tidecat

The easiest thing to do would be to move Miracle down to San Diego, and let Miracle reposition seasonally to San Francisco for Alaska. There might also be some merit in sending Miracle to Jacksonville during the winter to serve those previously served by Charleston, as Jacksonville is the next closest port for most in Georgia and South Carolina. This would keep the ship open for Alaska service from San Francisco (or Seattle) during the summer

We don't know Panorama's plans after April 2024, which is likely when we can expect Firenze to transfer over. That's not to say Panorama is on the move, but one of Miracle, Radiance, or Panorama likely will be.

Carnival Venezia is being reflagged from Italy to the Bahamas.

It seems like the way to fix this would be to make your presence at your muster station "activate" your Sail and Sign card. I also wonder if it would be more efficient to even have the muster personnel keep the Sail and Sign cards and you get them when you complete the drill.

No, but the MDR menu is available in ChiBang and Cucina (including lobster on the now second elegant night).

It's a lot easier to cruise the Southern Caribbean when you start in the Southern Caribbean. I don't think we'll ever see anything comparable from Carnival unless if they can reach a new agreement with San Juan to homeport a ship there. There is a substantial difference in airfare between Barbados (which was a secondary embarkation port on Fascination sailings) or Martinique compared to San Juan.

I have a feeling Ecstasy probably would still be leaving the fleet last month, simply because she was due for drydock. That was why Fantasy was originally without work beyond January 7, 2022. The biggest wildcards in a non-pandemic scenario are Luminosa and Jubilee. If they stay with Costa and AIDA, I expect Imagination and Inspiration are still in Long Beach, Radiance would have gone to Galveston as originally planned, and Spirit would still be in Brisbane. Fascination would be running year-round in Mobile. Sensation would probably still be gone by January 2023 as she was due for drydock at that time. There apparently was some sort of construction at Port Everglades that caused Carnival to move Sunrise from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. If the current geopolitical situation in Europe is still a thing, I would expect Carnival would probably be looking at paring down the Costa fleet. So Costa Luminosa may still wind up with Carnival, which may make for a premature exit for Imagination or Inspiration. The other one of the two is likely gone ahead of the Costa by Carnival launch of Firenze, and I expect Carnival moves a larger ship over to Long Beach to consolidate the 3/4 day business. I think Carnival also winds up with Costa Magica, which likely puts either Spirit or Miracle in Mobile to replace the Fascination ahead of Fascination's 2023 drydock. If Carnival still winds up with Jubilee, I'd still expect Radiance moving from Galveston to Long Beach and the disposal of both Imagination and Inspiration. Any subsequent Russia-related moves would be targeting 2023 disposals for Fascination, Elation, and Paradise.

Sunshine might move there in January 2025. Right now Sunshine is scheduled for Charleston through the end of 2024. I think if Magic were keeping her New York itineraries, Carnival wouldn't be scheduling Venezia to visit Bermuda on sailings that are currently being sold as Magic.

Smells like a charter to me.

It looks those booked on Magic out of New York are getting changed to Venezia. I suspect the change of ship needs to happen on Carnival's end before the new Norfolk bookings can open.

I would keep an eye on both 2023 Transpacific sailings. I think the one from Brisbane to Seattle is probably safe, but the return voyage may not happen. Keeping Luminosa in North America would open up the possibility of retiring Paradise when she's up for drydock in October. This would also give Carnival the option of sliding in another ship to Brisbane as soon as Luminosa leaves for Alaska in 2023. Elation might have to go to drydock in January 2023. The timing is getting a bit tight to move another ship over, and Deliziosa is needed for Costa's World Cruise. Presumably Spirit or Miracle could move to Jacksonville, but that breaks varying numbers of Carnival bookings, including some repositioning sailings.

I expect possibly a huge amount of dancing come 2024 - Firenze is supposed to come to Long Beach, which might put Miracle, Radiance, or even Panorama on the move. Charleston is shutting down homeport operations, and that even assumes Sunshine lives to see another homeport. We might even get some dancing in 2023 if Carnival is desperate to get some Costa ships back into service. Both Elation and Paradise are due for drydock in 2023 so they would be the perfect candidates for retirement.

Those would be very expensive upgrades for relatively little gain. If Carnival were going to do that, the time would have been 5-6 years ago. The lifeboat capacity also limits any gains from adding cabins - unless if you can add lifeboats, you can't increase the total capacity.

Any chance Firenze comes over sooner now that Costa Fortuna will be without work after April 2023?

Yes, they will count for Carnival VIFP status. Carnival has been consistent with that message the entire time. These sailings are being sold by Carnival, not by Costa.

