3 & 4 day cruises

[arby70]

Since it appears that Carnival seems to be selling off their smaller ships, do you think this is the.end of shorter cruises?  5 day might be the shortest cruise from now on.  Long Beach has nothing but 7 day Panorama cruises from now on.

 

I have some girlfriends that wanted to try a 3 or 4 day for their first time to see if they liked it.  May not be in the cards now.

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by arby70

[xDisconnections]

Why?

 

Their competition uses nicer ships for short cruises. It’s about time Carnival will need to step up.

[Je Souhaite]

I dont see the correlation.

 

my fear is a 3 day cruise becoming a 17 day, a 4 day becoming an 18 day, a 5 day becoming a 19 day, and a 7 day becoming a 21 day cruise.

[pc_load_letter]

Lots of speculation after the Imagination was retired. Long Beach still has the Inspiration doing 3 and 4 day cruises and some think the Miracle or Radiance will move to Long Beach and take on those cruises.

 

I don't think they will do away with the 3 and 4 day cruises from Long Beach because they were always full and fill a nice niche for those first time cruisers, baccalaureate parties, and those like my wife and I who are in San Diego and just want to get away for a long weekend.

 

I don't mind the bigger ships taking over those itineraries but I still enjoy the small ships as well.

[BeachDiva101]

3 hours ago, arby70 said:

 Long Beach has nothing but 7 day Panorama cruises from now on.

 

I have some girlfriends that wanted to try a 3 or 4 day for their first time to see if they liked it.  May not be in the cards now.

 

 

Carnival is selling 3-4 day cruises on the Radiance out of Long Beach starting May 2022

[Jamman54]

5 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

Lots of speculation after the Imagination was retired. Long Beach still has the Inspiration doing 3 and 4 day cruises and some think the Miracle or Radiance will move to Long Beach and take on those cruises.

 

I don't think they will do away with the 3 and 4 day cruises from Long Beach because they were always full and fill a nice niche for those first time cruisers, baccalaureate parties, and those like my wife and I who are in San Diego and just want to get away for a long weekend.

 

I don't mind the bigger ships taking over those itineraries but I still enjoy the small ships as well.

The Inspiration is beached in Turkey ready to be scrapped, and it's been announced that the Radiance will be doing the 3 and 4 day cruises from Long Beach at the end of next April.😎

[Tapi]

3/4 day cruises have moved to larger ships, at least on other cruise lines. Royal Caribbean has been operating short cruises on Voyager class ships. MSC will be operating short cruises out of Port Canaveral in 2021 aboard one of their newest and largest ships, MSC Seaside.

 

In my opinion, it’s about time that Carnival moves away from the smaller, decrepit ships. It sucks that it took a pandemic to get there, but I’m glad that it’s finally happening. 

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Tapi said:

3/4 day cruises have moved to larger ships, at least on other cruise lines. Royal Caribbean has been operating short cruises on Voyager class ships. MSC will be operating short cruises out of Port Canaveral in 2021 aboard one of their newest and largest ships, MSC Seaside.

 

In my opinion, it’s about time that Carnival moves away from the smaller, decrepit ships. It sucks that it took a pandemic to get there, but I’m glad that it’s finally happening. 

 Carnival Has moved to 3 and 4 day cruises on larger ships as well

[PhillyFan33579]

40 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

 Carnival Has moved to 3 and 4 day cruises on larger ships as well

I was going to say Carnival has used Conquest class ships (Liberty) for several years doing 3-4 day cruises and Conquest was/is scheduled to replace Victory doing 3-4 day cruises out of Miami. So Carnival, like RCI, is not using their smallest ships for shorter cruises. The only difference, for what it’s worth, is RCI has been using Voyager class ships for short cruises out of Florida. These ships are bigger than Carnival’s Vista class ships, which are currently Carnival’s largest ships. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by PhillyFan33579

[Joebucks]

It's tough to say what the future holds. On pure conjecture, as small, non-flagship vessels go away (on top of the pause), supply is constrained. I would bet that things would start to take a more "premium" turn as itineraries start to move longer and towards a higher price. That's a model that surely would help their battered bottom lines.

