Cruise Critic News: Carnival Fascination, Imagination Removed from Carnival Cruises Fleet Roster

[xDisconnections]

10 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I have a LOT of great memories from my cruises aboard Fantasy class ships over the years, but I agree that this class of ship is not representative of today's Carnival brand. Not so much because of their age, but because they were not receiving the maintenance and refurbishments truly necessary to keep them up to speed. Our last Carnival cruise (aboard the Fantasy in 2019) was a lot of fun, but they ship looked sadly neglected, with countless maintenance issues, and cheaply performed patch works. 

 

And that shoddy, old, and poorly maintained image is what a lot of people who either have not sailed on Carnival's newest ships (or on Carnival at all) have in their mind. It saddens me to see the Fantasy class go, first because of the wonderful memories, and also because some smaller ports of embarkation may be affected with their departure, but it is time for them to go and for Carnival to embrace the future as we move past the pandemic.

 

 

Agreed completely. I had a great time when I sailed on many of the Fantasy class ships and luckily those fond memories will remain forever. It’s time to keep moving forward though and this sad event must happen for Carnival to become a better cruise operator.

 

Carnival is coming such a long way with the Mardi Gras and even per offline conversations I’ve had with my friend @jimbo5544, even I showed a genuine interest in the new direction Carnival is going and almost placed a deposit. That is the image Carnival needs and should be shooting for. It’s a poor business decision to allow ships worth $7 million at a scrapyard to taint that.

Edited August 9, 2020 by xDisconnections

[Stick93]

4 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Other cruise lines seem to think that San Juan is still viable. Freedom of the Seas, Norwegian Epic, Celebrity Summit, and Empress of the Seas are scheduled to return to San Juan, and Disney has also announced a handful of sailings out of San Juan for 2021. Smaller upscale cruise lines like Windstar are also returning. Looks like Carnival is the only one giving up on San Juan for the time being. 

Royal is dropping their ship there after next winter season - much corruption on the port and docks are not maintained well.

[jimbo5544]

16 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I have a LOT of great memories from my cruises aboard Fantasy class ships over the years, but I agree that this class of ship is not representative of today's Carnival brand. Not so much because of their age, but because they were not receiving the maintenance and refurbishments truly necessary to keep them up to speed. Our last Carnival cruise (aboard the Fantasy in 2019) was a lot of fun, but they ship looked sadly neglected, with countless maintenance issues, and cheaply performed patch works. 

 

And that shoddy, old, and poorly maintained image is what a lot of people who either have not sailed on Carnival's newest ships (or on Carnival at all) have in their mind. It saddens me to see the Fantasy class go, first because of the wonderful memories, and also because some smaller ports of embarkation may be affected with their departure, but it is time for them to go and for Carnival to embrace the future as we move past the pandemic.

 

 

It appears that they agree with you.

[jimbo5544]

26 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Agreed completely. I had a great time when I sailed on many of the Fantasy class ships and luckily those fond memories will remain forever. It’s time to keep moving forward though and this sad event must happen for Carnival to become a better cruise operator.

 

Carnival is coming such a long way with the Mardi Gras and even per offline conversations I’ve had with my friend @jimbo5544, even I showed a genuine interest in the new direction Carnival is going and almost placed a deposit. That is the image Carnival needs and should be shooting for. It’s a poor business decision to allow ships worth $7 million at a scrapyard to taint that.

Their choice to scrap is based on the market, not their commitment to the line.  There are home ports where they def "fit".  Not my choice, but they worked, and worked well.  The situation and the following business case decision by them will work also, maybe even better than they dreamed.  They cannot be taken to the cleaners for  the decision by both sides. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by jimbo5544

[DGP1111]

16 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

. . .  That is the image Carnival needs and should be shooting for. It’s a poor business decision to allow ships worth $7 million at a scrapyard to taint that.

.

