Carnival Cruise Line is set to embark on its "largest-ever" period of growth in its 50-year history.

Carnival Cruise Line is set to embark on its "largest-ever" period of growth in its 50-year history.

Following the launch of Carnival Luminosa earlier this year, the brand will add five more ships to its fleet over the next two years, the next being the delivery of two Excel-class vessels, Carnival Celebration to Miami and Carnival Jubilee to Texas.

As part of the expansion plan, Carnival will also introduce a new concept – "Carnival Fun Italian Style" – with two additional ships from sister brand Costa Cruises, starting with Carnival Venezia next spring, sailing year-round from New York, and Carnival Firenze in 2024 out of from Long Beach.

 

"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," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

 

"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."

Luminosa – which arrived at its homeport of Brisbane on Monday (31 October) – will sail on its first cruise on 6 November and operate 28 sailings through 13 April 2023, visiting 60 ports across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

 

The sailings will support Carnival Australia’s anticipated $165 million contribution to the Queensland economy this year.

Pacific Encounter Enters Sydney Harbour with Hero Tugs Salute

P&O Australia Cruises’ Pacific Encounter has called into Sydney Harbour for the first time and made her entrance amid big jets from water cannon tugs, according to a press release.

When the Pacific Encounter arrived in Sydney for its brief stay, the words "hero tugs" flashed up on the top deck big screen as a tribute to maritime heroes, according to P&O Cruises.

“We are very proud to welcome Pacific Encounter to begin her P&O Cruises cruising career to offer our guests fantastic and memorable cruise experiences. It is wonderful that we can also use today’s arrival as an opportunity to salute the hero tugs of Sydney and everyone who does so much to support cruise shipping and the maritime sector in general. It is very exciting to see the rebuilding of cruise tourism in Australia and its economic benefits as we look forward to its revival in the wider Pacific region along with a near-normal summer cruise season here,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia.

The Pacific Encounter was escorted by three tugs operated by Engage Towage. The operation to save the bulk carrier Portland Bay after it lost power in bad weather last month involved all three and their tenacious crews.

With local marine engineering and technical services joining the Pacific Encounter and more than half a million kilograms of locally sourced products being loaded to start the ship's cruising schedule, the ship's arrival in Sydney will also provide a significant economic boost to the city.

“Port Authority of NSW has a strong capability and history of responding to marine incidents such as this and working with a number of key agencies who stand ready day and night to spring into action when needed,” commented Philip Holliday, chief executive officer, Port Authority of NSW.

P&O Australia’s Pacific Encounter Sets Course for Return to Sydney

P&O Australia’s Pacific Encounter Sets Course for Return to Sydney

P&O Australia’s Pacific Encounter departed from Singapore and will return to Sydney Harbour on August 2, according to a press release.

The Pacific Encounter becomes the second cruise ship of P&O to homeport in Sydney for a short encounter before sailing to Brisbane. The Pacific Explorer also visited Sydney earlier this year for the first time in more than two years, according to the company.

“Knowing that we have a second P&O ship only weeks away reminds us all that cruising is making a return to normal scheduling. This is a testament to our onboard and shoreside teams and to the many P&O passengers who were patiently waiting during the pause for the opportunity to cruise again,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, president, Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises.

“We can’t wait for Pacific Encounter to depart on her first guest cruise from Brisbane on August 20, a 7-night Barrier Reef Discovery Cruise. This itinerary will include Pacific Encounters' maiden call to Cairns helping to bring cruise tourism back to Far North Queensland,” she added.

Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria to Leave P&O Australia Fleet in 2021

The Pacific Dawn (Ex-Regal Princess (1991–2007))

P&O Cruises Australia has announced that the Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria will leave the fleet in 2021 as the Pacific Encounter will join the company; the ship is currently sailing as the Star Princess.

Buyers for the 1994-built Pacific Aria, with capacity for 1,258 guests, and the 1991-built Pacific Dawn, with capacity for 2,020 guests, were not named.

In 2020, the Golden Princess will move to P&O Australia and become the Pacific Adventure.

In late 2021, the Pacific Explorer, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter will comprise the new look P&O fleet with a total capacity of about 9,000 guests — equivalent to the brand’s capacity when the fleet consisted of five smaller ships, the company said. 

In announcing the farewell of Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria, P&O said the ships would not leave the fleet until February and April 2021 respectively.

“We have a clear picture of the P&O fleet of the future and it is a very exciting prospect with the brand well-positioned to continue to lead in this dynamic market,” said P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell. 

“When we embarked on this transformation two years ago, we committed to refresh the fleet over time and to set the brand up for continued success.

