Carnival Cruise Line makes surprise move with its first mega-ship
Carnival Cruise Line has been offering short cruises of 3, 4, and 5 days for many years. But it is an area of cruising where it has lagged behind a key competitor in recent years.
The short cruise strategy has been a cornerstone of Royal Caribbean's plans, and something that, quite frankly, has been a strength of Carnival's main competitor.
Royal Caribbean has been offering short cruises on its massive Oasis-class ships for some time, first on Allure of the Seas. It even launched a brand-new ship (Utopia of the Seas) directly into short sailings last year, and is set to start offering 3- and 4-night cruises on its popular Wonder of the Seas in the Fall.Short cruises appeal to people who either can't get away for an entire week or simply don't want to be on a ship for that long. And from the cruise line's perspective, short cruises often command higher fares on a per-night basis, plus they can be a great way to attract new customers to the cruise line.
However, in Carnival's case, one common complaint (among some cruisers) has been that the line typically uses its oldest and smallest ships for short cruises. Not only does it not offer short cruises on its flagship Excel-class ships, but it doesn't offer short sailings on the few classes of ships that came before it.
Of course, some people enjoy the smaller ships, finding the newer ones a bit overwhelming. But Royal Caribbean has proven that there's clearly a market for short sailings on the biggest and newest ships, and it appears that Carnival has taken notice.At a recent media briefing, Carnival made several major announcements, including the name and homeport of its upcoming fourth Excel-class ship. The Carnival Festivale will debut in Spring 2027 and will call Port Canaveral, Florida home. We also now know that the fifth Excel-class ship will be named Carnival Tropicale, and will debut approximately one year later, although its home port is yet to be revealed.
What's particularly significant about this news is that Carnival already has one of its Excel-class ships homeported in Port Canaveral, the first-in-class Mardi Gras.
More Carnival cruise news: Mardi Gras will continue to call Port Canaveral home. But once Carnival Festivale is delivered and begins sailing, Mardi Gras will begin offering short cruises.
'With short cruises on Mardi Gras, our guests who may not have the time to take a weeklong vacation can experience all the amazing features of our Excel class," Carnival President Christine Duffy said.To be clear, there are a lot of details yet to be revealed. For starters, we don't have any idea what itineraries Mardi Gras will be sailing once it begins its short cruise schedule.
Duffy said that Carnival Festivale's itinerary details will be released this summer, so presumably we'll get a look at Mardi Gras' 2027 schedule as well.
Mardi Gras will likely stop at Carnival's new private destination, Celebration Key. That port, a sort of answer to Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at Coco Cay, opens in July.
Whatever the particulars end up being, this is likely welcome news for cruisers who prefer short sailings but also like to consider the ship as a destination, not just the vessel taking them from port to port.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
, or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump trade deal shows how vital China's rare-earth metals are to US defense firms
The draft trade agreement with China announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday would ease concerns from top US military suppliers about rare-earth metals and magnets that, if cut off permanently, could hobble production of everything from smart bombs to fighter jets to submarines and other weapons in the US arsenal. While the deal has not yet been finalised, it may reassure major defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, the largest US user of samarium – a rare-earth metal used in military-grade magnets – whose supply is entirely controlled by China. The issue of China's export restrictions on the metals and magnets was so important that Trump specifically mentioned them as part of his announcement of a broader trade agreement with China that would reduce US tariffs to 55% and Chinese tariffs to 10%. Related: Trump says China will face 55% tariffs as he endorses trade deal 'Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,' Trump wrote. 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China.' Rare earths are crucial to the production of F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class nuclear-powered submarines, Tomahawk missiles, radar systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and smart bombs, according to Gracelin Baskaran of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a thinktank. China in April imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements during the tough negotiations over Trump's new tariffs. China also targeted the aerospace and defense industries by limiting 15 US entities with ties to the industry from receiving dual-use goods. 'The United States is already on the back foot when it comes to manufacturing these defense technologies,' Baskaran said in an interview published by CSIS. 'China is rapidly expanding its munitions production and acquiring advanced weapons systems and equipment at a pace five to six times faster than the United States. While China is preparing with a wartime mindset, the United States continues to operate under peacetime conditions.' Trump has amassed a team of foreign policy China hawks, including a number who have warned that the US should focus more on the pacing threat posed by China over the coming decades instead of current conflicts in Ukraine or the Middle East. 'Even before the latest restrictions, the US defense industrial base struggled with limited capacity and lacked the ability to scale up production to meet defense technology demands,' she continued. 'Further bans on critical minerals inputs will only widen the gap, enabling China to strengthen its military capabilities more quickly than the United States.' China and the US had agreed last month in Geneva to pause the implementation of sky-high tariffs that would have delivered a severe economic blow to manufacturers and consumers in the US, as well as exporters in China. But China maintained export licenses on rare-earth metals used by both defense producers and carmakers that threatened to upend global supply chains and imperil production in the US. In particular, China has a stranglehold on the production and export of samarium, a magnet used in combination with cobalt to provide highly durable magnets used to withstand the intense temperatures in military-grade tech. China produces the entire world's supply of the rare-earth metal. In particular, the magnets are important for the production of guided missiles, satellite-guided 'smart bombs', and aircrafts, including fighter jets, according to Apex Magnets, a supplier. Those supplies of weapons have been depleted through deliveries of missiles and other ordnance to Ukraine and to the