 

 

There are definitely differing opinions on the ongoing situation with Carnival's Fantasy-class ships, and I do somewhat understand the personal 'connection' many seem to have.  

 

This one comment of yours did seem to sum it up in a very realistic way, and (for what it's worth) I give a big 👍 👍

 

.

[xDisconnections]

5 minutes ago, DGP1111 said:

 

There are definitely differing opinions on the ongoing situation with Carnival's Fantasy-class ships, and I do somewhat understand the personal 'connection' many seem to have.  

 

This one comment of yours did seem to sum it up in a very realistic way, and (for what it's worth) I give a big 👍 👍

 

.

Thank you!

 

The memories will always be there but Carnival should focus on trying to regain its previous status of an industry leader versus freely handing it over to direct competitors. 

[Tapi]

43 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

Royal is dropping their ship there after next winter season - much corruption on the port and docks are not maintained well.

Royal is scheduled to operate Freedom and Enchantment for this upcoming 2020-2021 winter season, and they are scheduled to return with Freedom and Empress for the 2021-2022 winter season, so they are not dropping San Juan.  

 

There has been a lot of misinformation concerning Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan, and it doesn't have to do with corruption or poor maintenance. Long before the pandemic, Royal had decided to shift some ships from the Caribbean to Europe during the summer months where they could be much more profitable. That meant that Freedom would be repositioned for the summer and then return to San Juan in the fall. 

 

A few months later, the Governor of Puerto Rico proposed changes to the Port Authority which were met with strong opposition by political rivals. Even though this proposal had nothing to do with Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan (which was made long before this proposal was presented), some politicians claimed that Royal was "abandoning Puerto Rico" because of this proposal. Royal then confirmed that their decision to operate seasonally from San Juan had nothing to do with the proposal, and that it was simply a strategic move to maximize profits in the Mediterranean during the busy summer months. 

 

But the damage had been done, and a lot of people in the island still blame Royal's decision on the Governor even though the proposal had nothing to do with it .

Edited August 9, 2020 by Tapi

[jimbo5544]

37 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Royal is scheduled to operate Freedom and Enchantment for this upcoming 2020-2021 winter season, and they are scheduled to return with Freedom and Empress for the 2021-2022 winter season, so they are not dropping San Juan.  

 

There has been a lot of misinformation concerning Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan, and it doesn't have to do with corruption or poor maintenance. Long before the pandemic, Royal had decided to shift some ships from the Caribbean to Europe during the summer months where they could be much more profitable. That meant that Freedom would be repositioned for the summer and then return to San Juan in the fall. 

 

A few months later, the Governor of Puerto Rico proposed changes to the Port Authority which were met with strong opposition by political rivals. Even though this proposal had nothing to do with Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan (which was made long before this proposal was presented), some politicians claimed that Royal was "abandoning Puerto Rico" because of this proposal. Royal then confirmed that their decision to operate seasonally from San Juan had nothing to do with the proposal, and that it was simply a strategic move to maximize profits in the Mediterranean during the busy summer months. 

 

But the damage had been done, and a lot of people in the island still blame Royal's decision on the Governor even though the proposal had nothing to do with it .

Not sure how i missed that.  Interesting, thanks for filling in the low spots.

Edited August 9, 2020 by jimbo5544

[frito58]

1 hour ago, xDisconnections said:

They tried adding a larger ship there. The consistent $249 fares for a 7 day cruise when the competition and unsold staterooms didn't leave it practical.

 

Destiny to Victory to Valor to Liberty to Fascination.

I find it hard to believe Carnival couldnt fill a Larger  ship in  San  Juan  on regular Basis  we sailed on the Adventure of the seas like 6 times out of SJ never once did we not have a full ship . Most of the times we went it was spring or fall . Prices were always decent which is why we wen t they didnt give them away . But Royal always had great itinerary which is why we always picked them and the fact they used the adventure the other reason . 

