Carnival Cruise Lines is setting the stage for a big comeback amid the coronavirus pandemic, with strategic plans that include a new ship, new ports and new offerings that the company hopes will lure travelers back to the high seas.
Carnival announced Thursday it will relocate the home port of one of its most popular ships — the Carnival Sensation ― from Miami to Mobile, Alabama, NBC 15 reported.
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All of the company’s sailings have been canceled through at least Sept. 30, according to Carnival’s website.
The Sensation’s new home base will be at the Alabama Cruise Terminal on the Mobile River in downtown Mobile, Mayor Sandy Stimpson said in a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday morning.
“This morning I received a phone call from Carnival Cruise Lines informing me that the Carnival Sensation will move from Miami to Mobile and take up itineraries previously assigned to the Fantasy and Fascination.”
Carnival recently sold two vessels — Fantasy and Inspiration — and anchored two of its other ships — Fascination and Imagination — which may or may not return to service.
Carnival’s plans to resume services also include adding a second environmentally friendly vessel — known as an Excellence-class ship — to its fleet by November 2022, which coincides with Carnival’s 50th anniversary.
The new but yet-to-be-named vessel will sail out of Miami and showcase many of the same features of the company’s other Excel-class ship, the Mardi Gras, including a roller coaster.
It’s all part of the company’s plan to reduce passenger capacity and renew focus on upgraded features as the cruise industry attempts to rise from the financially devastating shutdown of global operations since March.
Carnival’s website proclaims: “We will resume cruising when society is ready and we will do so with enhanced health measures developed in conjunction with government health authorities, public health experts, local ports and the Cruise Lines International Association.”
For now, ships with more than 250 passengers have been banned from sailing from the United States.
That capacity is considerably lower than a typical ocean cruise, which sets sail with about 3,000 passengers.
The industry has faced an uncertain timeline for return since the pandemic shutdown began in mid-March.
That’s when all three major cruise lines — Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean — voluntarily agreed to suspend services for 30 days, without any specific order from the CDC to do so.
Since then, each has continued to extend suspensions month to month while the CDC keeps “no-sail” orders in place within U.S. territorial waters.
In order for cruises to ultimately return to the sea, the CDC is requiring the companies to come up with their own plans to deal with COVID-19 with minimal help from federal, state and local governments. The plans must be detailed and specific, and will then be subject to review and approval by the CDC and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Mobile leaders said they were ecstatic about the news.
“We are thrilled over this news from Carnival as it says a great deal about the confidence that Carnival has in Mobile,” said David Clark, president & CEO, Visit Mobile, according to NBC 15. “The collaboration between our elected officials, stakeholders and community with Carnival has been a tremendous success and we look forward to keeping up that momentum to promote cruising from our destination.”
In his statement, Stimpson said: “This is the great news for our City and a huge shot in the arm for our tourism industry. We had a great strategy and our team never stopped working. Mobile believes in Carnival, and today’s announcement is validation that Carnival believes in Mobile!”
Guests currently booked on either the Carnival Fantasy or Carnival Fascination will be rebooked on the Carnival Sensation, according to reports.
Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have said cruises would not resume until the new protections are fully in place, according to Financial Times.
Industry officials knew that implementing the measures would take considerable time, and with no other sources of revenue, financial reserves drained and no help from the $2 trillion economic stimulus, cruise lines wound up in more serious trouble than any other industry touched by the economic crisis.
Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean were locked out from the economic stimulus because they are incorporated outside America, in countries with more lenient tax, labor and safety laws.
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