Carnival Cruise Line Adds Five Ships to Its Fleet

Prior to the start of the inaugural season of sailings to Australia, the first of three ships being transferred from Costa Cruises to sibling company Carnival Cruise Line has docked in Brisbane.

Carnival Venezia, which departs year-round from New York City next spring, will join Carnival Luminosa. Carnival Firenze will depart from Long Beach, California, in 2024.

Carnival Celebration, one of two new Excel-class ships joining the fleet, is scheduled to arrive in Southampton on 6th November for a UK trade preview before repositioning to start operations from Miami later in the month.

Next year, Carnival Jubilee will join the fleet and depart from Galveston, Texas.

On 8th September, Carnival Luminosa joined the fleet for a nearly two-month period of improvements.

The refurbished ship, which is a component of the new “Carnival Fun, Italian Style” concept, will set sail from Brisbane on 6th November and operate 28 cruises until 13th April 2023, at which point it will switch ports to Seattle for an Alaskan summer season before sailing back to Queensland later that same year.

The additional departures from Brisbane will contribute to Carnival Australia’s anticipated $165 million economic boost to Queensland this year.

President of the line Christine Duffy stated: “Carnival Luminosa is a testament to our ongoing commitment to Australia, and the start of a period of growth unlike any other in Carnival’s 50-year history. 

“Having a Brisbane-based ship has been a goal of ours for quite some time, so we are so happy that they are the first market globally to experience the big, bright, fun that this ship has to offer and so excited to give our guests more Carnival ships and itinerary options to sail over the next two years.”