CruiseAdict218

I’ve cruised both and enjoyed them for different reasons. I also just came off my first NCL cruise which I also really enjoyed. They’ve had some of the best food across all their venues (paid and included). Trying Celebrity and Cunard next and will probably go back to Carnival when Festivale rolls out or they switch the NY ship. If they went to more places we’d still probably stick with them but as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life.

I wouldn’t see them parting with Deliziosa, Carnival would probably take her first and Serena is receiving a make over upon her return from Asia so a ship to replace Paradise would probably come from elsewhere.

Real question is what the future holds for them, keep them at a small fleet, order new ships or something else? But with Fortuna leaving, they have a young fleet now, with Serena being built in 2007.

Port Everglades would be ideal, if she could have like a multi-port debut before settling into her homeport if it turns out to be Mobile.

It’s been confirmed: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2025/05/14/margaritaville-at-sea-adding-third-ship/83598104007/

It’s been reported she was sold to Margaritaville at Sea

I would wonder how the Carnival Fun Italian is working out for them, if it done well enough would they have expanded it or just kept it solely for the two vessels because of their origins for the markets they were built for. Regardless, Carnival Corp is still investing in Costa ships, since Serena is getting a makeover before moving back to South American/Mediterranean markets.

Fortuna would not fit in Tampa with the bridge height, if not a Florida port then there was speculation it could be Mobile or New Orleans.

It’s certainly possible, they relied on the charter system for Serena and her deployments around the Asian market. But with a small fleet, they probably weighed out the pros and cons of moving her back to the med. But I’m assuming Carnival Corp got an offer for Fortuna they couldn’t refuse like for Seabourn Sojourn. I think they were planning on offloading the vessel around the same time they let Magica go.

Would have liked her to have joined the Carnival fleet but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t any one other than Margaritaville unless it was to a new operator.

Some secondary cruise lines are looking towards new builds for the first time like Marella. As far as the former Costa Magica, I think she was in far worse condition than originally thought , which is probably why Carnival didn’t take her into the fleet. The rest of Seajets fleet is becoming more outdated and/or needs major work. I thought Oceana should have ended up with Ambassador but I don’t see the rest being sold at this point unless to someone with deep pockets.

That’s what I’m thinking, sell her now while they can make a profit above scrap value and it’s probably timed around the arrival of Festivale. However as tidecat said, with Mobile moving back to year-round service, service is lost elsewhere so 2027 will be an interesting year for the fleet.

One fanpage on Instagram believes Sunshine was sold, and is expected to leave in 2027, not entirely sure where he got the information from but something to speculate. With TUI running not far behind them, I'm not sure if Carnival would considering taking any of their ships unless they were given more new builds beyond the two expected to be announced. Carnival could just take Deliziosa, even though she runs the world cruise route, Princess is using Crown Princess for their Australian world cruise so a larger vessel could be used for Costa, although I think HAL tried using one of their Vistas and is already shifting back to their smaller R Class. Otherwise Carnival will face an interesting dilemma when it's time to retire the Spirits.

I don’t believe she held that title ever, Carnival Destiny (1996) and Grand Princess (1998) came out before Norwegian Sky.

Sun is expected to stay till Q4 of 2027 from something I came across on a different website.

Not impossible but Serena has been working on a charter basis in the Asian market so her schedule comes out in bits and pieces. I don't see Costa losing another vessel unless Carnival Corp plans to also phase them out as well or they end up receiving a new build similar to what was announced for AIDA.

They replaced it and then within a few months lost the funnel again, so she currently still has the modified funnel

Costa's current oldest ship is Fortuna (2003), that would be the only other ship they'd probably get rid of until they get an order for new builds, Serena at 2007 will probably stay at Costa for now. Fortuna is a good size for them and a lot of area to work with.

If you can retrofit them to make them work like Islander then there is potential, but something bigger would be better in the long run. Not disputing that, the just need more modern hardware that matches Islander. Replacing their Paradise is a whole other story.

I ended up sailing on in late 2021 Elation right after cruising resumed, one of my favorite ships. I hope to do her farewell cruise when the time comes. I would sail on either sister if you're given the chance. I really don't even see Sunshine moving to another line. Visions are starting to age, NCL just announced Sky and Sun are going to Cordelia (India based) so maybe Margaritaville could swing Dawn or Star eventually. If she was in better shape the former Costa Magica would be a good addition. Well I don't think either one gets scrapped yet, since there are no ships to replace them in their ports. It is certainly possible Tampa loses a ship in the interim until the new additions arrive but with Baltimore getting a Conquest, I could see Mobile ending up with Sunrise eventually, slightly bigger but not too big.

Probably not Elation, they should go for something a bit more modern like Islander. Sadly I think Elation and Paradise will end up at a recycling yard like her sisters.

If she has one final dry dock around then, she can probably make it till 2031 which we then see Ace 2 join the fleet. Sunshine's crew transfer over.

You're welcome, also NCL is committing a Jewel Class to Jaxport which is slightly bigger and newer-ish so Carnival will probably want to put a Spirit Class there at some point

Miracle was named and spent brief time there, Spirit spent a season there when cruising was resuming, before Australia opened up. Spirit Class holds the same number of pax as Elation/Paradise

Elation has a planned dry dock in 2026, unless she suddenly deteriorates she can make it till 2028-2029 which puts her at 30 years old, Fantasy made it to 30 years old. Spirit can easily go to Jaxport year round, if Carnival moves a Conquest Class to Baltimore and a similar sized vessel to Mobile.