John Heald arrived at the Alabama Cruise Terminal Monday wearing a scarlet red University of Alabama Crimson Tide T-shirt, sporting a smile and ready for a party.

He was in a good mood for someone whose luggage did not arrive with him from England to Mobile.

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“I went to the gift shop and bought the only thing that fit me,” said Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, ahead of boarding onto the Carnival Ecstasy, a ship that he served as its cruise director nearly 30 years ago.

“I’d normally be wearing an Armani suit,” he added, acknowledging the “Roll Tides” and some dirty looks he’s gotten during the day.

“I’m here regardless of what I’m wearing to celebrate this special moment,” Heald said.

Celebrating Ecstasy

That moment, a unique occasion for Carnival Cruise Line, was a celebration of the final voyage of a ship that currently is the oldest in the Miami-based company’s expanding fleet. For more than three decades, the vessel hauled an estimated 5.5 million visitors and embarked on more than 2,300 voyages.

The inaugural launch was in 1991. The ship’s homeports included Miami, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville, Florida; Galveston, Texas; Long Beach, California; New Orleans; Charleston, South Carolina; and Mobile.

Heald served as the cruise ship’s director in 1993 and 1994. He is also a popular social media personality for Carnival Cruise Line. During the final voyage, he is hosting a large group of Carnival Ecstasy fans who will be traveling for the next five days to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

“We’ve said goodbye to ships of her (Ecstasy’s) class but never had the opportunity to (celebrate) the goodbye,” said Heald. “This is unprecedented.”

Heald said that previous ships were retired during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were not offered celebratory final cruises. For instance, the Carnival Fantasy – in Mobile from 2016 to 2020 – was retired and scrapped in Turkey while the global cruising industry was halted during the pandemic.

“The fact that all of these people are here shows they love this class of ship,” said Heald.

The Carnival Elation belongs to the company’s Fantasy-class of ships. Only two will remain after the Ecstasy is retired – the Carnival Elation, which is in Jacksonville; and the Carnival Paradise, located in Tampa.

“We are a bit sad,” said Michele Coppola, the ship’s captain. “This ship is leaving us but on the other side, you see that it’s been sailing for over 30 years. Maybe she deserves some rest.”

Awaiting Spirit

Resting as well will be Mobile’s cruising industry, for approximately 12 months. The Carnival Spirit, a 12-deck ship that began sailing in 2001, will come to Mobile in October 2023. The ship will offer a variety of Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Mobile, including new seasonal six- and eight-day cruises with visits in The Bahamas, Mexico, Belize and other popular destinations.

“Carnival Spirit will look amazing here,” Heald said.

Mobile city officials will be traveling to Miami to meet with Carnival Cruise Line’s marketing team to discuss strategies to maximum the Carnival Spirit’s performance in Mobile. Carnival Spirit will be undergoing longer vacations from Mobile, a first for the city that has been used to shorter excursions.

Luring travelers to the city will be crucial in Mobile’s long-term viability as a cruise market, according to Joe Snowden, the city of Mobile’s executive director of administrative services who oversees the Alabama Cruise Terminal.

“We are going to fill that ship and keep it full to show the world how great of a cruising port Mobile is,” said Snowden.

Snowden said the city will need to make a substantial investment in the coming year to purchase a new gangway – or a walkway that extends from the cruise terminal to the ship.

The gangway is expected to cost $4.9 million, and Snowden said he anticipates the Mobile City Council voting on purchasing a new one sometime within the next couple of months.

“It’s an investment that will pay off in dividends,” said Snowden. “We have to prepare for ships five years from now, 10 years from now and that gangway is part of the strategy.”

He said the year pause in cruising allows the city time to disassemble and remove the current gangway and have a new one installed.

“Our goal is to be prepared and have it in operation prior to the Spirit (arriving) to the port,” Snowden said.

One-year pause

For now, city officials will work jointly with ASM Global – the operators of the Mobile Civic Center and Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center – to market and book the cruise terminal for weddings, reunions, special events and meetings for the coming year.

Economically, the lack of cruising will be a hit to downtown Mobile where restaurants and hotels experience a boost of business ahead of every cruise leaving from the terminal. Cruising contributes to approximately 35,000 room nights per year.

The Carnival Spirit will only be in Mobile during the fall, winter and spring months. It will leave each summer and sail to Alaska, leaving Mobile with a void in cruising during a popular vacation time.

“We totally understand that the loss of the ship because every four to five days, it brings 2,000 new people into downtown,” Snowden said. “We’ll continue to speak with other cruise lines to bring them in. Our goal is to have two or more cruise ships functioning out of the cruise ship terminal so we can have continuous operations, year-round.”

Also an issue, for taxpayers, is the lack of a consistent revenue stream to offset the existing debt on the cruise terminal.

Cruising brings in about $6 million annually in gross revenues, money which goes directly into the city’s coffers and helps to pay down debt.

The terminal’s debt is included within an overall debt obligation the city owes of around $150 million, down from a high point of $325 million a few years ago. The city’s debt obligations are expected to retire by 2030.

Cruising outlook

Stewart Chiron, a longtime cruise industry analyst who goes by “The Cruise Guy,” said Mobile’s success in capturing a large audience for cruising will be its drive market and metropolitan areas like Atlanta.

“Mobile is the closest drive destination for people in that area to get onto a Caribbean cruise,” said Chiron. “Heading north and to the east should be part of the plan.”

He also noted that other markets, such as Charleston, S.C., will be without a cruise ship come 2024.

“It will be very interesting to see what the response is for longer sailings out of Mobile,” Chiron said. “That will help Carnival determine whether or not they will continue (with Mobile).”

Chiron said the city of Mobile has been impressive with embracing the company, such as hosting a sendoff for the final voyage of the Carnival Ecstasy.

The sendoff included music by The Excelsior Band, and an appearance of The Azalea Trail Maids.

“Other cities don’t do this,” he said. “It’s a unique thing for a city to get that involved, which is a good thing.”

Heald said he believes the “future is so bright for Mobile” and its relationship with the cruise company.

“We’re coming back and we cannot wait,” he said.