Carnival Fantasy to Homeport in Mobile in 2016

Carnival pulled out of Mobile in October 2011 after basing a vessel in the city for seven years, citing the inability to generate adequate financial returns.

The news comes after weeks of rumors and then a confirmation from Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson after a meeting at the Carnival headquarters in Miami on September 3rd. The Fantasy, which is now subject to a multimillion-dollar refurbishment, will be setting sail from the Alabama Cruise Terminal for four-and-five-day cruises to ports in Mexico starting in November 2016. We are proud that Carnival has decided to bring a cruise ship back to the Port City.

The City of Mobile, which owns the cruise ship terminal, has been left with no dedicated revenue source with which to pay the $1.8 million in annual debt service on the terminal since Carnival last sailed from Mobile in 2011. “We are building something special in Mobile, and this renewed partnership is evidence of that momentum”.

“Carnival Fantasy’s four- and five-day cruises from Mobile provide consumers with an affordable way to visit stunning Mexican ports from a convenient homeport while offering our valued travel agent partners an exciting new short vacation option to market to their clients”, said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

Industry giant Carnival on Wednesday announced it would resume year-round sailings from the city in November 2016. Carnival Fantasy’s four day weekend cruises go to Cozumel and on Mondays and Saturdays while the five-day voyages head to Costa Maya or Progreso. Carnival Fantasy is the original ship in its class at 70,367 gross tons and was built-in 1990.

Now homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, the Fantasy previously operated out of Mobile in 2009 and 2010.