Carnival Cruise Lines just announced that they no longer will be holding port in Mobile Alabama. Due to the lack of profits from the port, as well as the cost of fuel constantly on the rise. Carnival has decided to move its ship the Elation from Mobile, to New Orleans. Carnival has stated that although they have successfully booked the ship in full most cruises. They still did not receive the favorable profits, due to the relative low pricing for the cruise. Carnival did mention that they plan on keeping their relationship with Mobile, in hopes of one day returning Carnival ships to the port. Needless to say this is very bad news for the port of Mobile. Where annually they racked up over three million dollars just from parking alone. Not to mention the influx of passengers booking hotels, eating in restaurants, and flying in to Mobile. In a time of financial instability for any city, this will in fact be a hard hit for Mobile to take. Comments all over the internet are starting to flood in with a wide mixture of responses. Some say it won't be that big of deal, while others are proclaiming the end to their beautiful city. I have no doubts that Mobile will in fact rise up. Yes this will be a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the city. However, they were a profitable port city before Carnival, and they will be after Carnival. I also would not be surprised if perhaps some of the other cruise lines don't line up for the newly vacated spot. Now not all is lost in this whole transaction. After all, "One man's loss, is another man's gain." The Elation will actually be moving to New Orleans to replace the Ecstasy. Giving New Orleans a whole new ship to get excited about. As for the Ecstasy, it will be moving to the wonderful Port Canaveral in Florida. Carnival will be launching what they have tagged as "short cruises" that will be both four and five-day cruises. The Ecstasy is going to be a big part of that program, and will truly help meet a demand that is very present. The new itinerary for the ship includes, Nassau, CocoCay, and Freeport Bahamas for the four-day cruise. Then adding a stop in Miami for the five-day cruise. That means that with the addition of the Ecstasy, plus the Sensation offering three, and four-day cruises to the Bahamas. As well as the Carnival Dream offering seven night cruises. Carnival is going to truly rise above in all the options they will offer from Port Canaveral. It is sad to think of the negative impact this could have on the city of Mobile. However, I truly believe Carnival has a great plan, and will do every thing in their power to make this right for all. Every one understands the economy is not where it should be, so everyone should be able to understand that a loss in profits at this point could be detrimental to Carnivals over all health. I look forward to watching what happens in the following months leading up to this huge change in ports. I do know that when the Ecstasy pulls into Port Canaveral, it will be warmly welcomed to the family.
...read more
