Carnival Paradise (original) (raw)

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Cruise ship built in 1998

Carnival Paradise

Carnival Paradise with Carnival's New Painted Livery
History
Panama
Name Paradise (1998–2007)Carnival Paradise (2007–present)
Owner Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator Carnival Cruise Line
Port of registry Panama City, Panama[1]
Builder Kvaerner Masa-YardsHelsinki New ShipyardHelsinki, Finland
Cost $300 million[2]
Yard number 494
Laid down 1996
Launched 29 January 1998
Sponsored by Paula Zahn
Christened 1998
Completed 1998
Acquired 29 October 1998
Maiden voyage November 1998
In service 1998–present
Refit 2018 2023
Identification Call sign: 3FOB5 IMO number: 9120877 MMSI number: 355833000
Status in active service
Notes [1][3]
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and type _Fantasy_-class cruise ship
Tonnage 70,367 GT 6,894 DWT
Length 260.60 m (855 ft 0 in)
Beam 31.50 m (103 ft 4 in)
Height 115 ft 6 in (35.20 m)
Draft 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in)
Decks 13 (10 with passenger access)
Installed power 6 × Wärtsilä W12V38A 47,520 kW (combined)
Propulsion Two ABB Azipod propulsion units
Speed 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) (service)[4] 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (maximum)
Capacity 2,040 passengers [5]
Crew 920[2]
General characteristics (after 2018 refit)
Tonnage 71,925 GT[6]
Decks 14 (11 with passenger access)
Capacity 2,124

Carnival Paradise (formerly Paradise) is a _Fantasy_-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on 29 January 1998, and christened as Paradise by Paula Zahn.[3] During 2007, in common with all of her _Fantasy_-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name.[7]

Carnival Paradise was built to be the world's first completely non-smoking cruise ship and she was entered into service supported by several anti-smoking and cancer-prevention groups. "No smoking" signs were placed prominently on both sides of the ship and on the stern under the name.

Non-smoking rules were strictly enforced. No smoking materials of any kind were permitted aboard. If anything was seen or found, the passenger was fined $250 and put off at the next port, with their transportation home under the passenger's own expense. Due to poor revenue, Carnival decided to discontinue the smoke-free policy in December 2003, claiming that non-smokers tend to not drink or gamble as much as those accustomed to smoke.[8]

Scheduled to arrive at the Port of Long Beach, California, on 20 September 2004, her arrival was delayed due to several major hurricanes (see 2004 Atlantic hurricane season). Her cruise through the Caribbean and Panama Canal, and up the Mexican coast was further hindered by more hurricanes. After having skirted the bad weather with minimal inconvenience, Paradise arrived at the Long Beach cruise terminal in the early morning. Later that day, the non-smoking signs were painted over.[1][3]

In 2021, she was repainted into Carnival's new livery.

Starting in 1998 to 2004, Carnival Paradise sailed 7 Day cruises to the Caribbean from Miami.

In 2004 she repositioned to Long Beach, California. After her arrival in Long Beach, she undertook 3-day and 4-day cruises to Ensenada, Mexico and Santa Catalina Island, California.

In late 2011, Carnival moved Carnival Paradise to Tampa, replacing the Carnival Inspiration, which went to California. Currently, Carnival Paradise takes 4 and 5 night voyages to the Western Caribbean and Bahamas. The ship also used to sail to Havana, Cuba and Key West, Florida on select sailings from 2017 to 2019.[9]

In 2018, she underwent a month-long dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas, which added a 14th deck to the front of the ship to accommodate 38 new cabins.[10]

In 2023, Carnival Paradise underwent another refit during her October dry dock which added new spaces as well as upgrades to the vessel.[11]

  1. ^ a b c d Asklander, Micke. "M/S Paradise (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  2. ^ a b Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 479–480. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  3. ^ a b c Smith 2010, p. 46.
  4. ^ "Carnival Paradise Deck Plan". Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. ^ Saunders, Aaron (2013). Giants of the Seas. Seaforth Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 9781848321724.
  6. ^ "Carnival Paradise (9120877)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  7. ^ Dake, Shawn J. (January 2008). "Cruise Ships 2007 the year in review" (PDF). Ocean Times. 12 (1). Steamship Historical Society of America: Southern California Chapter: 2–8.
  8. ^ Dickinson, Bob; Andy Vladimir (2008). "Coming About". Selling the Sea (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-471-74918-9. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Carnival Paradise Itineraries". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  10. ^ Staff, C. I. N. (24 February 2018). "Carnival Paradise Undergoing Month-Long Refurb". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  11. ^ Mayntz, Melissa (31 October 2023). "Second Oldest Carnival Cruise Ship Returns to Service". Cruise Hive.