The delivery of the CARNIVAL MAGIC marked another milestone, as the 100th ship in the combined fleet

The cruise industry continued uk travel companies list its never-ending story of growth in 2011, carrying a projected 16 million passengers, up 6.6% over the previous uk travel companies list year.  Despite so many ships now sailing in other waters, 73% of all passengers still come from North America.
Seven new ships were introduced in 2011. The next generation of vessels now on order will feel considerably uk travel companies list more crowded than existing cruise ships.  The new ships coming online between 2013 and 2015 for Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean will have 8% less space per passenger while the latest Princess orders will be 16.5% more congested than even their very largest existing ships such as the SAPPHIRE PRINCESS.
In this annual review, cruise line listings are grouped below their parent company, such as Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean International, and Apollo Management, followed by independent and smaller operators.
Carnival Cruise Lines continued to do well in 2011.  In announcing the doubling of the quarterly dividend uk travel companies list to shareholders, chairman and CEO, Micky Arison said, “Given our projected increase in cash from operations, expected to exceed $4 billion in 2011, combined with lower capital investment commitments due to the slower pace of our new build program, the company will begin generating significant uk travel companies list free cash flow in 2011 and beyond.”  Financial results for the full year totaled $15.8 billion in revenue.  Reported net income for 2011 was a very respectable $1.9 billion.  Carnival Corporation purchased uk travel companies list 14.8 million of their own shares on the open market at a cost of $455 million.  For the future, Carnival Corporation expects to build two to three new ships each year with a 2012 capital investment uk travel companies list commitment of $2.6 billion.
The 23rd ship in the current Carnival Cruise Lines fleet was named CARNIVAL MAGIC in a May 1st ceremony in Venice, Italy.  Lindsey Wilkerson, a former cancer patient and current employee of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis served as godmother.  She and 3,700 other guests uk travel companies list then departed on a nine-day maiden voyage to the Mediterranean.
uk travel companies list The delivery of the CARNIVAL MAGIC marked another milestone, as the 100th ship in the combined fleets of Carnival Corporation.  The next 130,000 ton sister, CARNIVAL BREEZE uk travel companies list was launched at Fincantieri on September 16th.
Carnival, like other companies, is busy rethinking if they want to continue to offer cruises to the Mexican Riviera from the West Coast. San Diego, California, in particular, has been hit heavily by defections.
Following a fire in November 2010, the 113,300 gross ton CARNIVAL SPLENDOR remained out of service until February 20th.  After temporary uk travel companies list repairs in San Diego, the ship proceeded uk travel companies list up the coast to San Francisco at about one knot.  The ship was too tall to reach the nearby shipyard in San Diego, as it could not pass under the Coronado Bridge, so BAE in San Francisco was the next closest alternative.  Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill stated,  “Between the repairs, the transport, refunds and free cruises given to displaced passengers and the lost revenue from canceled sailings, the incident cost $65 million.”  Repairs included building and replacing a 218,000 pound generator, flown in from Europe, along with two 106,000 pound alternators and 110 miles of electrical cables.  The fire destroyed the 5 diesel generator in the aft engine room but the intense uk travel companies list heat also burned the cable insulation disabling both engine rooms and leaving the ship powerless.
In Long Beach, California, CARNIVAL PARADISE (ex PARADISE) spent most of 2011 on the vessel’s normal 3 and 4-day itineraries to Baja before being replaced by CARNIVAL INSPIRATION (ex INSPIRATION) on December 19th.
Carnival announced that their other West Coast based ship, CARNIVAL SPIRIT, would be abandoning the region in October uk travel companies list 2012 for more lucrative deployment in Australia.  This marks the first time a Carnival Cruise Lines vessel has ventured down under , although several of their other brands uk travel companies list base ships there on a regular basis.  The ship will cater to Australian passengers rather than their usual American base, with Australian dollars used on board and a no-tipping required policy in effect.
Although the CARNIVAL ELATION (ex ELATION) had been sailing full from its base in Mobile, Alabama, Carnival decided they were not making enough money there and discontinued service from that port, switching the ship on October 22nd to New Orleans.
CARNIVAL PRIDE was blown away from its berth in Port Canaveral, Florida, March 30th by an 85 knot gust of wind.  No one was injured in the frightening incident, however when the anchor was dropped abruptly to help stay the ship, it broke the raising mechanism.  The vessel remained overnight for repairs, canceling a scheduled call at Nassau.  Passengers were compensated $25.00 in on board credit.
Nice story Shawn, the facts and the figures for the ships -now and in the future is appreciated, as well as the items we forgot or did not know until now are priceless. The twin funnels shot is so iconic, a scene I have encountered too many times to count, one that always makes me smile.
Thank you for the kind comments Kenneth. This first installment of Cruise Ships 2011, The Year In Review is just a small section of a 10,652 word essay on the state of the industry this past year. Every passenger ship and company that made any significant news during the year will be covered. Large lines, small independent companies, obscure references, ships that were traded, ships that have gone for scrap, the good, the bad and the ugly, all will receive coverage, so keep checking back in the coming days and weeks.
Just went on carnival splendor first week of December . The pier at long beach behind uk travel companies list the queen Mary was a cluster but overall carnival has improved it s product. I m not a carnival guy but I appreciate carnival saving cunard and holland America . People who go on carnival don t care about ships: just hope royal Carribean comes back to California .
I really wasn t aware that Carnival saved Holland America and would like more info on that. Though HAL s financials were not public before Carnival, I thought they were profitable and had financing arranged and orders placed for new ships after the Westerdam upsizing.
So, Carnival Spirit plans to come to Australia I wonder if she will come to NZ as well be interested to know. Many thanks for updates on cruise ships, for instance I didnt know Costa Marina had been sold.