“P&O’s Pacific Adventure will be introduced with our distinctive look and feel along with some new onboard features that means P&O Cruises remains the driving force for cruising in Australia and New Zealand.

“For all of us at P&O, the announcement that Pacific Encounter will be the next ship to join the fleet in 2021 is another exciting moment in the evolution of our cruise line.

“It is always sad to farewell much-loved ships. Both ships are close to our hearts with Pacific Dawn particularly special to us and the many thousands of guests who have sailed on her.”

P&O wants to give guests every opportunity to sail on Pacific Dawn's final cruise as the ship will depart Melbourne on February 8, 2021 sailing to Singapore via Brisbane. There are three great options for guests to farewell the ship:

• Option One -- a fantastic short break cruise from Melbourne to Brisbane.
• Option Two -- the Asia and Explorer cruise from Brisbane to Singapore.
• Option Three -- the 'full farewell’, a combined 17-nights voyage from Melbourne right through to Singapore.

The Pacific Aria will depart Melbourne on April 9, 2021 sailing to Singapore via Fremantle with three options:

• Option One -- a fantastic six-night 'Southern Discovery' cruise from Melbourne to Fremantle calling at Esperance and Albany
• Option Two -- the Asia and Australia Explorer 12-night cruise from Fremantle to Singapore
• Option Three -- the 'full farewell’, a combined 18-nights voyage from Melbourne right through to Singapore via Fremantle.

Carnival Australia Poised for Big Season

Carnival Australia Poised for Big Season

Carnival Australia announced that it is is on course for one of its biggest summer cruise seasons ever, featuring more than 600 calls to ports around the nation as well as the local debut of two new ships, the Ruby Princess and Carnival Splendor.

The season kicked off this week as the Majestic Princess sailed into Sydney following stops in Darwin and Brisbane. 

Her arrival marked the start of 625 calls to 34 different ports around Australia by 19 ships from the seven cruise lines represented by Carnival Australia: Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises UK and Seabourn.

Carnival Australia President Sture Myrmell said the 2019-20 cruise season would feature an exciting range of ships as well as 50 inaugural port visits around the country for ships across the company’s cruise lines, according to a statement.

"This is going to be a summer cruise season to remember, with our cruise lines offering Australian holidaymakers a fantastic range of new itineraries and new ports across 19 great ships,” Myrmell said. “In fact the number of local port visits by our ships has grown by more than 50 per cent compared to the summer season 10 years ago, underlining not only the growing popularity of cruising but also how much cruising has become part of the tourism fabric of our nation.” Carnival

On her second season Down Under, the Majestic Princess’s arrival not only marks the start of the summer cruise season but the largest in history for Princess in this region, featuring a record 141-day deployment in Western Australia as well as cruising from the east coast.

Myrmell said highlights of the season also include the first Australian visit by the Ruby Princess which will arrive in Sydney on October 23, 2019, and the Australian debut of the Carnival Splendor, which will sail into her new homeport of Sydney on December 10, 2019. Her arrival means that Carnival Cruise Line will now have two full-time ships based Down Under.

Other inaugural ship and cruise line visits over the summer include Carnival Cruise Line’s first call to Adelaide (Carnival Spirit February 29, 2020); Cunard’s first call to Esperance in Western Australia, (Queen Elizabeth on December 9, 2020); Seabourn’s first call to Portland (Seabourn Encore on March 14, 2020) and Holland America’s first calls to Moreton Island (Maasdam on December 1, 2019); Portland (Maasdam on January 2, 2020) and Phillip Island (Maasdam on January 3, 2020).

Fincantieri Marks Milestone Event for Trio of Princess Ships

Fincantieri and Princess Cruises today celebrated three construction milestones of three Royal-class ships, currently in different construction phases, at a ceremony at the Monfalcone shipyard.

The day began with the live broadcast of the steel cutting for the sixth and last Royal-class ship, still unnamed, at the shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples).

The section, once completed, will be transported by sea to the yard in Monfalcone, where the ship will be completed in 2022.

Later, in Monfalcone, the keel laying of Enchanted Princess, the fifth Royal-class ship, was marked, with a delivery date in 2020. 

The event was attended by Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia group president, and Luigi Matarazzo, senior executive vice president of the merchant ships business unit of Fincantieri.

In addition, the Sky Princess was floated out, and will join the fleet later this year; the Madrina of this ceremony was Kerry Ann Wright, a second officer with Princess. 

In addition, Fincantieri will build two next-generation 4,300-guest ships for Princess Cruises with delivery dates in 2023 and 2025. The ships will be 175,000 tons each. 

