Carnival to End Cruises from Mobile, Move Ecstasy to Port Canaveral

Interesting news for our Alabama Cruisers..
from Travelpulse.com

Carnival to End Cruises from Mobile, Move Ecstasy to Port Canaveral
March 10, 2011 3:18 PM

Carnival Cruise Lines will end cruising from Mobile, Ala., moving the Carnival Elation to New Orleans and the Carnival Ecstasy from the Crescent City to Port Canaveral.

The 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy will operate four- and five-day Bahamas cruises beginning Nov. 7. The move bolsters Carnival’s position as Port Canaveral’s largest cruise operator with three year-round ships carrying approximately 600,000 guests annually.

The 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation will operate year-round four- and five-day Western Caribbean cruises beginning Nov. 5.

“We have made the very difficult decision to discontinue our cruise operations from Mobile effective Oct. 22,” said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve favorable financial results with this program. Although we have consistently filled the ship, it has been at lower relative pricing to the rest of our fleet. We have made every effort to drive higher demand and pricing through our sales and marketing initiatives and the deployment of a newer class of ship in 2009. However, we have not been successful in achieving a sustainable level of acceptable pricing.

“Additionally, the itineraries from Mobile require much higher relative fuel costs to operate and those fuel costs will become even more unfavorable with the implementation of the new ECA requirements starting in 2012,” Cahill said. “We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the Mobile community for the friendship and support we have received during the past six years.”

Carnival Ecstasy will depart Thursdays on four-day long weekend cruises visiting Nassau and Half Moon Cay or Freeport. Five-day cruises will depart Mondays and Saturdays and call at Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay or Key West. From Port Canaveral, Carnival also offers three- and four-day Bahamas cruises aboard Carnival Sensation and seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages on Carnival Dream.

Prior to repositioning to Port Canaveral, the Carnival Ecstasy will continue to operate from Galveston, Texas, through Sept. 8 and then from New Orleans from Sept. 22 through Nov. 5, as previously scheduled.

From New Orleans, Carnival Elation will depart Thursdays on four-day cruises visiting Cozumel while five-day voyages will call at both Cozumel and Progreso. Carnival Elation’s new schedule from New Orleans replaces the previously announced program from that port on the Ecstasy.

Carnival Elation will join the Carnival Conquest in New Orleans, marking the first time Carnival has operated two ships from New Orleans in six years. Carnival will be the only cruise line with two ships based year-round in New Orleans, carrying more than 350,000 passengers annually.

Guests booked on cruises from Mobile can cancel for a full refund or they can re-book from an alternate homeport and receive a $25-per-person onboard credit.

Guests booked on cruises from New Orleans on the Carnival Ecstasy that will now be operated on the Carnival Elation are being automatically shifted to the Carnival Elation. Itineraries on the Carnival Elation will be identical to those that were scheduled for the Carnival Ecstasy. The two vessels are sister ships with largely similar features, amenities and staterooms. However, guests who were booked in standard balcony staterooms on the Carnival Ecstasy -- a cabin category not featured on the Carnival Elation -- will be contacted individually to discuss their preferences. The movement of bookings from Carnival Ecstasy to Carnival Elation will be completed by March 11.

Carnival will begin accepting reservations for the Ecstasy and Elation’s new programs from Port Canaveral and New Orleans beginning March 11. For more information, visit www.GoCCL.com.