In our first part we cover the origins, design, and career of the Carnival Tropicale. In this post we will look at her life after she left Carnival Cruise Lines.
Editors note: we will use the names ‘Carnival Tropicale’ and just ‘Tropicale’ interchangeably throughout this article. It was simply a marketing decision at the time to use Carnival in front of the ships name, however she was originally delivered as the Tropicale.
Before we jump back into the rest of the Tropicale’s long history, I wanted to take a moment to discuss more about her design and construction.
We also spoke about how Carnival’s Ted Arison (Micky’s father, who originally founded Carnival after parting ways with Norwegian) initially sought out a yard in Japan to build the vessel. When he turned to look at Europe, he initially approached Wärtsilä in Finland as they were the most renowned at that time for building modern cruise ships and cruise ferries. However, their order book was full, and it’s suspected by some that the Finns were a bit skeptical of Arison since he was a first-time buyer and had never built a ship before.
Back when the designers of the ship that became the Tropicale were setting out to start on this blank sheet design, they took inspiration from the Mardi Gras, both in general layout and even machinery. The most noticeable features were the dining room on the lowest deck, called the Riviera, and dual promenades on port and starboard. In between those two, there was an assortment of lounges and bars.
The Tropicale was originally conceived to use steam turbine propulsion, as that’s what the rest of the fleet utilized since they were all converted ocean liners. Once it was estimated just how much they would save in bunker (fuel) costs by steering away from this set-up, they pivoted and went with the newer diesel-electric power unit found nowadays.
One thing that had to change and required a more efficient approach was the organization of her below-deck areas, particularly anything involving dockside activities during turnaround day. The Tropicale would have only eight hours in Miami every weekend to handle all operations. This included offloading all passengers, their luggage, and garbage from the previous week, while simultaneously taking on new passengers, their luggage, and all the stores for catering, hotel, and machinery. It was the task of Technical Marine Planning in London (Carnival’s in-house design firm) to devise the most efficient way of doing this. They incorporated dedicated crew passageways and elevators to allow all of this to happen behind the scenes.
Costa Cruises: European Evolution
As Carnival Corporation expanded globally and was taking on much larger ships, the venerable Tropicale was starting to appear dated and became a bit of an outcast. Carnival Corp. then found the Tropicale a new purpose, and with that, a new lease on life. In late 2000 the ship was officially retired from the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet and reflagged from Liberia to Panama. In 2021 she was transferred to sister brand, the Italian line Costa Cruises, becoming the Costa Tropicale. This move represented more than a simple transfer; it also provided the biggest overhaul to the ship. The extensive dry docking took place at the T. Mariotti S.p.A. shipyard over the course of several months.
Under Costa’s colors, she underwent significant renovations to appeal to European tastes, including updates to her dining venues and public spaces. Most noticeable was the removal of the famed Whale Tail funnel and the use of a vertical cylindrical funnel, painted in Costa yellow. The ship spent several years carrying passengers throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, introducing the Costa brand to new markets.
Pacific Adventures with P&O Australia
The ship’s next transformation came in 2005 when she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and became the Pacific Star. This phase marked her entry into the growing Australian cruise market, where she helped establish P&O’s presence in the South Pacific region. Her size proved perfect for navigating the smaller ports of the South Pacific islands, bringing cruise tourism to destinations that couldn’t accommodate larger vessels.
Pullmantur and the Peace Boat Years
In 2008, another chapter began as, surprisingly, Carnival Corp. sold the ship out of the family and into Royal Caribbean’s Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruises, where she was renamed Ocean Dream.
During her Pullmantur years, Ocean Dream primarily served the Spanish and Latin American markets, operating varied itineraries in the Mediterranean during summer seasons and repositioning to South American waters for winter deployments. The ship became particularly popular on routes along the Brazilian coast and in the Southern Cone region, where her intimate size allowed her to access ports that larger vessels couldn’t reach.
However, Pullmantur’s ownership of Ocean Dream would be relatively brief. As the cruise line adjusted its fleet composition to focus on larger, slightly newer vessels, they made the decision to sell her to Peace Boat. Peace Boat, a Japanese NGO, transformed her from a vacation vessel into a floating ambassador for peace and cultural understanding.
As part of Peace Boat’s fleet, she circumnavigated the globe multiple times, carrying passengers and peace activists on educational voyages. These journeys focused on promoting understanding between cultures, environmental awareness, and sustainable development – a noble final chapter for a ship that began her life as a vacation vessel.
Final Days and Legacy
After four decades of service, the Ocean Dream met her fate at the shipbreakers. In 2020, during the global cruise industry shutdown, she was sold for scrapping and beached at Gadani, Pakistan, in early 2021. Her dismantling marked the end of an era, as she was one of the last active cruise ships from the early 1980s boom period.
Rare videos of the Dream (as the Tropicale was renamed one final time for her final transit to India) right as scrapping work is starting to commence: