Carnival fleet update

CARNIVAL Cruise Line has announced the arrival of its second LNG Excel class ship will be Nov 2022.

The cruise line said Carnival Mardi Gras’ sister ship will open for sale this autumn, with Carnival also announcing the sale of Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspira on, with both reportedly heading to wrecking yards.

Carnival Sensa on will move from Miami to Mobile to take up the itineraries previously assigned to the pair, with Sensa on’s ex-Florida itineraries to be sailed aboard Carnival Sunrise.

Itineraries from Long Beach for both Inspira on and Carnival Imagina on have been cancelled through to 19 Apr 2021, with the latter ship moving into long-term lay-up.

Carnival Radiance will also move directly from Europe after its US$200 million transformation, homeporting in Long Beach in April of 2021, where it will assume the Baja California itineraries previously served by Imagina on and Inspira on.

Other fleet changes see Carnival Fascination itineraries from Barbados and San Juan cancelled for 2020 and 2021, as Carnival refocuses its return to operations in the United States.

The news comes after Carnival notified its Australian guests it has extended its pause of operations in the country, cancelling six cruises scheduled to operate between 24 Sep and 29 Oct (CW 23 Jul).

“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 Carnival President Christine Duffy.

“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.

“With a fleet that gives guests lots of choices in ships, homeports, destinations and features including a multitude of dining, entertainment and accommodation choices, we are very excited about the future for Carnival Cruise Line.”