Israeli military. Pentagon planners and other officials in the administration of Joe Biden, regularly squared off over whether foreign weapons deliveries expose a US vulnerability in case it faced off with a major military power. In order to break the deadlock, secretary of state Marco Rubio also abruptly announced plans to cancel hundreds of thousands of visas for Chinese students in the US. While publicly that was said as a plan to root out Chinese spies in US higher education, Axios reported that the visa ban was also motivated by China's obstinance on resuming rare earths exports. The breakthrough comes as Trump is planning to display US military prowess at a parade in Washington DC this weekend that has been seen as an attempt to flex American muscle and reinforce the US president's bonafides as a supporter of the military. Trump in 2019 ordered the Pentagon to find new sources of procuring rare earth minerals, in particular samarium, because the US did not have the capacity to produce them domestically. The initiative was 'essential to the national defense', he said then. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump could scrap Aukus deal
The United States is considering ending a nuclear submarine pact with the UK and Australia, in what would be a major blow to a security alliance between the countries. The Pentagon launched a review of the 2021 Aukus submarine deal to decide if the US should cancel the project, US defence officials said. The assessment is being led by Elbridge Colby, a defence department official and former Trump campaign aide, who has raised questions about Aukus. The deal includes a commitment from the US to supply Australia with at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines. But some inside the Trump administration argue it comes at the expense of America's own domestic production of submarine defence. Aukus submarines will feature a Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor built in the UK, with the UK providing naval training to support the programme. The deal froze France out of a major defence contract with Australia. It comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday insisted the US would supply Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, amid growing concern that production is not rolling out quickly enough. Under the Aukus deal signed to great fanfare in 2021, Washington, London and Canberra are cooperating on the joint development of cyber warfare tools, artificial intelligence and hypersonic missiles. The agreement commits the United States to building cutting-edge submarines for Australia, an investment with an estimated cost of up to $235 billion over 30 years. Australia plans to acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines from the United States within the next 15 years, eventually manufacturing its own nuclear-powered subs. The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels, which can carry cruise missiles, but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year. Critics have questioned why the United States would sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia without stocking its own military first. In a post on X last year, Mr Colby wrote that he was 'skeptical' of the agreement. 'In principle [Aukus is] a great idea. But I've been very skeptical in practice. I remain skeptical – agnostic as I put it to [The Sydney Morning Herald] – but more inclined based on new information I've gleaned,' he wrote. 'It would be crazy to have fewer [attack submarines] in the right place and time,' he said. China has strongly pushed back against the Aukus deal. Mao Ning, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, in 2023 said that Aukus was 'about fuelling military confrontation through military collaboration'.Ms Mao said: 'It is apparently driven by Cold War thinking. It creates additional nuclear proliferation risks, exacerbates arms race in the Asia-Pacific and hurts regional peace and stability. 'China is deeply concerned and firmly opposed to it.' The biggest threat to China is the pact's order to supply Australia with at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines, which travel and remain undetected for much longer than the traditional diesel-powered vessels. The highly-advanced nuclear fleet would enable a better understanding of China's existing sea-based nuclear weapons. A US Defense Official said: 'The Department is reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous Administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda. 'As Secretary Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our service members, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defense, and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs. 'This review will ensure the initiative meets these common sense, America First criteria.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cruise Ship Waiter Saves Passengers from Shards of Glass Raining Down from Shattered Window
A large glass panel shattered aboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas on June 8 The falling shards narrowly missed passengers thanks to a warning from one of the ship's waiters Employee Nitin Kumar reportedly noticed the glass cracking and sprinted to alert guests seated on pool loungers below Royal Caribbean and passengers praised Kumar for his actionsWhat could have been a devastating situation was avoided by a quick-thinking cruise waiter. On Sunday, June 8, a cracked glass panel installed above the pool deck of Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas gave way, raining down shards on the lounge chairs of the deck below. Luckily, the seats were empty thanks to one of the ship's crew members who saw what was about to unfold. The ship had departed Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, en route to its first stop in Florida, docking in Port Canaveral, when the incident occurred. Travel content creator Tytti Tuliainen captured the shocking scene in a video that showcases the large chunks of glass crashing down. On social media, guests praised one of the ship's waiters, Nitin Kumar, for jumping into action, warning passengers just in time for them to get out of the way On a Royal Caribbean subreddit, Kumar's heroic story prevailed. One commenter, who was allegedly aboard the ship at the time of the crash, wrote, 'Nitin saw it cracking and sprinted down to the pool deck and told the people in deck chairs to move. Fifteen seconds later this happened. Dude saved some lives for sure.' Royal Caribbean also took to their social media account to recognize Kumar for his assistance. 'Thanks to the fast thinking of one of the best Nitin, these seats were vacant when the safety glass gave way,' the caption read. 'You are truly an asset to Royal Caribbean and a hero to the many people you removed from harms way. great job!" No reason for the accident has been confirmed, but one social media user noted it occurred while the ship was "turning 180 [degrees] to dock" causing significant "vibrations." Royal Caribbean has not immediately responded to PEOPLE's request for comment. Read the original article on People