Carnival dumps Mobile as a homeport

[macmom111]

I think Carnival is making a big mistake in the Bahama cruises. The truth is if you have been there once, you have been there, done that. Carnival may have shot themself in the foot with the short cruises out of port canaveral. Then again maybe Carnival is trying to get away from the past cruiser and target first time cruisers. Time will tell

[Dwayne]

I'm sure they brainstormed, study grouped, and surveyed before doing this. I agree though, that is a lot of capacity for the Bahamas and time will tell.

[tim c]

Dwayne, I agree! How many cruises can go to the Bahamas,,From charleston,Jacksonville,Port Canaveral,Miami.. That in my mind is too many. Plus the elation is an older ship and everyone wants to sail the newer one's.. Carnival did give Mobile a stab in the back. I feel bad with all the investment Mobile had put in and now are going to have nothing to show for it.. I certainly hope NCL or RCCL moves right in after Carnival packs its bags and moves on! Can Mobile handle a big ship? I wonder if this might be the move that eventually gets a ship out of Savannah. They are saying here that we are soppose to eventually get one.. I will never support a port in New Orleans! For certain reasons.. So I guess we will have to leave out of Charelston,thats a 51/2 drive.. Or tampa 8hrs.Flying is becoming a O% option.. SHAME ON YOU CCL!

[LisaP]

I had no idea they were not going to replace the Elation until I read the official press release.

Apparently, neither did Mobile's mayor:
With Carnival Leaving, What Now? | MOBILE, Alabama

[LHP]

The good news is that Carnival passengers re-paid every penny Mobile invested over the past 6 years and more.

So now Mobile has a cruise teriminal that they did not have to pay for.

If a Mobile port is such a great investment, another cruise line has the infrastructure in place to move right in.

[LHP]

Btw, the "quick announcement" with no heads up was because of Port Canaveral's CEO letting the cat out of the bag about the Ecstasy coming there.....

Had the PC CEO kept his mouth shut.....Carnival would have had time to reach out to the proper Mobile leadership etc before the announcement.

It would not have changed the outcome, but Carnival would have had the opportunity to handle it properly.

[macmom111]

Tim, I have to disagree with you about everyone wanting the newer ships. I love the older ships and there are a lot of people that do. I dont think the age of the ship had one thing to do with carnival leaving Mobile.

[Keith & Rita]

We received an email on this yesterday. We are booked and paid for the Sept 10 cruise. We don't like the way Carnival handled this. The only reason we booked the cruise is the convenience of Mobile. I guess we will have to look closer at Baltimore and Charleston. Any chance Charleston will get another cruise line?

[PA Steve Rocky Mount]

I agree with what everyone said about the Port of Mobile. It was very nice and easy to negotiate for parking, getting in and getting out.

I also agree that the city probably made back the money on the port. I'm sure if it is a viable place to dock, other lines, particularly NCL and RCCL will take advantage of this.

Carnival is not the be-all and end-all of the cruise industry but they are the biggest for a reason and I'm sure this was a business decision. They have brought an awful lot of revenue to Mobile which the city should certainly be thankful for. They need to market it now for another cruise line.

And welcome to the couple from Evansville. I lived there for 12 years!! Worked for almost every TV and radio station there!!

[LHP]

Originally Posted by PA Steve Rocky Mount

I agree with what everyone said about the Port of Mobile. It was very nice and easy to negotiate for parking, getting in and getting out.

I also agree that the city probably made back the money on the port. I'm sure if it is a viable place to dock, other lines, particularly NCL and RCCL will take advantage of this.

Carnival is not the be-all and end-all of the cruise industry but they are the biggest for a reason and I'm sure this was a business decision. They have brought an awful lot of revenue to Mobile which the city should certainly be thankful for. They need to market it now for another cruise line.

And welcome to the couple from Evansville. I lived there for 12 years!! Worked for almost every TV and radio station there!!

I am just the opposite...

Mobile is by far the port I like the least because of the traffic nightmares we have encountered.

Sitting in backed up traffic on I-10 because the train is blocking the entrance for 20 minutes.

Being routed to the off site parking lot IN THE RAIN....to haul your luggage to the bus...then get it off the bus and give it to a porter. (with a child with Autism...no thank you)

Even dropping off your luggage is a cluster with people getting off the ship or hauling their carry ons from the garage walking in front of you as you try to park to unload luggage...one car stops in the lane for luggage and everyone is tied up until they move if there is another car in the other lane.....

We FINALLY learned the trick to arrive at 10:30AM and turn off onto that side road and come in from the back road....they allow VIP parking at 10:30am.....to avoid the cluster.

Even that hassle I would gladly put up with if a cruise line like Oceania came in......

but I vowed never again for a Fantasy class Carnival ship.....