Carnival Paradise cruises canceled

[JT1962]

Several cruises on the Carnival Paradise in October 2023 have been canceled due to the ship going into dry dock. The upside is it looks like the ship will stay part of the fleet for a while. 
 

https://www.cruisehive.com/cruises-canceled-due-to-carnival-paradise-dry-dock/78123

[Florings]

My PVP told me that the Paradise is one of the highest rated ships in the fleet, from customer surveys.  I've sailed on her multiple times and it is a great ship.  

 

Also, sailing from the Port of Tampa, only the Fantasy and Spirit classes will fit under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

 

We have a cruise on Paradise in February 2024, so looking forward to any enhancements.

[BlerkOne]

https://www.cruisehive.com/cruises-canceled-due-to-carnival-paradise-dry-dock/78123

[mz-s]

I'm really didn't expect to see Paradise or Elation drydocked again. I'm sort of surprised to see this.

[groundloop]

This just seems strange to me.  Since it's obviously not "emergency" repairs because they're scheduling this over a year in advance it seems like they should have had this planned out already and not risked alienating thousands of customers.

Edited August 5, 2022 by groundloop

[ProgRockCruiser]

3 hours ago, groundloop said:

This just seems strange to me.  Since it's obviously not "emergency" repairs because they're scheduling this over a year in advance it seems like they should have had this planned out already and not risked alienating thousands of customers.

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that they wanted to see how well the re-start went, whether they could afford the cost of the dry dock and the lost revenue, vs an alternative plan of sailing her through another couple of years and then scrapping. 

 

It is also possible that the dry dock scheduling is beyond their control, and a slot opened up that they could use, so they grabbed it.  

 

By going into dry dock, I assume (!) that Paradise will remain in service a large number years beyond that.

[ladysail2]

I have two Paradise cruises booked for the Spring of 2024…..not cancelled yet.  😉

[lappy22]

Similar announcement a couple months back about the Miracle going into dry dock later this year and Radiance taking over a few cruises for her.  Many Radiance cruises were cancelled and a couple Miracle cruises as well.

[Snowflake luvr]

I am booked for sept 2023 on paradise. I will have to keep an eye on whats happening .as of right now i am only in it for $100.  I had sworn off fantasy class ships but the price and the port stops lured me in.

[tidecat]

7 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that they wanted to see how well the re-start went, whether they could afford the cost of the dry dock and the lost revenue, vs an alternative plan of sailing her through another couple of years and then scrapping. 

 

It is also possible that the dry dock scheduling is beyond their control, and a slot opened up that they could use, so they grabbed it.  

 

By going into dry dock, I assume (!) that Paradise will remain in service a large number years beyond that.

Carnival only has so many ships that fit under the the bridges in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Baltimore. There might be some flexibility in theory with Miracle, Spirit, and Luminosa being in home ports without such onerous limitations, but there aren't many "outs" left.

 

Paradise will be just shy of 25 when she emerges from the 2023 drydock. Depending on how well TPA, JAX, and BAL sell, Paradise may be around to late 2030 or early 2031.

[LB_NJ]

Never been on a Carnival cruise.  Will be getting off of a Celebrity cruise the same day a 5-day Paradise cruise sails out of Tampa in January.

 

Thinking of trying an Ocean View cabin on Paradise, looking to extend my stay in warmer climates for a few extra days.  Any thoughts?

[firefly333]

On 8/5/2022 at 3:14 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that they wanted to see how well the re-start went, whether they could afford the cost of the dry dock and the lost revenue, vs an alternative plan of sailing her through another couple of years and then scrapping. 

 

It is also possible that the dry dock scheduling is beyond their control, and a slot opened up that they could use, so they grabbed it.  

 

By going into dry dock, I assume (!) that Paradise will remain in service a large number years beyond that.

There could be other answers. For instance princess cancelled some cruises late fall due to lack of crew. Princess is the same overall company. Still having issues filimg jobs and having enough crew. It's a ship out of calif I think they cut because of lack of crew. 

