Now this is serious: One of Carnival's most iconic cruise ships appears headed for the scrappers
It wasn't too long ago that Carnival Fantasy was the belle of the ball in the cruise world -- the first of a significant new class of Carnival Cruise Line ships. Now it appears headed to the scrappers.
The Mobile, Alabama-based vessel has filed a voyage plan for Izmir, Turkey, which is near a major ship scrapping operation that has become the final resting place for such notable vessels as the original "Love Boat," the Pacific Princess. On Tuesday, ship tracking sites showed Carnival Fantasy sailing eastward from Curacao on its way to the destination.
A spokesperson for Carnival Corporation, the parent company for Carnival Cruise Line, didn't immediately respond to questions about the ship's fate. But cruise news site Cruise Radio, citing unnamed sources, is reporting the vessel has been sold and is destined for scrapping.
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The Curacao Ports Authority on Saturday announced on Facebook that the vessel had arrived at the island's container port to unload heavy equipment -- a sign that it was being prepared for an end to service.
The Curacao Ports Authority also said the Long Beach, California-based Carnival Inspiration -- a sister ship to Carnival Fantasy -- was at its container port unloading heavy equipment. Carnival Inspiration has not yet filed a voyage plan beyond its arrival in Curacao.
The news of Carnival Fantasy's transit to Turkey comes just days after Arnold Donald, the CEO of Carnival Corporation, revealed that the company's nine brands would remove 13 ships from their fleets in the coming months as they cut costs and reorganize in anticipation of a slow restart to cruising in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“To reduce our cash burn and have a more efficient fleet once we do resume cruising, we have aggressively shed less efficient ships,” Donald said Friday during a conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss quarterly earnings.
Donald suggested the ships leaving the various fleets would be their older vessels. Carnival Fantasy is the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet.
Related: How to book a cruise with points and miles
Based in Miami, Carnival Corporation is the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and five other brands that went into the coronavirus crisis with a combined fleet of 104 ships.
Together, the nine brands account for about 45% of all cruises taken in the world.
All nine of the Carnival Corporation brands halted departures in mid-March due to the crisis, and many have canceled all sailings into September or October. It’s a shutdown that is unprecedented in the history of modern cruising, and it’s causing the company great financial hardship.
Donald didn’t specify which ships would leave the company’s fleets. But several of the vessels already are known. The company’s U.K.-focused brand, P&O Cruises, announced last week that its 2,016-passenger Oceana would depart. The news came just days after the company’s Europe-focused Costa Cruises brand said its 1,928-passenger Costa Victoria had sailed its last voyage for the line.
Related: A major line is scrapping a cruise ship that is just 23 years old
TPG recently published a list of 23 ships that we thought were most likely to be laid-up, sold or scrapped in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that included Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration as well as several ships from Carnival Corporation’s Holland America, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia brands.
Carnival Fantasy had been scheduled to continue sailing out of Alabama through at least early 2022. As of Tuesday morning, sailings on the vessel out of Mobile remained available for booking on the Carnival website.
Unveiled in 1990, Carnival Fantasy has a storied place in the history of Carnival and the cruising world in general. It was the original vessel for the line's hugely successful, eight-ship Fantasy Class series. For years, the ships were the workhorses of the Carnival fleet.
At the time Carnival Fantasy debuted, Carnival had just a handful of ships. The arrival of the vessel and its sisters catapulted the line into the big leagues of North American tourism.
Related: Is cruising done until 2021? This cruise line thinks so
For now, all seven of Carnival Fantasy's sisters, unveiled between 1991 and 1998, remain in the Carnival fleet.
At 70,367 tons, Carnival Fantasy was one of the biggest cruise ships in the world when it debuted. It held 2,052 passengers, based on double occupancy, which was a lot at the time. But it now doesn't even come close to cracking the list of the 50 biggest cruise vessels, some of which can hold more than 5,000 people. Cruise ships have gotten bigger and bigger over time.
Carnival Fantasy is now less than half the size of the world's biggest cruise ships, including Carnival's soon-to-debut Mardi Gras. The new, 180,000-ton Carnival flagship is scheduled to debut in February after a coronavirus pandemic-caused delay.
Related: New Carnival cruise ship will have a roller coaster on deck. Really
Carnival in recent years has used Carnival Fantasy and other now-relatively-small Fantasy Class vessels for sailings from secondary ports such as Mobile that can't necessarily support a larger ship. But the vessels are approaching the end of their useful lives. They are less efficient to operate than bigger, more modern vessels. They also lack a large number of balconies, which command a higher price from cruisers than cabins without balconies.
Carnival Fantasy isn't the only notable cruise vessel on the way to Turkey. On Monday, Pullmantur Cruises' Monarch arrived in the vicinity of the ship scrapping operation near Izmir. The three-ship, Spain-based line last month announced that it was insolvent and was reorganizing under Spanish insolvency laws, and there have been reports that all three of its vessels would be scrapped.
Pullmantur blamed headwinds from the coronavirus pandemic that were “too strong … to overcome.”
Monarch is the former Royal Caribbean ship Monarch of the Seas.
Additional resources for cruisers during the coronavirus outbreak:
- When will cruising resume? A line-by-line guide
- Why you shouldn't expect bargain-basement cruise deals anytime soon
- How to cancel or postpone a cruise due to coronavirus
- Expecting a refund for a canceled cruise? Here's how long it will take
- Some of the year's hottest new ships could be delayed
- Stream these 13 movies, television shows to get your cruise ship fix
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.