A rendering of Carnival’s new as-of-yet unnamed Excel-Class, LNG-powered ship.
Carnival Cruise Line announced new plans for its fleet once it resumes sailing, with a confirmed date of NOV 2022 for its new Excel-class, LNG-powered ship. The strategy also includes four ships either sold or put on long term lay-up status, and other ships redeployed to new homeports.
CCL also says it will focus its return to operations on mainland drive markets in the U.S. for 2020 and 2021.
Here are the fleet highlights:
New Excel-Class Ship Coming In NOV 2022
As part of Carnival’s 50th birthday in 2022, a NOV 2022 delivery date for the unnamed, second Excel-class ship has been confirmed from the Meyer Turku shipyard. The sister ship to Mardi Gras will showcase many of her features, including BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, and sail out of PortMiami.
“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."
Carnival says it will open the ship for sale this fall. Sign up here to receive updates on the ship’s itineraries and promotions.
Carnival Fantasy & Inspiration Sold
Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration have been sold. Both ships will move to a long term lay-up status, with no specific timeline identified for a return to operation.
Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile and take up itineraries previously assigned to Fantasy and Inspiration.
Carnival Sunrise Moving To PortMiami
Carnival Sunrise will move from Port Everglades to PortMiami and assume the itineraries previously operated by Carnival Sensation. Guests booked on the Sunrise 4- and 5-day itineraries from Port Everglades will be automatically moved to sailings from PortMiami.
Carnival Sunrise is part of Carnival’s 50th birthday celebration and there will be no changes to her birthday sailing, scheduled for 5MAR, 2022. Carnival says these special sailings have been in high demand and will feature special entertainment, at-sea ship rendezvous and onboard activities and offerings.
Carnival Fascination Cancellations
Carnival Fascination itineraries from San Juan and Barbados have been cancelled for 2020-2021 as the cruise line focuses its return to operations on mainland drive markets in the U.S.
Carnival Imagination & Inspiration Cancellations
Itineraries for Carnival Imagination and Inspiration from Long Beach have been cancelled through 19APR, 2021. Carnival Panorama will continue to operate 7-day cruises from Long Beach while Carnival Miracle will operate shorter itineraries from San Diego to Baja Mexico.
Carnival Radiance will move directly from Europe after its transformation and homeport in Long Beach in APR 2021, where it will assume the short Baja Mexico itineraries previously served by Carnival Imagination and Inspiration. Guests booked on Imagination and Inspiration after 22APR, 2021 will be re-accommodated on Carnival Radiance.
"We will continue to invest in the four remaining Fantasy-class ships that we are keeping in the fleet. We have many guests who prefer our Fantasy class ships which work so well for shorter itineraries from smaller ports that cannot accommodate our larger ships," said Duffy.
Thanking Its Partners
Guests and travel agents are being notified directly about impacted sailings, guest re-accommodations and cancellations.
Duffy thanked guests and travel agent partners for their continued patience, loyalty and support during this unprecedented time for the cruise industry.
“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 U.S.,” she said.
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.
