CruiseAdict218

Seems more of just a wet dock verse a dry dock, which would explain the missing blue hull, and keeping the lifeboats yellow. Anyone know when she has a scheduled dry dock or when her last was?

I would still go with Sunshine, and I would agree with jsglow she is certainly the most unique with the three deck serenity. I would try Sunrise again in the future though, I sailed when it first came out of the transformation and see how things settled in.

Freedom is out of Port Canaveral, Sunrise is out of Miami and Sunshine out of Charleston. So if you do choose Charleston you’d be on Sunshine which I personally would pick above Freedom and Sunrise.

Costa Luminosa will be rebranded into Carnival Luminosa and will sail seasonally from Australia (along with Splendor) and Alaska.

Firenze is going to Long Beach (2024), Venezia to New York (2023). I wouldn't expect this pair back in the region, until the joint venture takes off I would assume, as their first Vista is due to be complete in 2023, market would be slow at first anyway no?

The move would only be temporary so I would think another West Coast port, there is no clear time table yet as to how long Venezia/Firenze stay in the fleet (should it not get cancelled).

Figured it was a menu change or a new concept altogether but opening more BBQ restaurants is good too.

No you’re right, I was thinking at least for the maiden season before they kick Carnival out completely in 2024 but I didn’t know there was also a capacity limit, oh well.

I don’t really understand how it’s not more popular if Royal Caribbean and NCL have no problem sailing year round, just need to have better itineraries than Port Canaveral/Nassau/Freeport. Traditionally though Carnival has struggled with NY, seasonally they do well but their year round service never paid off, but like I said above if they offer something better than Bahamas it could work. and we also don’t know if this will be year round or seasonal, my assumption is year round but let’s see if they cook up some exciting itineraries, throwing in a stop to Charleston or Newport/Boston would go a long way or even some 9-10 day cruises. If MSC thinks they can do it, so can Carnival.

That could be possible, no sense in having Miracle in Long Beach with Panorama, Radiance and now Firenze so something will have to give (again unless they predict record demand).

Granted they are only slightly older than Atlantica/Mediterranea but I’m not sure if they can handle that much added capacity so. I would hate to see them go but if it comes down to it, that would probably be the decision but it really depends on how much say they have with the joint venture as those are the final ships not in service and I don’t think that market will be open any time soon.

If Carnival (Corp) ends up buying back Atlantica/Mediterranea and are sent to Carnival, Elation/Paradise would be out unless the demand is that strong. There is also the two Chinese Vistas as well, but I’m not sure how much say Carnival has being the minority partner.

They will return in Oct 2023 with Spirit sailing seasonally from Mobile, and Mobile will probably stay seasonal as well. Plus they are more modern than the other 6 anyway. The other thing to consider, is if the China brand goes bust, they could buy back Costa Atlantica/Mediterranea plus the two Vistas being built. But if this concept pays off then we may see more ships shared between the brands, guess we shall see.

They count towards Carnival's loyalty program only, not Costa's. They basically will act and function as Carnival ships just in Costa livery. Couldn't agree more!

They have not, the last rumors I heard were either the former owner's family (who just restarted Resorts World Cruises, to replace Dream) or MSC was the other in the running for the one that is about 80% complete, and the other being scrapped (as said above) Plus they still have the joint venture with China, which holds the two Costa Spirit Class, and two Vista new builds. Should cruising not resume they could buy them outright but that could be tricky but they will have to make a decision on those 4 sooner rather than later.

Agreed, if they want to compete with MSC, it's a smart move. MSC is also expected to start year round NYC service in April 2023.

Venezia and Firenze were also built and designed originally for the China market as well, I believe Venezia made it over there briefly and Firenze did not and both were then added back to the main fleet. Those are owned by the joint venture, along with Costa Atlantica & Mediterranea so that may not be an option, but I guess we will hear about that soon enough. This also gives Costa an unique opportunity to come back to the North American market again, they haven't sailed from a US homeport in several years and would be able to keep a ship on this side and have it turned back over to Costa if they choose to do so. MSC is quickly growing business on this side and recently announced sailing year round from NYC, pushing Venezia in NYC may swing people away from MSC.

Firenze would sail along side Panorama and Venezia along side Magic from NYC; though I wonder if they would tweak Panorama or Magic's sailings to make room. Should also note, this pair was originally destined for China and sailing from that region doesn't seem to be on the books for the immediate future. With the pair remaining in Costa livery, I wouldn't expect any other ships to exit the fleet; one is a nice boost for NYC which really had its season cut down mixing it with Norfolk but I'm curious if they will move out Miracle or Radiance from the West side.

“Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it is teaming up with Costa Cruises and creating a new concept for Carnival’s North American guests when COSTA by CARNIVAL debuts in the spring of 2023 and Costa Venezia joins the Carnival fleet sailing from New York. Both brands are owned by Carnival Corporation. The Costa Venezia will be followed by Costa Firenze arriving in the spring of 2024 to sail from Long Beach. The moves add approximately 8,500 berths to the North American market, according to Cruise Industry News estimates. Both ships are presently sailing in Europe but were originally intended to operate in the Chinese cruise market. Carnival will operate the ships, which will marry the great service, food and entertainment that Carnival’s guests enjoy with Costa’s Italian design features. “Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze will bring Carnival’s guests the ambiance and beauty of Italy,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We’re going to invite our guests to Choose Fun with Carnival, Italian Style!” “This is an exciting opportunity for us to operate two additional beautiful Vista class ships in the U.S. and bring a unique experience to those who love the culture, food and vibe of Italy,” said Duffy. “There are lots of ways we plan to create an immersive fun experience for our guests who choose to sail on these ships, which have beautiful Italian-design elements, dining and retail that will deliver Carnival fun leveraging the spirit of Italy from our sister line Costa Cruises.” Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises, said, “We are excited to see these iconic ships make their debut in the U.S. under the leadership and operation of our sister brand. Costa providing the beautiful ship with its Italian design and Carnival delivering FUN, Italian Style!” Zanetti said that Costa will be informing clients impacted by this news. Duffy said that the ships will continue operating their regular Costa itineraries until they are assigned to Carnival for drydock work and deployment. Deployment and itinerary plans are being finalized, with the Venezia announcement coming soon given the spring 2023 launch date, according to a statement. The Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze are sister ships to the Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama.” https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27731-carnival-cruise-line-to-bring-costa-venezia-to-the-u-s-in-2023-costa-firenze-in-2024.html

A few of them were dry docked pre-Covid but it probably didn’t matter at that point the decisions were made because either way both are leaving.

At the age of 31, she probably will be scrapped. Pretty sure there is a website out there that can confirmed it too, same site lists Sensation and as recent includes the ex-Star Cruises fleet. For Margaritaville, Grand Classica was a good start but they need something more modern as well or I suppose one of the cousins owned by Seajets, time will tell.