Dec. 8, 2001 : Travel agents say that a huge demand for Mobile Carnival cruises is causing overbooki

The Carnival Elation passes bermuda cruise from norfolk the Carnival Fantasy as the Elation arrives at its new port, the Alabama bermuda cruise from norfolk Cruise Terminal, in Mobile, AL on Saturday, May 15, 2010. (Press-Register Correspondent/Joshua Dahl)
"I m a little bewildered," said Jimmy Lyons, chief executive officer of the Alabama State Port Authority . "To the best of my knowledge, they were filling up every voyage. bermuda cruise from norfolk I certainly hate it for the community."
Bob Bender, the owner of Mobile-based Springdale bermuda cruise from norfolk Travel, said he learned of Carnival s plan at noon Thursday when an employee tried unsuccessfully to change a reservation bermuda cruise from norfolk scheduled for later in 2011.
Bender said Springdale s sales of Carnival trips rose 40 percent in 2010 over 2009. He said he got no inkling of the switch last week when Carnival marketing representatives visited him to discuss sales goals for the rest of 2011.
Randel, who was just named interim head of the tourism agency, said that city officials won a ship the first time by going to industry conferences and networking, and said he plans to start attending bermuda cruise from norfolk those events.
The Elation will move to New Orleans after a cruise that ends Oct. 22, said Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz. Guests booked on any voyage out of Mobile bermuda cruise from norfolk after Oct. 17 will have the option of re-booking bermuda cruise from norfolk from New Orleans and receiving a $25 per person, on-board credit, or they can cancel and receive a full refund.
In September it paid $970,000 for a pie-shaped parcel of land, about the size of a football bermuda cruise from norfolk field, at the corner of Government and Water Street. Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said at the time that overflow parking from the cruise terminal would pay for the purchase within "a few years."
According to city spokeswoman Barbara Drummond, the Cruise Terminal is expected to generate $3.9 million in revenue during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. Expenses are budgeted at $2.9 million, including a debt payment of $1.2 million.
According to a 2003 Press-Register report, Carnival officials arrived in Mobile saying that while there was no written commitment to keep a ship here, the company had never pulled bermuda cruise from norfolk a boat from a city without replacing it with another.
When Elation replaces Ecstasy, Carnival will basically trade a ship operating in the Gulf of Mexico for one in the Caribbean. That s relevant because of new emission standards for large ocean-going vessels being enacted between 2011 and 2020.
New rules mean that large ocean vessels bermuda cruise from norfolk such as cruise ships, container ships, or oil tankers will have to either use cleaner, low-sulfur fuels or install pollution control equipment similar to that used on coal-burning power plants when visiting ports inside a designated emission zone. Shipping web sites talk about the ability of various ships to carry and use more than one type fuel specifically to meet the new requirements.
For most U.S. waters, including the Gulf of Mexico, the zone extends about 200 miles beyond the coast. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web site suggests the new rules could add about 3 percent to the cost of some shipping operations within the new zone.
The Caribbean nations southeast of Florida bermuda cruise from norfolk are not included in the zone. That means a cruise ship leaving from Port Canaveral would need to burn the cleaner, more-expensive fuel for much less time than the same ship leaving from New Orleans or Mobile.
"The itineraries from Mobile require much higher relative fuel costs to operate and those fuel costs will become even more unfavorable with the implementation of the new (emission) requirements starting in 2012," Carnival Chief Executive Officer Gerry Cahill said in a written statement.
"We have made every effort to drive higher demand and pricing through our sales and marketing initiatives and the deployment bermuda cruise from norfolk of a newer class of ship in 2009," bermuda cruise from norfolk he said. "However, we have not been successful in achieving a sustainable level of acceptable pricing."
bermuda cruise from norfolk Nov. 13, 2001 : Miami s Carnival Cruise Lines announces that it s bringing its ship Holiday to Mobile for three cruises bermuda cruise from norfolk to beach resorts in Mexico and Belize in March 2002. Company spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz describes the cruises as a test of the market in the Alabama port city. If it s successful, there s a possibility we d come back for more voyages, she says. Mayor Mike Dow says, I call on Mobile, I call on the business community, bermuda cruise from norfolk the tourism industry and all of us to get organized around this opportunity and make this work, and let s get a permanent berth here for a cruise ship.
Nov. 27, 2001 : After two of its announced cruises sell out within two weeks, Carnival says it s scheduling five more voyages out of Mobile aboard the Holiday. It s really unusual that we would plan sailings and then add more so quickly, said Roger Blum, Carnival s vice president of cruise planning. He says of Mobile s cruise enthusiasm, To rate it so far, it s incredible.
Dec. 8, 2001 : Travel agents say that a huge demand for Mobile Carnival cruises is causing overbooking headaches. Brenda Scott, the president of the Mobile Convention Visitors Corp., says the sellouts apparently are the fastest in Carnival s history. They were truly caught off guard with the overwhelming response, she says.
