Catalina Cruise Line will send a second ship to Catalina Island starting next year, according to the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce.
Wayne Griffin, president and CEO of the Chamber, said the new cruise ship will come on Mondays, starting in January of 2014.
According to the Chamber website, the second ship will leave Long Beach starting on Jan. 26, 2014.
“David Creigh, who voluntarily works on cruise ship issues for the Chamber and the city, was instrumental in negotiating the deal with Carnival,” Griffin said.
Catalina Cruise Line will send a second ship to Catalina Island starting next year, according to the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce.
Wayne Griffin, president and CEO of the Chamber, said the new cruise ship will come on Mondays, starting in January of 2014.
According to the Chamber website, the second ship will leave Long Beach starting on Jan. 26, 2014.
“David Creigh, who voluntarily works on cruise ship issues for the Chamber and the city, was instrumental in negotiating the deal with Carnival,” Griffin said.
“A main reason we got the ship was because the city of Avalon provided a ‘marketing incentive’ to Carnival—50 percent reduction in wharfage fees for the second ship,” said Griffin.
As the Islander reported in December, the Avalon City Council voted 5-0 to pay Carnival Cruises $125,000—equivalent of half the wharfage fees—to encourage the cruise line to send the second ship. “We think 50 percent of something is far better than nothing,” Griffin said.
The city code would have allowed City Manager Steve Hoefs to waive the wharfage fee. However, according to a December staff report by City Clerk/Assistant City Manger Denise Radde, Carnival Cruises sent the city a letter calling for a payment of $125,000. That required City Council approval. According to Radde’s report, Creigh, a local attorney, said the council must approve the payment as requested by the cruise line.
According to the Chamber of Commerce website, the other Carnival Inspiration will continue visiting Catalina on Tuesdays.
The Chamber website said the second cruise ship will “fill the void created when Royal Caribbean left the market in the fall of 2008.” Carnival Cruise Lines officially announced the decision to send the second ship on Dec. 19, 15 days after the council approved the incentive payment of half the wharfage fees for the additional vessel. The new ship, according to Carnival, is called the Imagination and can carry 2,052-passengers. “Carnival Imagination has undergone an extensive renovation and includes an expansive WaterWorks aqua park, a Serenity adults-only retreat, and a tropical-themed resort-style main pool area, renovated spa and children’s facilities, and more,” said a Carnival statement.
