Can a cruise still be booked on this ship?

No. This ship no longer exists: she was scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey, from 5 August 2020. No agency can sell her, and the listings or photographs still circulating online describe a vessel that is no longer afloat.

What happened to this ship?

Carnival sold her for scrap in July 2020, during the worldwide suspension of cruising; she arrived at Aliağa, in Turkey, on 5 August 2020, and her dismantling ran into early 2022.

Why does this page still exist?

Because the name still circulates and a 404 answers nobody. We keep it to say what happened and to point to the ship that comes closest today.

Which ship comes closest today?

Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise, the only two survivors of the Fantasy class: same plans, same dimensions, same short formats. If you prefer a recent hull, Carnival Firenze is a different generation altogether.

How many ships were in the Fantasy class?

Eight. Six were sold for scrap between July 2020 and November 2022. Two remain, Elation and Paradise.

Where was this ship built?

At the Kværner Masa-Yards yard, in Helsinki. It is the Finnish yard that delivered all eight units of the class.

About 70,367 gross tons for 261 metres, with 2,052 guests at double occupancy and some 920 crew.

What place did she hold in her class?

She was the sixth unit of the class.

Why did Carnival dispose of these ships?

They were thirty years old, had few balconies and returned less per guest than modern tonnage. The worldwide shutdown of 2020 brought forward a decision that was already coming.

Where do scrapped cruise ships end up?

Most often on the demolition beaches of Aliağa, in Turkey, near Izmir. Five of the six in this class ended there. The sixth, Carnival Fascination, was beached at Gadani, in Pakistan.

What if I held a booking on this ship?

All bookings were handled by the line at the time of retirement, several years ago. If you still hold a document naming this ship, bring it to your advisor: it predates 2022.

Was this ship sold to another owner?

No. Carnival sold her straight to the breakers, with no intervening operator. Only one of the six was resold: Carnival Fascination, briefly renamed Century Harmony.

Where did this ship sail?

She spent her career on the short Caribbean and Bahamas formats, out of the southern United States, like the rest of her class.

How many departures does this page sell?

None, and that zero is accurate. It is the first thing this page should have said.

Who protects me if the trip falls through?

Your agency, and it alone. Voyages AquaTerra operates under a licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and the compensation fund for travel agency clients covers your departure. That applies to the ship you book instead of this one.

Carnival Inspiration

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Carnival Inspiration

The Carnival Inspiration is a Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship offering a resort-style onboard experience focused on leisure, entertainment and family-friendly activities at sea. It features pool areas with hot tubs and water-based recreation, along with a spa and an adults-only Serenity space designed for relaxation. The onboard experience also includes a gym, casino, live shows, a theatre and cinema-style entertainment, as well as sports and recreation options such as mini-golf and other casual activities depending on itinerary. Family and youth programs include Camp Ocean for children, Circle C for pre-teens and Club O2 for teenagers, complemented by themed bars and dining venues, with Wi-Fi available throughout the ship. This ship is suited to families and groups seeking a casual cruise experience combining entertainment, activities and relaxation in a resort-style environment at sea.

Itineraries of the Carnival Inspiration

Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.

Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.

It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.

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decks plans

Deck - 14

Sun

Deck - 12

Sports

Deck - 11

Verandah

Deck - 10

Lido

Deck - 9

Promenade

Deck - 8

Atlantic

Deck - 7

Empress

Deck - 6

Upper

Deck - 5

Main

Deck - 4

Riviera

Technical specifications

Classe: Fantasy Class
Tonnage: 70367
Passengers: 2056
Decks: 13
Length: 261 m
Width: 31 m

History

1996: Année d'inauguration

Carnival Inspiration: scrapped in Turkey, no longer sailing

The Carnival Inspiration has been scrapped and can no longer be booked. Carnival sold her for demolition in July 2020, in the middle of the global cruise shutdown; she reached Aliağa, Turkey, on 5 August 2020, and the breaking-up that began within weeks stretched into early 2022. Floated out on 1 April 1996 at the Kværner Masa-Yards shipyard in Helsinki and christened by Mary Anne Shula, she sailed simply as Inspiration until Carnival added its prefix in 2007. Roughly 70,367 gross tons, 261 metres, 2,052 guests at double occupancy and close to 920 crew.

The arts ship, from Miami to Long Beach

The sixth of the class, Inspiration ran her maiden voyage from Miami in the spring of 1996. She later worked from Tampa on western Caribbean itineraries built around Cozumel and Grand Cayman, then moved to Long Beach around 2011 for three- and four-night runs to Ensenada and Catalina Island, where her career ended. Joe Farcus built her interiors around the arts, with nods to Toulouse-Lautrec, to Fabergé and to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture, a six-deck atrium around its central sculpture, and a Shakespeare Library that regulars still name as the finest room in the class. She was also the first Carnival ship to receive the "Evolutions of Fun" refit, during her 2007 drydock.

Why the Fantasy class disappeared, and what it cost

Eight Fantasy-class ships were built in Helsinki between 1990 and 1998. The March 2020 shutdown sealed their fate: Carnival Corporation removed nineteen ships from its brands across 2020 and 2021, and six of this class were sold for demolition between July 2020 and November 2022. Two are still in service. The dismantling of Inspiration also cost two Turkish workers their lives, killed by an explosion inside the hull on 12 July 2021, a reminder that beach-based ship recycling remains dangerous and thinly regulated work.

Where to find this kind of cruise today

Long Beach kept the product Inspiration ran at the end: the Carnival Radiance offers the same three- and four-night sailings to Catalina and Ensenada, on a larger hull rebuilt from the keel up. For the scale and the feel of a Fantasy-class ship, all that remains are the Carnival Elation at Jacksonville and the Carnival Paradise at Tampa, both delivered in 1998. The choice comes down mostly to which coast you are leaving from.

If you would rather see what the line does today, on a hull that has nothing in common with this one, Carnival Firenze is the other hull that came over from Costa, on the West Coast. She does not replace Carnival Inspiration: she shows how far thirty years went.