This Carnival cruise ship made history. Now it's being scrapped.
Another icon of the early days of cruising has been sent to the scrappers.
Ocean Dream, which originally sailed as Carnival Cruise Line's Tropicale, arrived at the scrapyards of Alang, India, on Friday after being idle for nearly a year due to the coronavirus crisis.
Unveiled in 1982, the 1,422-passenger ship was the first cruise vessel purpose-built for Carnival, and it played a significant role in the line's early growth.
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Ordered just eight years after Carnival's founding in 1972, the 10-deck-high ship was larger than the line's three existing vessels at the time -- Mardi Gras, Carnivale and Festivale. It also was the first true cruise ship at the line.
Carnival had bought its first three vessels on the second-hand market, and all were traditional ocean liners that the line had converted for use as cruise ships.
The addition of a purpose-built cruise ship to the Carnival fleet was thus a major milestone in the line's development. In part due to the success of the ship and three more, bigger vessels based on the same design that came later, Carnival grew rapidly and soon was able to begin buying up its rivals to become the world's biggest cruise company.
Now known as Carnival Corp., the company today operates nearly 90 cruise ships under not just the Carnival brand but eight other cruise brands including Princess Cruises, Holland America, Seabourn and Costa Cruises.
Built by Danish shipbuilder Aalborg Verft, Tropicale initially sailed from Miami to the Caribbean. But the vessel would go on to play an important role in launching Carnival cruises to other destinations such as Alaska and Mexico. Tropicale was the first Carnival ship to be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, New Orleans and Tampa.
Tropicale was, notably, also the very first Carnival ship to boast one of the line's signature "whale tail" winged funnels -- a now-iconic design flourish dreamed up by the noted ship designer Joe Farcus. All Carnival ships since Tropicale have had one.
Tropicale left the Carnival fleet in 2000, transferring to sister line Costa Cruises. It sailed for Costa through 2005 as the Costa Tropicale before being transferred to another sister line, P&O Cruises Australia, to sail under the name Pacific Star. In 2008, the ship was transferred yet again, to Spanish line Pullmantur. It was there that it took on the name Ocean Dream.
A few years after that, the ship was sold to Peace Boat, a Japan-based non-governmental organization that runs educational voyages as part of its mission of working toward peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development.
Peace Boat has purchased a former Princess Cruises ship to take Ocean Dream's place.
Tropicale is the oldest former Carnival ship still in existence. Once it is scrapped, the oldest former Carnival ship to still be in existence will be the 1987-built Celebration, which now sails for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line as the Grand Celebration.
The scrapping of Tropicale comes just just six months after one of the most iconic ships from the early Royal Caribbean fleet, Sovereign of the Seas, was sent to the scrappers.
Related: Why the scrapping of Sovereign of the Seas is so heartbreaking
The ships are among a growing list of cruise vessels that have been sent to the scrappers in the past 10 months as the cruise industry experiences an unprecedented shutdown.
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- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees