Carnival Cruise Line has announced the sale of two more ships from its fleet.
Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination, which had previously been put on long-term lay-up status and removed from published itineraries, will leave the fleet.
Fascination launched in 1994 and Imagination in 1995. Carnival said their sales were in line with the corporation’s plan to ‘accelerate the removal of less efficient ships’ from its fleet.
This follows the sale of Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration in July.
When it returns to operations, Carnival will operate four upgraded Fantasy-class ships – Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise – which are part of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 enhancement program.
“While we are sad to see Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination leave our fleet, it is a necessary move as it allows us to focus on ships that offer the greatest variety of features and stateroom accommodations for our guests,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival is also to delay the return to sailing of four ships until after dry dock enhancements are completed in the first half of 2021.
The impacted ships and itineraries are:
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 a 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.
“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,” Duffy said.
