Mobile Looks To 2023 Following Last Carnival Ecstasy Voyage

MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile participated in a celebration this week with Carnival Cruise Line ahead of the final voyage of the Ecstasy cruise ship, AL.com reports. Carnival is not set to return to Mobile until next year, meaning the city will be without an approximately $6-million revenue source, but Mobile officials are confident they can make up the financial void. Unlike previous exits by Carnival in 2011 and in 2020, Carnival has assured city officials it will return with a bigger and newer ship soon: the Spirit, to launch out of the downtown cruise terminal for its first voyage on October 22, 2023. The Spirit, built in 2000, is bigger than previous Mobile-based cruise ships Ecstasy and Fantasy, and an attraction is its new itineraries, which are to include 5-8-day voyages to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean. Carnival is also committing to at least one voyage each year from Mobile to Alaska, but it’s unclear when the first Alaskan cruise will take place.