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

Never been on a Carnival cruise.  Will be getting off of a Celebrity cruise the same day a 5-day Paradise cruise sails out of Tampa in January.

 

Thinking of trying an Ocean View cabin on Paradise, looking to extend my stay in warmer climates for a few extra days.  Any thoughts?

Go but consider pay restaurants.  Lunch is good choices, to me Mdr not so much. Pay restaurants cheaper prices and just as good. Take advantage.  

[mz-s]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Go but consider pay restaurants.  Lunch is good choices, to me Mdr not so much. Pay restaurants cheaper prices and just as good. Take advantage.  

 

There are no "pay restaurants" on Paradise unless I misunderstood your post.

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

There are no "pay restaurants" on Paradise unless I misunderstood your post.

Oh well that stinks. I have enjoyed them lately. I thought they all had a steak restaurant. It's been a long long time since I did ecstasy. Havent done paradise. Did breeze b2b and vista since restart. Sorry. Hmm. I did think Mdr on carnival lacking. I'd be eating a lot of pizza.

[ProgRockCruiser]

13 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Oh well that stinks. I have enjoyed them lately. I thought they all had a steak restaurant. It's been a long long time since I did ecstasy. Havent done paradise. Did breeze b2b and vista since restart. Sorry. Hmm. I did think Mdr on carnival lacking. I'd be eating a lot of pizza.

I hadn't realized it either, but none of the Ecstasy class ships have a Steakhouse!  You can order Steakhouse selections in the main dining room, though.

 

And Paradise doesn't even have Bonsai Sushi, which is found on Elation & Ecstasy.

[jsglow]

On 8/5/2022 at 10:36 PM, tidecat said:

Carnival only has so many ships that fit under the the bridges in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Baltimore. There might be some flexibility in theory with Miracle, Spirit, and Luminosa being in home ports without such onerous limitations, but there aren't many "outs" left.

 

Paradise will be just shy of 25 when she emerges from the 2023 drydock. Depending on how well TPA, JAX, and BAL sell, Paradise may be around to late 2030 or early 2031.

I think this is key and one big reason I believe that some day when CCL's balance sheet is a bit stronger that all the Spirit Class ships (and probably Luminosa) will be in for a 'Moonbeaming' (Sunshining) retrofit.  I just don't think Carnival Corp. will be building more sub 85K ton, Panamax vessels from the keel up. And there's a somewhat limited number of them across all lines in the world serving a very valuable role.

[bgrmini]

4 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I hadn't realized it either, but none of the Ecstasy class ships have a Steakhouse!  You can order Steakhouse selections in the main dining room, though.

 

And Paradise doesn't even have Bonsai Sushi, which is found on Elation & Ecstasy.

Paradise does have a sushi counter on the promenade, next to the casino and atrium.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Just now, bgrmini said:

Paradise does have a sushi counter on the promenade, next to the casino and atrium.

Ah, good to know.  Carnival's website made no mention of it (or was too subtle about it).

[breadandbutter]

On 8/12/2022 at 10:12 AM, LB_NJ said:

Never been on a Carnival cruise.  Will be getting off of a Celebrity cruise the same day a 5-day Paradise cruise sails out of Tampa in January.

 

Thinking of trying an Ocean View cabin on Paradise, looking to extend my stay in warmer climates for a few extra days.  Any thoughts?

I wouldn't take a carnival cruise after a celebrity cruise, I think it would be very disappointing. Which celebrity ship are you going on? Would the dates work to do carnival before the celebrity cruise?

[LB_NJ]

2 hours ago, breadandbutter said:

I wouldn't take a carnival cruise after a celebrity cruise, I think it would be very disappointing. Which celebrity ship are you going on? Would the dates work to do carnival before the celebrity cruise?

Constellation.  I couldn't switch the order.  I have sailed on smaller Royal C. ships.

 

 Is the Carnival ship not as good as Royal?