Carnival Cruise Line has announced that two more cruise ships are leaving the fleet and four other ships won’t return to service until the first half of 2021.
Related to its ongoing ship enhancement program and the current pause in cruise operations, Carnival Cruise Line said that they are delaying the return to guest operations on four cruise ships until after scheduled dry dock enhancements are completed in the first half of 2021.
The four impacted ships and resulting cancelled itineraries include:
- Carnival Magic itineraries operating from Miami will be cancelled until March 13, 2021
- Carnival Paradise itineraries operating from Tampa will be cancelled until March 19, 2021
- Carnival Valor itineraries operating from New Orleans will be cancelled until April 29, 2021 (including the transatlantic cruise from New Orleans on January 25, 2021 and the return from Barcelona on February 26, 2021)
- Carnival Spirit itineraries operating from Brisbane will be cancelled through May 16, 2021, with the first sailing being the Singapore to Brisbane voyage embarking on June 12, 2021.
Carnival Cruise Line also announced the sale of Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination, which had previously been put on long-term lay-up status and removed from published itineraries.
The sale of Carnival Fascination, launched in 1994, and Carnival Imagination, introduced in 1995, is in line with Carnival Corporation’s plan to accelerate the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet. This follows the sale of Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration which took place in July.
Upon return to operations, Carnival will still operate four upgraded Fantasy-class ships – Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise – which feature additional balcony staterooms as well as enhanced dining and entertainment options that are part of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 enhancement program.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, gave the following statement: “This extended pause in our operations has also impacted shipyard availability, and we’ve had to reschedule required dry docks.
As we continue to work through issues related to our eventual return to operations, we are committed to providing our guests and travel agent partners with certainty where we can, although we regret disappointing our guests. We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our guests and hope to welcome them back on board soon.”