 

On the other end, I could see shorter cruises being a big thing as it could be a way to "reduce spread of COVID". Who knows

[arby70]

55 minutes ago, BeachDiva101 said:

 

Carnival is selling 3-4 day cruises on the Radiance out of Long Beach starting May 2022

Thanks.  This is good to know.

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I was going to say Carnival has used Conquest class ships (Liberty) for several years doing 3-4 day cruises and Conquest was/is scheduled to replace Victory doing 3-4 day cruises out of Miami. So Carnival, like RCI, is not using their smallest ships for shorter cruises. The only difference, for what it’s worth, is RCI has been using Voyager class ships for short cruises out of Florida. These ships are bigger than Carnival’s Vista class ships, which are currently Carnival’s largest ships. 

One Carnival ship versus several larger Royal ships. Navigator, Mariner, Independence routinely do short cruises with others such as Oasis, Explorer and more having several short cruises planned.

 

For a three day cruise at what is usually the same cost or within small differences, I know which option makes more sense, for me.

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

3/4 day cruises have moved to larger ships, at least on other cruise lines. Royal Caribbean has been operating short cruises on Voyager class ships. MSC will be operating short cruises out of Port Canaveral in 2021 aboard one of their newest and largest ships, MSC Seaside.

 

In my opinion, it’s about time that Carnival moves away from the smaller, decrepit ships. It sucks that it took a pandemic to get there, but I’m glad that it’s finally happening. 

Exactly my thoughts!

 

This is a good opportunity to move forward with and allow itself to repair its brand image.

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

 Carnival Has moved to 3 and 4 day cruises on larger ships as well

Dang. As soon as I hit “submit reply”, I thought: “I bet Jimbo brings up the Liberty and the Conquest”. 🤣

 

It is true that Carnival is operating some Conquest class ships to operate some short itineraries, but what I was trying to point out is that in addition to these, Carnival still had a surplus of old ships in poor condition performing short cruises. 
 

Part of me doesn’t want these older ships to leave (because I fear that ports like Jacksonville and Mobile will loose their ships), but part of me feels that it’s time. 

Edited August 15, 2020 by Tapi

[xDisconnections]

12 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Dang. As soon as I hit “submit reply”, I thought: “I bet Jimbo brings up the Liberty and the Conquest”. 🤣

 

It is true that Carnival is operating some Conquest class ships to operate some short itineraries, but what I was trying to point out is that in addition to these, Carnival still had a surplus of old ships in poor condition performing short cruises. 
 

Part of me doesn’t want these older ships to leave (because I fear that ports like Jacksonville and Mobile will loose their ships), but part of me feels that it’s time. 

It’s easy for Jacksonville to relocate their port to the other side of the bridge though. If they would like to keep Carnival as a partner and this as a tourism opportunity for the city, they know what will need to be done.

[Cyn874]

I'm so thrilled to hear that the 3-4 day cruises will return to Long Beach. I live in Vegas and want that option for a very cheap, last minute cruise if I see a good deal. I did my very first solo cruise on Imagination just before covid happened, and was bummed to see the ships leave Long Beach. Someday when things are normal again, I'd love to do another last minute solo cruise.

[embarkation75]

4 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

Lots of speculation after the Imagination was retired. Long Beach still has the Inspiration doing 3 and 4 day cruises and some think the Miracle or Radiance will move to Long Beach and take on those cruises.

 

I don't think they will do away with the 3 and 4 day cruises from Long Beach because they were always full and fill a nice niche for those first time cruisers, baccalaureate parties, and those like my wife and I who are in San Diego and just want to get away for a long weekend.

 

I don't mind the bigger ships taking over those itineraries but I still enjoy the small ships as well.

 

Ummm, I guessing you stopped watching news over the last couple of months as the Inspiration is currently sitting on a beach in Turkey  being scrapped with the Imagination likely headed toward a similar ending. You also don't have to speculate with "some think" about the Radiance taking over the 3-4 day cruises out of Long Beach as Carnival announced this almost a month ago.

