I watched a lot of the minute by minute interviews on CNN late last night as the passengers got off the ship as well as the interview with the Mayor of Mobile. It was my understanding that it was up to the passengers as to what they wanted to do and that some chose to stay in Mobile at Carnival's expense.
The media did blow this out of proportion as usual. The majority of the passengers were stating how great the crew was during the ordeal, but later when sumerizing the news reports CNN played the couple of passengers that were complaining making it look bad on Carnival.
We have taken 10 cruises on Carnival and have the 11th planed for later this year and this event does not bother us at all. We think cruising is great value for the dollar.
Our four local news networks had it playing non-stop. The interviews they all showed were basically the same type reports. The crew did great is supporting the guests but the circumstances were absolutely the worst. I'm sure carnival did the best they could and that if the passenger wanted to stay in Mobile they could but what bother's me is that Carnival didn't make the Mobile option an option unless the passenger asked for it. Carnival presented two options: bus ride to New Orleans and fly home on a chartered plane to Texas or bus all the way to Texas. Mobile is a nice city with nice hotels and a good airport. Carnival could have just as easily flown their chartered flights into the airport that is just a few minutes away from the ship terminal.
Carnival abruptly decided to pull out of Mobile with no hint or warning. The time they were here always had fully booked or nearly fully books cruises. They wanted to come to Mobile and said they would ONLY IF we built the terminal. Then they left and Mobile is left with the bill. The residents here hear the city council asking to raise the sales tax to pay for the terminal every few months. Yes this is a little belly aching on my part but it would have went a long way in my book to allow some of the hotel tax revenue come back to our coffers instead of New Orleans'.
Here is a great article that shows the history of Carnival in Mobile.
http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/carnival_jumping_ship_from_mob.html
And below is a historical timeline...
Carnival and Mobile: A history
Nov. 13, 2001: Miami’s Carnival Cruise Lines announces that it’s bringing its ship Holiday to Mobile for three cruises 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, 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 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 and Holland America Lines to make Mobile a homeport.
Dec. 16, 2003: Carnival announces that it will base its 1,452-passenger Holiday in Mobile, 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 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, 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 Carnival with rousing remarks from state and local politicians. “Mobile has tremendous history here. It is a sleeping giant, as far as tourism goes,” says U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. “Tourism means jobs. It means economic opportunities. Mobile is a jewel for the state.” The spirited ceremony features a band, a renowned pianist 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 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 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 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, FEMA relocates the Holiday and its 1,300 Katrina evacuees to Pascagoula to be closer 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. We would have one in port while the other is out. That would be ideal.”
December 2007: Mobile cruise port receives the top national customer service award — Port of the Year — from Carnival, based on feedback from customer comment cards.
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. The upgrade adds the possibility of more than 600 additional passengers at each sailing, delivering another $2 million annually in parking fees alone. “We want to take it a step at a time,” says Carnival executive Terry Thornton. “Historically, this is how we’ve built different home ports — we did the same kind of thing in Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston.”
Aug. 19, 2008: The City Council unanimously extends its contract with Carnival to accept a larger ship. Also, the city reveals that it has promised to purchase a new gangway at the cruise terminal, provide 450 more parking spots nearby, develop a crew center with Internet capabilities and give Carnival a warehouse.
Sept. 17, 2009: Before the Fantasy even arrives, a delighted Mobile learns that Carnival is going to replace it in May 2010 with an even newer ship that’s the same size: The Elation. The Fantasy will move on to Charleston, S.C., where Carnival is launching a year-round cruise business.
Sept. 23, 2009: A new gangway, built to fit Mobile’s larger cruise ship, is on its way from Tarragona, Spain, to the Mobile cruise terminal. The $2.6 million gangway can accommodate any size cruise ship that Mobile may get in the future, according to city leaders. Also, the City Council approves $47,491 for a crew house that Mobile pledged to build for Carnival. Another $91,000 from the city will erect a Carnival warehouse.
May 15, 2010: The Elation heads upriver to replace the Fantasy. “Having this ship here is going to be a tremendous asset to our waterfront and for tourism,” Jones says. The Elation’s first voyage will be a seven-day trip to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico. Overall, the ship is expected to make 74 departures from Mobile each year, carrying a total of 170,000 passengers. The Elation features 1,026 staterooms, four restaurants, two swimming pools, 12 lounges and bars, a 1,300-seat theater and a 12,000-square-foot health club.
August 2010: The BP oil spill doesn’t seem to be slowing the cruise business in Mobile. According to the latest data, Mobile’s cruise terminal averages 2,617 passengers per cruise in June, the best monthly showing ever. “I’m hearing nothing but great things about the guest response to Mobile,” says Vance Gulliksen, a Carnival spokesman. Says Al St. Clair, director of cruise terminal operations, “We’ve developed a strong five-hour drive market.”
Feb. 15, 2011: Carnival says it achieved a reservations-booking record during the previous week. Heralding the 165,308 reservations from Feb. 7-13, President and CEO Gerry Cahill gives credit to the improving economy and to Carnival’s marketing efforts and pricing. In Mobile, Sheila Gurganus, the cruise terminal’s general manager, isn’t surprised by the news. She says, “We’re doing great in Mobile. The ship never goes out when it’s not full.”
March 10, 2011: In a news release that startles city leaders and cruise industry analysts, Carnival says it will leave Mobile in October, blaming rising fuel costs and an inability to raise prices for its Mobile cruises. Carnival says that its Mobile ship Elation will be relocated to New Orleans.
