JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Starting next month, Carnival Cruise Line will be using a different ship for its cruises out of Jacksonville.
The Carnival Ecstasy, which had been based in the River City since 2019, will be moving to Mobile, Alabama.
The Carnival Spirit, which had been cruising out of Brisbane, Australia, will now come to Jacksonville. It will handle the same itineraries that had been scheduled for the Ecstasy, with the same restart date of March 7.
Here are some details on the ships:
| Carnival Ecstasy | Carnival Spirit | |
|---|---|---|
| Inaugural cruise | 1991 | 2001 |
| Staterooms | 1,026 | 1,062 |
| Number of decks | 10 | 12 |
| Normal cruise capacity | 2,052 | 2,124 |
| Approximate crew | 920 | 930 |
The Carnival Sensation, which had been sailing out of Mobile, will have its restart delayed.
Carnival is doing this over uncertainty with cruising in Australia. The cruise line sent News4JAX the following statement on Wednesday:
“As we continue our successful restart of guest operations in the U.S., we are making some adjustments in vessel deployments. We have delayed the restart of Carnival Sensation. And because of the continued uncertainty of when cruising can resume in Australia, we are bringing Carnival Spirit to the U.S. Carnival Ecstasy will reposition from Jacksonville to Mobile and sail the Carnival Sensation itineraries, effective with the planned March 5 restart. Carnival Spirit will position to Jacksonville to sail the published itineraries from that port, effective with the planned restart on March 7.”