Does anyone know where i can find ship height for Carnival ships from waterline to top of the whales tail? I'm looking for height in feet, but all I've ever been able to find is number of decks on each ship. I have wondered for a while how much clearance they have under the Dames Point bridge in Jacksonville Fl. Our first Carnival ship home ported here was the Miracle (Spirit class). All others have been Fantasy class. Always wondered what is the biggest class that can clear the bridge.
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First Mate
Ship height in ft, not number of decks
10 Answers
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Originally posted by:
CarniCruiser
@CruiseRadio thanks for the info. Did you by chance post the YouTube drone video of the Elation sailing under in 2018? I’ve wondered how close to the underside of the bridge a drone can safely get while the ship is leaving, in order to show how close it really comes. The only angle to truly put it in perspective would be to be level with the tail, but don’t know if that is possible. I’ve always known how much clearance is under the bridge, but never how tall the ships were. Any idea of height on the other classes of Carnival ships? Over the years I’ve heard many guesses as to how close they come. I remember they closed the bridge to traffic the first time the Miracle sailed under, because the city was worried about clearance.
Yeah, that was my YouTube video. Thanks for watching it. I'm not sure how tall the other ships are. As a safe measure, they did have to shut the Dames Point Bridge down in 2004 when Carnival Miracle (Spirit-class) arrived for the christening.
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First Mate
Yes. The Miracle was christened here February 27, 2004 but was replaced by a Holiday class ship not long after. Since then, the biggest that has sailed from Jax is Fantasy class. In 2005, the city contracted cruise ships as floating hotels for Super Bowl XXXIX, the biggest of which was the short lived return of the Miracle. I’ve never been able to find out why a Spirit class has not been here since. Maybe one will return when there is no other choice.
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First Mate
Originally posted by:
CarniCruiser
Very true KantWait2Crooze. With only 175 feet of clearance under the Dames Point Bridge, we’ve always had smaller ships in Jax. There have been several proposals over the years to move the port so ships would not have to sail under the bridge, but each plan encounters too much opposition. Since 2008 Carnival has home ported a Fantasy class here, the newest of which is 22 years old and 3 of the 8 Fantasy’s have been for sale since 2019. With ships being built bigger (before shutdown), what happens when the smaller ones are too old or not cost effective enough to update & operate? Love having a port here, so I’ve often wondered and hate to think we may someday lose it, because people can’t agree on a new terminal location.
Would a Spirit class ship work there?
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Very true KantWait2Crooze. With only 175 feet of clearance under the Dames Point Bridge, we’ve always had smaller ships in Jax. There have been several proposals over the years to move the port so ships would not have to sail under the bridge, but each plan encounters too much opposition. Since 2008 Carnival has home ported a Fantasy class here, the newest of which is 22 years old and 3 of the 8 Fantasy’s have been for sale since 2019. With ships being built bigger (before shutdown), what happens when the smaller ones are too old or not cost effective enough to update & operate? Love having a port here, so I’ve often wondered and hate to think we may someday lose it, because people can’t agree on a new terminal location.
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Well, it’s easier to lower the ship in the water, than it is to raise the bridge. We have the Verrazano Bridge here. Never hit it yet
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Cruise Director
Originally posted by:
CarniCruiser
@Yankee47 Thanks for the info. Oasis class is definitely to tall. Unfortunately Carnival does not provide height on any ship Wikipedia pages I’ve looked at. They list number of decks instead.
Its ok..I didn't look at any others. Seems like the one class I looked at DID have the info, so I guessed others might too. But I have to thank you for getting my mind off the covid problems vis a vis crusing...much more pleasant doing this kind of research...
Contributor Level:
First Mate
@CruiseRadio thanks for the info. Did you by chance post the YouTube drone video of the Elation sailing under in 2018? I’ve wondered how close to the underside of the bridge a drone can safely get while the ship is leaving, in order to show how close it really comes. The only angle to truly put it in perspective would be to be level with the tail, but don’t know if that is possible. I’ve always known how much clearance is under the bridge, but never how tall the ships were. Any idea of height on the other classes of Carnival ships? Over the years I’ve heard many guesses as to how close they come. I remember they closed the bridge to traffic the first time the Miracle sailed under, because the city was worried about clearance.
Contributor Level:
First Mate
@Yankee47 Thanks for the info. Oasis class is definitely to tall. Unfortunately Carnival does not provide height on any ship Wikipedia pages I’ve looked at. They list number of decks instead.
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Depending on the moon, wind, and tide, the air gap (clearance) at Dames Point is between 172 and 178 feet.
The Spirit-class is somewhere around 168 feet and the Fantasy-class around 165 feet.
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Cruise Director
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis-class_cruise_ship
This is something KENN would eat up...miss him...but anyway, this is just an example from WIKIPEDIA. don't know how it appears on your browser, but on mine those dimensions appear on the right side...bang some keys and get whichever...dunno if you can get the whole fleet at once.