I am on a Mardi Gras sailing that is still scheduled to call at San Juan on February 24, 2023. The only other ship in port that day is Harmony of the Seas - that will be around 11,000 passengers at double occupancy. February 17 just has Oceania's Riviera. March 3 has Norwegian Gem and Regent's Seven Seas Navigator. Both of the Mardi Gras calls there for those days have been cancelled. February 25 and February 27 have three ships each scheduled to call at San Juan those days, although I wouldn't be surprised if one of those is at the Pan American pier instead one of the piers at Old San Juan. Maybe Old San Juan is limiting to two ships at once, with Pan American serving as an overflow? Celebrity historically has docked at Pan American, and they show up on the 3-ship and 4-ship days; the schedule occasionally has Royal Caribbean instead of Celebrity on some 3-ship and 4-ship days as well.

If Long Beach was having trouble filling Panorama, it wouldn't be getting Firenze, which may possibly be priced higher than a comparable traditional Carnival cruise with the same duration and itinerary. The interesting question is will Long Beach have both Firenze and Panorama? Something likely has to give in spring 2024. It may be easier to move Miracle, especially if Jacksonville will be standing in for Charleston post-2024. I suspect Radiance will still be running the 3-4 day cruises out of Long Beach for a while. Will Carnival finally go back to San Diego, or perhaps go year-round in San Francisco?

This makes no sense. I am on the February 18 sailing that right now is still scheduled to call at San Juan. The February 11 and 25 sailings have dropped San Juan in favor of Nassau. Mardi Gras can hold enough LNG for two weeks of operation. It can also run entirely on diesel if Carnival so chooses.

Long Beach doesn't have LNG capability. There's some question as to whether California would even allow it due to their regulations on air quality. I'm also not 100% sure Panorama is staying in Long Beach past April 2024. It could be that Firenze winds up displacing Panorama and Miracle and Radiance stay put. Four ships at Long Beach is possible, but the options aren't always the best.

Icon of the Seas is a class leader; the Oasis class will have been in service for over 14 years when Icon makes her debut, so Royal may be seeing a bump from it being a newer product. Carnival Celebration is not a class leader, but Mardi Gras is. You also have to figure in any effect from cruising out of Orlando versus Miami - the former can clams more cruisers who may be unwilling/unable to fly. Differences in itineraries can also affect fares.

Refugee housing is always done as a charter. The cruise line would still be responsible for staffing the ship and retain ownership of the vessel. If a government attempted to buy a ship, it would likely not find enough qualified workers fast enough to maintain the ship - engines still have to be maintained even if the ship is stationary, as shore power is not always an option. Getting the appropriate visas for foreign workers takes time. Even the US government can only bend so many rules even when dealing with itself. Carnival Ecstasy is due for dry dock, the cost of which likely exceeds what she could earn over the next 30-36 months. Fantasy class vessels are still too large for some ports, so there is limited value to another cruise line. The secondary market for ships is also very weak after the industry shutdown and with the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

After having spent almost exactly an hour waiting to go through security at MIA when I disembarked the Horizon in February for a 1 PM flight, I'm not sure two hours would be enough. A ride share might be better if flying out of the "central" terminals (E, F, or G) as one could get dropped off closer.

I would recommend you don't check your luggage, which at least gets you on the bus sooner. Make sure you know where to go in MIA so you can get off at the most efficient drop-off point. If you are flying out of Terminal D, look into using the Sky Train that runs within the terminal.

The other option would be to pull Deliziosa later in 2023 (like after said world cruise). Of course that means another ship may be idle longer. It may be worth just pulling Magica and Fortuna from Costa, and 10+ years later Carnival replaces them with new builds. Luminosa and Miracle would get sent to Florida if the Fantasy class is retired.

There would be some benefit to Costa in Carnival pulling Deliziosa (Spirit/Vista) and Diadema (Dream) in that it is two fewer classes for Costa to maintain. Moving the idle Magica to Deliziosa's itineraries can be spun as an upgrade. Diadema to Serena would be a downgrade, albeit not a huge one. Moving Deliziosa and Diadema over gives Carnival more time to recover the cost of rebranding, as those ships would be expect to sail until the 2040s. Costa could move Magica and Serena over with less disruption to their guests. That limits Carnival into where they can deploy them, though. If Elation and Paradise are to be retired next year (both are due for drydock), it would require moving two of Spirit, Miracle, and Luminosa to the height restricted ports (Tampa, Jacksonville, Baltimore). Carnival would likely only get 11 years out of the Magica and around 14 years out of the Serena compared to 17 for Deliziosa and 21 for Diadema. Carnival may also want a second ship full time in Australia at some point, is losing Charleston as a home port, and may need to retire the Sunshine as well.