Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it had sold Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration. A buyer was not named.
Meanwhile, Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination will go into a long-term resting state, with no specific timeline identified for a return to operation.
The company also announced that its second Excel-class ship will join the fleet in November 2022 from Meyer Turku and will set sail from PortMiami as previously announced.
Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile and take previously assigned itineraries to Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination, and guests of those two ships will be relocated to Carnival Sensation.
The Carnival Sunrise will relocate from Port Everglades to PortMiami and take over the previously operated itineraries by Carnival Sensation, providing a larger and improved ship for short itineraries with the many new features installed during the $ 200 million transformation of Carnival Sunrise completed in 2019. Guests who booked itineraries from Sunrise to Port Everglades will automatically transfer to departures from PortMiami.
Carnival Fascination itineraries from San Juan and Barbados have been canceled for 2020-2021, as the cruise line focuses its return to operations in the continental markets in the United States, the company said.
Itineraries for Long Beach Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration were canceled until April 19, 2021. Carnival Panorama will continue to operate 7-day cruises from Long Beach, while Carnival Miracle will operate shorter itineraries from San Diego to Baja Mexico.
The Carnival Radiance will now move directly from Europe after its transformation and $ 200 million base port in Long Beach in April 2021, where it will take on the short itineraries of Baja Mexico that previously served Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration. Guests who book Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration after April 22, 2021 will be accommodated again at Carnival Radiance.
Carnival also said it notified its Australian guests that it had extended its hiatus from operations in that country and that it had canceled six cruises scheduled to operate between September 25 and October 29, 2020.
“We have used this pause in operations to think carefully about our fleet and to build a plan that offers our guests new options and updates to current ship offerings,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We have a wide variety of ships throughout the Carnival Cruise Line fleet and are delighted to have been able to confirm a delivery date earlier than we had planned for our second Excel ship, which is exciting news for guests interested in navigate from PortMiami on the Mardi Gras sister ship! At the same time, we will continue to invest in the remaining four Fantasy class ships that we maintain in the fleet. We have many guests who prefer our Fantasy class ships that work so well for shorter itineraries from smaller ports that our larger ships cannot accommodate. With a fleet that offers guests many options on ships, ports of origin, destinations and features that include a variety of dining, entertainment and accommodation options, we are excited about the future of the Carnival Cruise Line. “
Guests and travel agencies are being notified directly about affected travel, guest relocation, and cancellations. Duffy thanked guests and travel agency partners for their continued patience, loyalty, and support during this unprecedented time for the cruise industry. “With our future fleet plan resolved, we focus on making sure that we are ready to return to operations once it is determined that the time is right to resume cruising in the United States,” he said.
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