[xDisconnections]

7 minutes ago, frito58 said:

I find it hard to believe Carnival couldnt fill a Larger  ship in  San  Juan  on regular Basis  we sailed on the Adventure of the seas like 6 times out of SJ never once did we not have a full ship . Most of the times we went it was spring or fall . Prices were always decent which is why we wen t they didnt give them away . But Royal always had great itinerary which is why we always picked them and the fact they used the adventure the other reason . 

Well, they couldn't and their prices were deeply discounted to reflect that.

 

Different market... different expectations.

[Moviela]

Carnival (as a line, not the corporation) was selling a lot of different products with a variety of large and smaller ships. They were all profitable, but some of those were not as profitable, particularly the Fantasy class ships. Plans had been in place to have these ships leave the fleet. The preferred way would have been to sell them to non-competing lines, but as the "no sail order" kept being extended it became clear that these ships would not be able to return to profitability ever. 

 

Inasmuch as the immediate future has diminished capacity for a multitude of reasons, the decision to scrap some was in part taken to prevent a new owner from competing with any of the Carnival Corporation brands. Though I doubt you would see a Seabourn passenger enjoying a leisurely South Seas itinerary aboard the Imagination.

 

The Fantasy Class has joined the "memory class" going forward. I personally enjoyed the fantasy ship on the West Coast, but with Mardi Gras coming soon and other new builds beyond that adding large numbers of berths to the fleet, the aging fleet has to go.    

[Stick93]

 

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

Royal is scheduled to operate Freedom and Enchantment for this upcoming 2020-2021 winter season, and they are scheduled to return with Freedom and Empress for the 2021-2022 winter season, so they are not dropping San Juan.  

 

There has been a lot of misinformation concerning Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan, and it doesn't have to do with corruption or poor maintenance. Long before the pandemic, Royal had decided to shift some ships from the Caribbean to Europe during the summer months where they could be much more profitable. That meant that Freedom would be repositioned for the summer and then return to San Juan in the fall. 

 

A few months later, the Governor of Puerto Rico proposed changes to the Port Authority which were met with strong opposition by political rivals. Even though this proposal had nothing to do with Royal's decision to operate Freedom seasonally from San Juan (which was made long before this proposal was presented), some politicians claimed that Royal was "abandoning Puerto Rico" because of this proposal. Royal then confirmed that their decision to operate seasonally from San Juan had nothing to do with the proposal, and that it was simply a strategic move to maximize profits in the Mediterranean during the busy summer months. 

 

But the damage had been done, and a lot of people in the island still blame Royal's decision on the Governor even though the proposal had nothing to do with it .

thank you. They were running a ship all year and now only seasonal. There was talk of royal lessening their footprint there...not sure if operating seasonally is their way of doing that. 

[Despegue]

Cruising out of San Juan is vastly superiour compared to departures from the Mainland. You have 5 Island stops, guaranteed warm weather and the departure port is already a great Caribbean port in itself.

 

Carnival should put its most beautiful vessel, the Carnival Liberty on the 7 day SJ route.

[BeachDiva101]

2 hours ago, Despegue said:

Cruising out of San Juan is vastly superiour compared to departures from the Mainland. You have 5 Island stops, guaranteed warm weather and the departure port is already a great Caribbean port in itself.

 

Carnival should put its most beautiful vessel, the Carnival Liberty on the 7 day SJ route.

Carnival did have the Liberty in SJPR in 2015.  That was the first time I sailed this itinerary was on the Liberty April 2015.  One of my most favorite cruises I have ever taken.  We had so much fun!!  The best memories ever.

[xDisconnections]

2 hours ago, Despegue said:

Cruising out of San Juan is vastly superiour compared to departures from the Mainland. You have 5 Island stops, guaranteed warm weather and the departure port is already a great Caribbean port in itself.

 

Carnival should put its most beautiful vessel, the Carnival Liberty on the 7 day SJ route.

They did. It didn’t work. Sorry.