Tag Archives: Fleet Operations Center

Carnival Luminosa to Spend 10 Days at Sea

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Carnival Cruise Line is changing the itinerary of Luminosa’s 30-day repositioning cruise to Australia.

After sailing from Seattle on Sep. 14, the cruise will no longer visit any port in Alaska.

Instead, it will head straight to Japan, spending a total of ten days at sea before arriving in the port of Otaru.

“In partnership with our Fleet Operations Center, we are monitoring a low-pressure system in the greater Alaska region which is forecasted to create unusually high swells and strong winds that will impact the first part of our itinerary,” the company said in a statement given to guests onboard.

“To maintain a safe distance from the storm, we must sail south of the low-pressure system. Therefore, it will not be possible to visit Alaska,” Carnival added.

The original itinerary of the repositioning cruise included visits to Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, in addition to scenic cruising at the Hubbard Glacier.

“Everyone’s safety is our priority, and we really have no choice other than to change our itinerary. We know you were looking forward to visiting Alaska as part of this unique adventure and we share your disappointment,” the statement remarked.

“To make it up to you, we will be posting a $200, per stateroom, onboard credit to your Sail & Sign account to enjoy a little something on us,” Carnival added.

The company will also reimburse any pre-purchased shore excursions for the destinations that are no longer being visited.

Now sailing directly to Asia, the Carnival Luminosa is scheduled to arrive in Japan earlier than planned and visit an additional port in the country. To accommodate the extra port of call, however, Carnival also cancelled a visit to Kushiro.

Following the revised itinerary, the 2009-built ship is scheduled to arrive in Otaru on Sep. 25, before heading to Hakodate on Sep. 26.

The remainder of the cruise, which also includes visits to three other ports in Japan and additional visits to Indonesia and the Philippines, hasn’t changed.

Spending the 2023-2024 winter in Australia, the Carnival Luminosa is scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Oct. 15.

Carnival Unveils Largest Operations Center in Industry

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Carnival Operations Center
PHOTO: Carnival Operations Center (Photos courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)

Carnival Cruise Line has previewed its new Fleet Operations Center (FOC) in Miami. The 35,000 square-foot facility is the largest and most advanced in the cruise industry. It’s designed to offer around the clock monitoring of the line’s 26 cruise ships.

The FOC’s most impressive features were on display at a ribbon cutting ceremony and interactive demonstration. They include a 74-foot-long video wall made up of 57 LED screens. The high-definition wall displays the status of all ships, including weather, itinerary updates, safety, engine and environmental updates.

State-of-the-art tracking and data-analysis provide real-time information about the status of each ship. Ports, logistics, guest operations and several other functions are monitored, as well.

Seating in the FOC is arranged in “pods” according to ship classes, to facilitate communication and teamwork.

“In designing the FOC, we combined best practices from the military, government and industry to achieve a generational leap in facility design, sophisticated technology and utilization, creating the largest and most advanced fleet operations centre in the industry,” said Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our guests and crew, and this new facility enhances our already comprehensive approach to safety and operational excellence.”

Carnival built custom tools for the FOC, including proprietary software applications “Neptune” and “Argos.” Argos is a knowledge management tool which gathers information from thousands of data points to facilitate communication. Neptune analyzes navigational safety data. It enables efficiencies in nautical operations, procedural optimization and sustainability.

“The FOC brings together real-time information for decision making. Integrated shoreside teams support our shipboard officers to act quickly and decisively while significantly increasing the operational efficiency of our ships,” said Gus Antorcha, Carnival Cruise Line’s chief operating officer.

Carnival partnered with Constant Technologies, Inc., a design firm specializing in operations centres. The design of the FOC features an open concept floor plan with sustainable furnishings and ergonomic features such as blue ceiling lighting to decrease eye fatigue. Desks are sitting/stand ready and carpeting is made from recycled fishnets. The FOC also features multiple conference rooms that can be linked to the main LED wall. They are intended for use by support teams in the event of any incidents at sea.

The Miami facility is the third and largest in Carnival Corporation’s global FOC network. Additional facilities are located in Seattle and Hamburg.

Should the need arise, the Miami FOC can monitor the entire 103-ship fleet of parent company Carnival Corporation.

Carnival Corporation opens Fleet Operations Center in Seattle

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Carnival Corporation opens Fleet Operations Center in Seattle

FOCs provide real-time monitoring and support services for corporation’s 102-ship global fleet (Image: Carnival Corporation)

FOCs provide real-time monitoring and support services for corporation’s 102-ship global fleet (Image: Carnival Corporation)

Carnival Corporation has opened a Fleet Operations Center (FOC) in Seattle, US to support operations at its first facility in Hamburg, Germany.

Both FOCs provide real-time monitoring and support services for Carnival Corporation’s 102-ship global fleet. A third centre is currently under construction at the corporations’ headquarters in Miami, US and will be added to the global network later this year.

All three FOCs will use a tracking and data analysis platform built on Microsoft’s cloud technologies, which has been dubbed Neptune. The system has been in use at Carnival Maritime’s FOC in Hamburg, Germany since October 2015 and piloted with Carnival Corporation’s European cruise brands in Hamburg and Southampton, England. The company will continue rolling out the system at its FOCs in Seattle and Miami this year, further increasing the monitoring capability of its ships sailing in the US and Caribbean.

Neptune enables real-time information sharing between Carnival Corporation ships and specialised onshore teams by capturing thousands of data points and providing real-time analytics for 28 distinct parameters for navigational safety from each ship. The system will help Carnival Corporation to optimise ship safety, efficiency, environmental sustainability and overall fleet performance. In future, Neptune will enable Carnival Corporation and its brands to do predictive analysis.

“Our teams have done a remarkable job in developing the most sophisticated and capable system in the cruise and commercial maritime industry for taking safety management to a completely new level, overcoming the hurdles faced with ships sailing in the middle of oceans around the world,” said Vice Admiral Bill Burke (retired), chief maritime officer at Carnival Corporation. “With our new operations centres running our proprietary technology, both our ship and shoreside teams have greater-than-ever ability to ensure we are operating at safety levels that far exceed industry standards. We can now also access and analyse data that can significantly increase the operational efficiency of our ships, which is another major benefit.”

The implementation of the Neptune system is aligned with the company’s Arison Maritime Center, home of its Center for Simulator Maritime Training Academy (CSMART) Academy in Almere, Netherlands. The facility currently provides extensive training to 6,500 deck and technical officers from the company’s 10 global brands every year.

“Our commitment to raising the bar on maritime safety has already generated several major enhancements, including our world-class CSMART Academy training facility where our deck and technical officers receive the industry’s most progressive training using state-of-the-art simulators,” said Burke. “Now we are taking it to the next level with our new Neptune support system and cutting-edge FOCs that enable us to support safety using real-time data in ways that have never been done in the cruising and commercial maritime industries. Together, our safety training programmes and innovative technological capabilities like Neptune add even more strength to our comprehensive approach to safety and operational excellence as the number one priority for Carnival Corporation.”