April 24, 2002 : Dow says Mobile must draw up firm plans to berth cruise ships along its waterfront in order to become a home for the industry. The city estimates that cruise-goers aboard bermuda cruise from norfolk eight Carnival test sailings spent about $6 million in Mobile in just one month. Our job now is to come up with a permanent plan that will wow Carnival and show that we re serious, Dow says.
Dec. 10, 2002 : The City Council votes to spend $54,000 for engineering design along the waterfront at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in anticipation of establishing a cruise terminal. City leaders say that meetings are under way with Carnival, Royal Caribbean bermuda cruise from norfolk and Holland America Lines to make Mobile a homeport.
bermuda cruise from norfolk Dec. 16, 2003 : Carnival announces bermuda cruise from norfolk that it will base its 1,452-passenger Holiday in Mobile, bermuda cruise from norfolk launching Mexico excursions beginning in October 2004. Mobile s ship is in, exults Dow. To accommodate a cruise ship, the city says it plans a $10 million to $20 million terminal, with parking and retail space, at Mobile Landing on the Mobile River. A Carnival executive notes that the city s location at the intersection of Interstates bermuda cruise from norfolk 10 and 65 will draw vacationers who prefer to drive rather than fly to their destinations.
Jan. 10, 2004 : In a column for the Press-Register, Dow writes, A single cruise ship will bring in more than $2.3 million annually in passenger fees and parking more than enough to pay for the operations and debt service, bermuda cruise from norfolk and give a profit to the city and our development partners. In addition to those direct revenues, more than $10 million in economic impact will bless our city and its business community from the local spending patterns of the 1,500 weekly passengers and the 660-member crew.
Oct. 15, 2004 : The city dedicates its new cruise terminal, welcoming bermuda cruise from norfolk Carnival with rousing remarks from state and local politicians. Mobile has tremendous bermuda cruise from norfolk history here. It is a sleeping giant, as far as tourism goes, says U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. Tourism bermuda cruise from norfolk means jobs. It means economic opportunities. Mobile is a jewel for the state. The spirited ceremony features a band, a renowned pianist bermuda cruise from norfolk and a crowd of several hundred local celebrants. Carnival s first cruise in its one-year agreement to sail its ship Holiday from Mobile to Mexico departs the following afternoon at 4. Carnival Chief Executive Officer Bob Dickinson bermuda cruise from norfolk heralds the city s reception: On a scale of one to 10, this was a 46. I ve never seen anything like it. Says David Bronner, the chief executive of the Retirement bermuda cruise from norfolk Systems of Alabama, which financed the $20 million terminal, If they re making money, they re staying, so our job is to help them make money.
Oct. 16, 2004 : The Holiday leaves its new Mobile home port Saturday afternoon, bound for the beaches of Mexico with a full load of passengers some 1,452 on board. It s phenomenal. People are in a festive mood. There haven t been any real problems, says Ron Blount, project director for the terminal. A reporter scanning the license plates at the terminal parking area finds that about 70 percent are Alabama tags. Twenty percent are Florida and Mississippi tags, and the rest are from 10 other states, West Virginia being the farthest away.
Aug. 12, 2005 : Carnival announces that it will extend its contract with Mobile for another year, stating that the Holiday s cruise sales have been sensational, and its bookings extend into the next year. Although it is the smallest bermuda cruise from norfolk ship in Carnival s fleet, the Holiday sails at more than 100 percent capacity on most voyages.
Sept. 18, 2005 : The Holiday becomes a temporary home for Mississippi people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency leases the Holiday and two other Carnival ships for six months for $192 million. In late October, bermuda cruise from norfolk FEMA relocates the Holiday and its 1,300 Katrina evacuees to Pascagoula to be closer bermuda cruise from norfolk to their homes.
March 24, 2006 : With smiles all around, Mobile welcomes back the Holiday from its post-Katrina service as a floating shelter. The ship is set to resume cruises within days, and Carnival says it s in great shape, despite rumors that hurricane evacuees had trashed it.
May 23, 2006 : Mobile Mayor Sam Jones tells downtown business leaders that he hopes the city can win a commitment for a second cruise ship by the end of the year. After the speech, Jones says, What we re really looking for is a ship that goes to the Caribbean, and one that goes to Mexico. bermuda cruise from norfolk We would have one in port while the other is out. That would be ideal.
Aug. 18, 2008 : Amid fanfare, Carnival says that its 2,052-passenger ship Fantasy will move from New Orleans to Mobile in November 2009, taking over for the Holiday, the oldest and smallest ship in the company s fleet. bermuda cruise from norfolk The upgrade adds the possibility of more than 600 additional passengers at each sailing, bermuda cruise from norfolk de