 

https://carnival-news.com/2020/07/23/carnival-cruise-line-announces-updates-to-fleet-plan/?source=122648

[jetsfan58]

The concern should be for Cruise Ports like Jacksonville. We were always told that the larger ships were not feasible for sailing due to not being able to navigate under the auto/passenger bridge. Does that mean that the Carnival Cruise Lines or the other cruise lines build a new port that is beyond these lower profile bridges? Or do they close these terminals?    

[Je Souhaite]

3 minutes ago, jetsfan58 said:

The concern should be for Cruise Ports like Jacksonville. We were always told that the larger ships were not feasible for sailing due to not being able to navigate under the auto/passenger bridge. Does that mean that the Carnival Cruise Lines or the other cruise lines build a new port that is beyond these lower profile bridges? Or do they close these terminals?    

I was always intrigued by the QM2 (someone correct me if I have the wrong ship) that had a funnel that could be “lowered” to be able to fit under the VNB during high tide.

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, Je Souhaite said:

I was always intrigued by the QM2 (someone correct me if I have the wrong ship) that had a funnel that could be “lowered” to be able to fit under the VNB during high tide.

Not sure about QM2 but Oasis class can be lowered.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, jetsfan58 said:

The concern should be for Cruise Ports like Jacksonville. We were always told that the larger ships were not feasible for sailing due to not being able to navigate under the auto/passenger bridge. Does that mean that the Carnival Cruise Lines or the other cruise lines build a new port that is beyond these lower profile bridges? Or do they close these terminals?    

In the Tampa area they have discussed various options over the last several years, since the older, smaller ships are the only ones that can use the Port of Tampa due to the height restriction of the Skyway Bridge. Most of what I have read and heard was this was a future problem since it was likely smaller ships would still be sailing for a long time. I think the future is getting a lot closer for ports like Tampa due to this virus. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if within the next few years there are very few cruise ships left that can reach the Port of Tampa. 

[xDisconnections]

45 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

In the Tampa area they have discussed various options over the last several years, since the older, smaller ships are the only ones that can use the Port of Tampa due to the height restriction of the Skyway Bridge. Most of what I have read and heard was this was a future problem since it was likely smaller ships would still be sailing for a long time. I think the future is getting a lot closer for ports like Tampa due to this virus. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if within the next few years there are very few cruise ships left that can reach the Port of Tampa. 

I’m very glad to be located in close proximity to Port Everglades where we don’t have those complications.

 

Regarding Tampa though, they should begin to look at options in St. Petersburg and the Greater Bradenton area. The cruises could still be sold as Tampa just as they do with Port Canaveral and other various ports with airports at a reasonable distance. A recent cruise for us was sold as Santiago but departed from San Antonio. This is also common with Rome, London and Athens, among others.

[SC2020]

One of Disney's largest ships does only 3 and 4 night and I know RCL has mega ships that only do short ones too. IMO, getting rid of the Fantasy class is long overdue. I've never been on one but they always kinda turned me off. I know there's a lot of sentimental value with them for a lot of people but at the end of the day Carnival has to be competitive and those small ships just aren't what most people want anymore. They want all the bells and whistles. 

[tidecat]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

In the Tampa area they have discussed various options over the last several years, since the older, smaller ships are the only ones that can use the Port of Tampa due to the height restriction of the Skyway Bridge. Most of what I have read and heard was this was a future problem since it was likely smaller ships would still be sailing for a long time. I think the future is getting a lot closer for ports like Tampa due to this virus. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if within the next few years there are very few cruise ships left that can reach the Port of Tampa. 

It definitely will be an issue come 2030 when the Spirit Class ships will all be at least 26 years old.

 

The only other option might be to have smaller luxury ships (Seabourn, Azamara, perhaps the new MSC Luxury Brand) depart from places like Tampa. The masses get serviced a few hours down the road in Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, or Miami.

[KmomChicago]

On 8/15/2020 at 7:48 AM, jetsfan58 said:

The concern should be for Cruise Ports like Jacksonville. We were always told that the larger ships were not feasible for sailing due to not being able to navigate under the auto/passenger bridge. Does that mean that the Carnival Cruise Lines or the other cruise lines build a new port that is beyond these lower profile bridges? Or do they close these terminals?    

If it’s profitable they will keep a ship that fits the space. If not, building a new port is not a feasible option anyway.