Tampa today

[tdrblk]

I drove past the Port of Tampa this morning and noted 3 ships in port. The Norwegian Star was new to me (and maybe to the port). It was parked at the former HAL terminal. It was so much bigger than the Ryndam that I thought it was two ships. The Ryndam was located in a new terminal farther up the channel. The Carnival Legend(?) was at its usual spot. I hadn't seen 3 ships in port before. Pretty kewl.

[Himself]

I only sailed out of Tampa once and that was nine years ago on the Veendam. It was the last time I was on the Veendam

[lorekauf]

Love the port of Tampa. I wish more HAL cruises left from there.

[mmr923]

I drive past the port every Sunday morning on my way to church - I've seen the NCL ship now for the past month or so. There is also a Royal Caribbean that is alternating 5 night and 4 night cruises, just like the Carnival Inspiration, and usually docks where the NCL ship was docked (the former Ryndam spot). It's getting to be a busier port! Hooray for Tampa!

[marti2282]

So easy for us to get there! Love the Tampa sailing.

[luvtwotrvl]

Love the port of Tampa. I wish more HAL cruises left from there.


You got that right. I love the port of Tampa, Lovely area.

David

[Keith Rita]

We've sailed from Tampa twice on Celebrity ships. Our favorite Florida port! It will be nice to get out of this snow for our B2B cruises from Tampa.:cool::cool:

[Tampa Girl]

We've sailed from Tampa twice on Celebrity ships. Our favorite Florida port! It will be nice to get out of this snow for our B2B cruises from Tampa.:cool::cool:


Thank you! However, Celebrity does not sail out of Tampa. Are you sure you are on the right cruiseline???

[imae39]

They had a ship called zenith that sailed out of Tampa.

[Keith Rita]

Before our Celebrity Zenith 10 day New Year cruise out of Tampa in Dec of 2006, we sailed for 11 days on the Celebrity Horizon in Dec of 2003, also a New Year cruise from Tampa. For both cruises we stayed at the Hilton Westshore, which had free cruise parking and shuttle service to the ship.
Rita loved the mall, which was very close to the hotel.

[Tampa Girl]

This is interesting. I have never heard of Celebrity sailing from Tampa. I called the cruiseline and they informed me that they have never sailed from Tampa. I wonder if it was a special cruise. There are no scheduled Celebrity sailings now and haven't been in several years.

[Orlandocruiser]

Geez are you going to disbelieve someone who has sailed on those ships and can
name them but believe someone in " customer service" who has probably worked for the line for two minutes and most likely has never been on a ship?. BTW all of Celebrity's current ships are probably too big to go under the Sunshine Skyway.

[Keith Rita]

This is interesting. I have never heard of Celebrity sailing from Tampa. I called the cruiseline and they informed me that they have never sailed from Tampa. I wonder if it was a special cruise. There are no scheduled Celebrity sailings now and haven't been in several years.

Zenith is still listed in the roll calls for Cruise Critic. Horizon is no longer listed.
Click for Zenith Roll Call 12/29/2006 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=261757)

[Tampa Girl]

Geez are you going to disbelieve someone who has sailed on those ships and can
name them but believe someone in " customer service" who has probably worked for the line for two minutes and most likely has never been on a ship?. BTW all of Celebrity's current ships are probably too big to go under the Sunshine Skyway.


No, I believe the cruisers who said they had been on the ship. And I never said that I disbelieved them. My initial post was couched in the present - Celebrity is not now sailing out of Tampa. That is true. Apparently, Celebrity stopped sailing from Tampa round 2006-07 when it was taken out of service - at least out of Celebrity's service. I was merely interested in learning that the line actually had sailed for a while out of Tampa.

As for Celebrity's ships being too big to go under the Sunshine Skyway, I would doubt that. NCL, RCL, and Carnival are bringing theirs in, and I suspect that they are the size of some of Celebrity's current ships. They are certainly much larger than HAL's S-class ships going out of this port. I can't confirm that offhand, however, because I don't remember the names of the other ships.

[Tampa Girl]

Zenith is still listed in the roll calls for Cruise Critic. Horizon is no longer listed.
Click for Zenith Roll Call 12/29/2006 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=261757)

Yes, that was in 2006. Here is a blurb from Wikipedia. It does not appear that the ship is in service any longer. It sustained fire damage in 2009.

"The Zenith was built as a sister ship to Celebrity Cruises' first newbuild MV Horizon (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Horizon&action=edit&redlink=1). The Zenith was delivered in February 1992 and set under Liberian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia) flag. She was used for cruises from Florida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida) to the Caribbean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean) and Bermuda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda) islands. In 2002 she was reflagged in the Bahamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas). In 2007 she was transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and used for cruises around the Mediterranean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean).

It was damaged at the stern on 8 August 2009 when a fire broke out. It was at that moment moored at Frihamnen (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frihamnen&action=edit&redlink=1) in Stockholm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm)."

The cruise critic reviews from 2002 - 2006 were, naturally varied. It was touted as being a "small, elegant ship." Did you find her to be such?

[mafig]

As for Celebrity's ships being too big to go under the Sunshine Skyway, I would doubt that. NCL, RCL, and Carnival are bringing theirs in, and I suspect that they are the size of some of Celebrity's current ships. They are certainly much larger than HAL's S-class ships going out of this port. I can't confirm that offhand, however, because I don't remember the names of the other ships.


Royal Caribbean's ships (Jewel of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas before her) are smaller ships. Carnival Legend is also smaller. As a matter of fact, her funnel (and those of her sisters) was purposely built with the Carnival funnel smaller and tilted back so they could fit under bridges. Norwegian Star is also a smaller ship (built in 2000). None of Celebrity's Solstice class ships would fit under the bridge. Don't know about M-class but I doubt it. We were on Carnival Legend and there's really not much clearance going under the bridge.
:)

[Tampa Girl]

Royal Caribbean's ships (Jewel of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas before her) are smaller ships. Carnival Legend is also smaller. As a matter of fact, her funnel (and those of her sisters) was purposely built with the Carnival funnel smaller and tilted back so they could fit under bridges. Norwegian Star is also a smaller ship (built in 2000). None of Celebrity's Solstice class ships would fit under the bridge. Don't know about M-class but I doubt it. We were on Carnival Legend and there's really not much clearance going under the bridge.
:)


There is a website that compares the size of the ships. Do you, by any chance, remember what it is?

[Keith Rita]

The cruise critic reviews from 2002 - 2006 were, naturally varied. It was touted as being a "small, elegant ship." Did you find her to be such?

The Zenith and Horizon were both under 1,800 passengers, which is the size we like. On both ships the service and food was top notch. The Zenith looked fairly worn for our cruise, especially the carpet.

[Tampa Girl]

The Zenith and Horizon were both under 1,800 passengers, which is the size we like. On both ships the service and food was top notch. The Zenith looked fairly worn for our cruise, especially the carpet.


I, too, like the smaller ships. We prefer HAL's S class ships, which are even smaller than the Zenith. You are sailing on the Ryndam next year? We sailed on her in March and thought that it was a lovely ship. Enjoyed the cruise tremendously. Just watch your head under the Skyway! (As you have already discovered.) It makes for quite a picture, however.

[GeriatricNurse]

There is a website that compares the size of the ships. Do you, by any chance, remember what it is?


www.nauticalcities.com (http://www.nauticalcities.com) :)

[Tampa Girl]

www.nauticalcities.com (http://www.nauticalcities.com) :)


Thank you!