Carnival Imagination, sister ship to Paradise and Inspiration,
shown here docked in Key West, Florida.
Photo © Aaron Saunders
Those looking for a quick getaway on the West Coast have had their options narrow dramatically in recent years. After the departure of Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas a few years ago, the only ship still providing short three and four-day getaways from the Port of Los Angeles is Carnival's Carnival Paradise. Billed as the only smoke-free ship afloat when she debuted in 1998, the venerable Paradise has been providing cruisers with quick jaunts to Ensenada and Catalina Island for several years now.
Late next year, Carnival plans to shake the route up - by swapping Carnival Paradise for sister ship Carnival Inspiration. Paradise will head for Tampa, where she will assume Inspiration's Caribbean cruises.
Although the two ships are largely identical on the outside, their interiors are completely unique - providing cruisers on both coasts a chance to experience a new vessel. This 'ship-swap' also has another added bonus: as each ship must reposition to the opposite coast, both vessels will operate special Panama Canal voyages in late 2011. For fans of Carnival, the opportunity is a great one: the line rarely transits the canal, and a transit on a Fantasy-class ship is rare indeed.
Pricing for these unique voyages starts at a very affordable $949 per person. Carnival Paradise sets sail for Tampa on November 28, 2011 while Carnival Inspiration sails for the City of Angels on December 3, 2011.
For more information, be sure to visit Carnival's website.
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