It looks like one of Carnival’s oldest ships will be scrapped rather than being sold to continue service for another cruise line. Carnival Sensation is heading for the scrapyard in Turkey, according to reports.
Carnival Sensation to Be Scrapped
Another Fantasy-class cruise ship is set to reach the end of service and not continue sailing after leaving the Carnival Cruise Line fleet. According to a report by TradeWinds, the cruise line has gone for a quick sale, with Carnival Sensation being sold for scrap.
With parent company Carnival Corporation opting for EU-approved green shipbreaking facilities, it’s likely the Carnival cruise ship will be heading for the Aliaga in Turkey. The ship-breaking yard in Aliaga has already scrapped three other Fantasy-class cruise ships that were sold off due to the impact of the global pandemic in 2020.
Carnival Cruise Line announced in January that Carnival Sensation would be leaving the fleet but did not say whether she would be scrapped or sold to another cruise line. It was also announced that sister ship Carnival Ecstasy would leave the fleet after its final voyage from Mobile, Alabama, on October 5, 2022.
Read Also: Things to Know About the Carnival Sensation Cruise Ship
Carnival Sensation has not returned to operations since the industry-wide pause started in March 2020. Since then, the vessel has been in a warm layup, hoping to welcome guests again from the Port of Mobile. Even though Carnival Sensation never return to operations, she has been used recently to house crew members positive with COVID.
Days of the Fantasy-Class Are Numbered
Carnival Corp has already made it clear that it’s shifting to a more efficient fleet by offloading its much older ships and growing with more environmentally friendly vessels.
In a recent letter to shareholders from Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison, “Our decision to accelerate the exit of 19 ships as part of our fleet optimization strategy resulted in a more efficient fleet overall and lowered our planned capacity growth to approximately 2.5% compounded annually from 2019 through 2025, down from 4.5% annually pre-COVID-19. We achieved a unit cost benefit from the removal of these less efficient ships from our fleet which will grow from the delivery of the larger and more efficient ships.”
Carnival Fantasy, the original ship in the class and purpose-built for Carnival, was the first to be scrapped due to the pandemic at the Aliaga scrapyard. The vessel was beached in July 2021. Carnival Inspiration then arrived at the same facility for scrapping in August 2020. Carnival Imagination was the third in the same class to be beached for scrapping in Turkey in September 2020.
Carnival Cruise Line also sold off Carnival Fascination, but with Chinese-based Century Cruises making the purchase, the hope was that she would remain in service. However, the Chinese cruise line has now decided to sell the vessel for scrap. Carnival Fascination arrived at the Gadani ship-breaking facility in Pakistan just days ago.
With Carnival Ecstasy’s future in question on whether she will be scrapped or continue service under a new operator, there will only be two Fantasy-class vessels reaming in the fleet. Carnival Paradise and Carnival Elation are still set to sail for the foreseeable future.
Carnival Sensation will be a missed ship as she’s been offering fun-filled cruise vacations since entering service in 1993. The vessel was built at the Kvaerner Masa-yards in Helsinki, Finland, at 70,367 gross tons. The ship has a guest capacity of 2,052 and 920 crew members.
