Big news in the industry right now... The other day it was announced that Carnival is abandoning me for…for…Australia! The Carnival Spirit, which Carnival recently announced it would be sending here to L.A., has been assigned to Australia from October 2012, where according to rumor, she will be sailing on voyages of 8 to 12 days.This is actually probably the biggest news of the past couple of weeks (OF COURSE I MEAN OTHER THEN CUNARD NEWS!!!) as this is a pretty big step for Carnival, and for the Australian based cruise industry as well. For Carnival as a company, it is a big step because it is the first time Carnival has permanently based a ship outside of North America, Carnival’s main market. It is
also one of the first times Carnival has really really reached out to a demographic other than North Americans. Carnival has based ships (temporarily) in Europe for a few cruises, but even those were strongly targeted at Americans wanting to cruise the Mediterranean. This time is will be mostly Australians and New Zelanders.For the Australian cruise market this move also represents a large leap. In recent years the Australian cruise market has been growing and growing fast. As a response to this growth, the cruise lines have been sending more and more capacity down to Australia, either to be based there for a season, or just to make a few calls. Bigger and newer ships, such as the Queen Mary 2, usually only call at Sydney (or other Australian ports) as a port-of-call, and until now have never really been based there permanently. Up until now, Australian cruisers have been left with older, hand-me-down ships that are too old for the American and European cruise market. The largest cruise line serving Australia, P&O Australia (a sub-brand of P&O, a subsidiary of Carnival), has a fleet totally made up of older hand-me-down tonnage from various lines under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. The leftovers if you will…
The Carnival Spirit, on the other hand, while not the newest or the biggest in Carnival’s fleet, it’s still modern and it certainly will be the largest, and newest, to serve Australia and it’s a big big step up from the current selection out there. This just goes to show how much the Australian market has been growing! Cruise lines don’t send their better ships to a small meaningless market; they are reserved for important markets and destinations where they can be supported.
The Carnival Spirit was built in 2001 as the first (second if you count Costa Cruises fleet) in Carnival’s new Spirit Class of ships. It has since become one of Carnival’s most popular and nicest ships. Australia has scored big with this one! (photo at left "CARNIVAL SPIRIT" by flickr member "steamboatsorg" - Franz Neumeier, www.cruisetricks.de )
How do I feel about this though…well…I am happy for Australia…but at the same time I hate it! This ship has been deployed in California (which for those of you who are just joining, is my home state) mostly, for a while now…oh, and in Alaska in the summer months. In a few months, Spirit will be starting a season based out of L.A. doing the Mexican Riviera. Lately though, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have fallen victim to a declining cruise market :( due to several things, including fear of drug violence in Mexico, the Jones Act and a lack of destinations. Several ships have already left (such as yesterday when Mariner of the Seas left - sniff, sniff ) and headed to other destinations like Europe. Soon Norwegian Star will be leaving as well, and now here goes the Spirit along with them.
So in that sense, I hate it. I hate to see another ship leaving Los Angeles. I want to see my homeport doing well in the cruise business (in cargo operations, L.A. is still one of the most powerful ports in the world). I do think within a few years the cruise industry in California will pick up again (California is one of the largest cruise markets in the USA), but in the mean time, it’s sad to watch the decline.
On a happier note for L.A., the Disney Wonder will be here (and stay here for a few months) on Friday, which I will be there at the port for. On top of that, the QV and QE will be out here next week! (PLEASE PLEASE ALLOW ME TO VISIT THEM, CUNARD!!!...I love you!) Los Angeles, as well as other ports in Southern California, are great ports in great cities! I think that this fact will eventually help turn the tide for L.A., and bring the ships back.
In the end, both Los Angeles and Australia are going to be important players in the future of the cruise industry…that’s what I think anyway.
How do I feel about this though…well…I am happy for Australia…but at the same time I hate it! This ship has been deployed in California (which for those of you who are just joining, is my home state) mostly, for a while now…oh, and in Alaska in the summer months. In a few months, Spirit will be starting a season based out of L.A. doing the Mexican Riviera. Lately though, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have fallen victim to a declining cruise market :( due to several things, including fear of drug violence in Mexico, the Jones Act and a lack of destinations. Several ships have already left (such as yesterday when Mariner of the Seas left - sniff, sniff ) and headed to other destinations like Europe. Soon Norwegian Star will be leaving as well, and now here goes the Spirit along with them.
So in that sense, I hate it. I hate to see another ship leaving Los Angeles. I want to see my homeport doing well in the cruise business (in cargo operations, L.A. is still one of the most powerful ports in the world). I do think within a few years the cruise industry in California will pick up again (California is one of the largest cruise markets in the USA), but in the mean time, it’s sad to watch the decline.
On a happier note for L.A., the Disney Wonder will be here (and stay here for a few months) on Friday, which I will be there at the port for. On top of that, the QV and QE will be out here next week! (PLEASE PLEASE ALLOW ME TO VISIT THEM, CUNARD!!!...I love you!) Los Angeles, as well as other ports in Southern California, are great ports in great cities! I think that this fact will eventually help turn the tide for L.A., and bring the ships back.
In the end, both Los Angeles and Australia are going to be important players in the future of the cruise industry…that’s what I think anyway.
(Above photo -"Los Angeles Maritime Museum" by flickr member "karenpeacock")
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