ports during the winter and up to Alaska for the summer (Carnival SPIRIT- exotic Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Alaska in the summer).

 

Are you sure? I know the Vista Class are also Panamax ships, however, they have 11 decks, vs. 12 decks on the Spirit Class. Also, the Vista Class was built by Fincantieri, while the Spirit Class was built by Kvaerner-Masa Yards.

[spencercoop]

Also HAL in the Zuiderdam class. The Queen Victoria was based on the same design also.....

 

The HAL Zuiderdam class is based on the Spirit Class.

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

Well, this is the month where the Carnival Pride leaves Long Beach forever. The Carnival Pride will always hold a special place in my heart. I will certainly miss the Pride.

 

My real question is: why couldn't have Carnival based the Splendor in Baltimore instead? I am not saying the Splendor is a bad ship, I just have a strong preference for the layout and design of the Spirit Class ships. And because the Splendor has a slower maximum speed than the Pride, this will result in shorter visit times for Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo. The Pride IMO was the ideal ship for that cruise, and it now all comes to an end. I will never forget my first (and probably only) cruise on the Pride. It is like when Richard Karn was fired from Family Feud and replaced by John O'Hurley.

 

Wow, have you been on more than cruise? I have read several of your postings and I wonder.You are making suggestions on how to deploy a whole fleet of ships,making comparisons between classes and just ranting on about this one ship. If you have I apoligize for questioning you but I see only one cruise listed in your signature.