Big news not just for Carnival’s third Vista-class cruise ship but also cruise operations on the U.S. West Coast. Carnival Cruise Line has announced that Carnival Panorama will be based out of Long Beach, California when it enters service in 2019. Not just that but the ship will sail from the newly renovated Long Beach cruise terminal. There will also be a brand new port development at one of the destinations. The news came from Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy at a VIP event held in Long Beach for the opening of the newly expanded cruise terminal.
Today, we’re celebrating the grand re-opening of our brand new state-of-the-art Long Beach Cruise Terminal! ?✈️?⭐️ pic.twitter.com/HWZOF7qr2o
— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) February 10, 2018
Carnival Panorama Based out of Long Beach
Let’s first look into the future Carnival ship’s deployment on the U.S West Coast. Carnival Panorama will offer 7-day Mexican Riviera cruises from California in 2019. Get ready because booking for the new sailings will be open at the end of March 2018. The third-Vista class cruise ship will be the first new Carnival ship based in southern California in 20 years and provides cruisers in the region with a choice of the new fleet flagship.
The ship is currently under construction in Italy and will be identical to Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon. The ship will be 133,500 gross tons.
The 3,960-Passenger Carnival Panorama will sail from the newly refurbished and expanded 146,000-square-foot terminal. The cruise facility which now uses the full dome can cater to more passengers so Carnival Panaorma will make a big statement there when sailings begin. A call on the itinerary will include a new Port Development Project in Ensenada which Carnival Cruise Line will reveal more details on at a later date.
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said:
“This is a momentous occasion for both Carnival and the City of Long Beach – not only are we celebrating the grand re-opening of this magnificent cruise terminal, but also demonstrating our commitment to the West Coast with the deployment of the spectacular new Carnival Panorama in 2019 and the announcement of an exciting new port development project in Ensenada.”
“The West Coast is an important market with vast growth potential and these initiatives further demonstrate the confidence in our future success in Long Beach. We are very much looking forward to having Carnival Panorama homeported here beginning next year.”
Carnival Cruise Line West Coast Expansion
We often only hear about cruise line operations in the Caribbean and Bahamas but don’t sweat as Carnival is also increasing capacity and developments on the U.S. west coast including the cruise terminal in Long Beach and a new port development in Ensenada, Mexico.
The Long Beach cruise terminal started renovation back in April 2017 and is a multi-million dollar investment providing new enhancements and the ability to cater for larger cruise ships. Carnival Splendor has recently started sailing from the new facility on 7-day cruises to the Mexican Riviera and the longer options for Alaska and Hawaii. It was actually recently announced that Carnival Splendor will reposition to Sydney Australia at the end of 2019 so the deployment won’t be year round. The ship joins Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration, two Fantasy-class vessels also based from Long beach.
Carlos Torres de Navarra, Carnival’s vice president, strategic and commercial port development, said:
“This project is many years in the making and Carnival’s Long Beach Cruise Terminal is one of the most visually striking and efficient facilities of its kind, providing a seamless embarkation for our guests while making a tremendous economic impact on the Southern California region.”
New Ensenada Cruise Port Development
Carnival Cruise Line also announced a small tease of a new development project taking place in the popular Mexican Riviera port of Ensenada. The details on this new private port development are all hush right now but expect it to be a stunning area just for cruise ship passengers featuring beach, local shopping, dining, bars and more.
Torres de Navarra, said:
“This project will provide our guests with a truly unique shoreside experience while making our short cruises from Long Beach even more attractive to consumers.”
“This port development project will make Ensenada one of the West Coast’s premier destinations.”
Watch out on Cruise Hive as we’ll post the details once more is revealed. This will become an essential part of all Carnival itineraries on the west coast and is part of major expansion plans in the region. it might be time to start thing of cruises not just in the Caribbean!