Ports of Auckland Challenged on Shore Power Plan

Ports of Auckland (POAL) has announced that it has decided to adopt the recommendation of a recent study to plan for shore power, which it said will have an estimated cost of some $18.3 million and the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent.

Commenting on POAL’s decision, however, CLIA Australasia’s managing director Joel Katz stated that a key strategy of the major cruise lines in meeting the IMO requirements is the adoption of exhaust gas cleaning system technology to achieve emission reductions. But, with the advancements in cleaner fuels and emissions abatement systems, he said, the usefulness of shore power will likely decline over time, and it should not be assumed that the next generation of cruise ships will be designed and built as shore power enabled, he said.

Katz added that it was worth noting that the Ports of Auckland said it will carry out further work on shore power, including a detailed cost estimate, a cost-benefit analysis and an investigation of funding options so there is still a lot discussion to be had with industry.

According to the POAL, cruise ships were selected for the study as the cruise industry has been proactive at addressing environmental issues over the past decade and these vessels are more frequently fitted with the onboard infrastructure required. This, combined with high individual electricity demand while at berth (compared to other vessel types), is expected to increase utilization and deliver the highest emission reduction return.

The study looked at the feasibility of a wide range of emission reduction technologies, including shore power (grid supplied, local generation including renewables, hybrid); fuel switching (methanol, LNG, low sulfur diesel); land/barge based exhaust capture systems; and ship based scrubbers.

Viable solutions were assessed against a range of social and environmental attributes in addition to the whole of life cost. This holistic approach was adopted to provide a balanced assessment of the alternatives, with consideration of the stakeholder values.

The report recommended two options: To implement shore power at one cruise berth in the next five years; and/or fuel switching to 0.1% sulfur fuel.

The report or the recommendation did not address the issue, however, that very few of the ships currently sailing year-round or seasonally from Australia are equipped to plug in.

The Carnival Spirit and Legend, for example, are not shore power enabled, according to Carnival Australia.

Fincantieri delivers China-bound Majestic Princess

Princess Cruises’ first China-market cruise ship Majestic Princess has been delivered by Fincantieri (credit: Fincantieri/Princess Cruises)

Carnival Corp and Princess Cruises have taken delivery of Majestic Princess – their first international luxury cruise ship tailored for the Chinese market.  

The official handover took place at the ship’s builder Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

“Majestic Princess has arrived and we are thrilled to add this new jewel to our crown representing the newest, most stylish and most luxurious flagship to our fleet," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia group president. "We are ready to deliver an exceptional international cruise vacation experience to our guests."

"Fincantieri proudly delivers Majestic Princess today to our long-term partner, Princess Cruises," said Fincantieri chief executive officer Giuseppe Bono. "The collaboration between Fincantieri, Carnival Corporation & plc and Princess Cruises to tailor Majestic Princess for China makes her special for us. We are proud to deliver this stunningly beautiful luxury cruise liner and highly value the partnership we have with Princess Cruises dating back to the 1980s. We will continue to deliver increasingly sophisticated ships in the future that serve the needs of our partners and their treasured guests."

Majestic Princess will start its inaugural season in Europe until May and then embark on a repositioning cruise themed the Silk Road Sea Route journey to its new homeport in Shanghai where it will begin its first homeport season in July.

Australian cruisers increased 20% in 2013

By Tom Stieghorst

The number of Australians who cruised in 2013 rose 20%, outpacing every other sizable cruise market, CLIA Australasia said in a report.

Australia’s growth surpassed Germany (9%), France (9%), North America (3%) and the U.K./Ireland (1%), according to the report’s executive summary.

Last year, 833,348 Australians cruised, up from 694,062 in 2012.

More than 11.7 million passengers from the United States and Canada cruised last year, according to CLIA. But Australia’s growth means that 3.7% of its total population has been on a cruise, exceeding the 3.3% figure for North America.

CLIA Australasia projected it will reach the 1 million passenger threshold by 2016; a previous forecast targeted 2020. 

Search for couple missing overboard from Carnival Spirit / Cruise fall couple may have been arguing, claims police source

Search for couple missing overboard from Carnival Spirit

09 May 2013 

A major search is under way after two people were reported missing from Carnival Spirit off the coast of Australia.

After the pair - a 26-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man who were travelling with family and friends - were unaccounted for during the debarkation process at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal, the authorities were contacted and searches began.

The New South Wales (NSW) police said an air and marine search and rescue operation was under way off the coast of Forster - more than 130 miles north of Sydney.

Officers from the Marine Area Command reviewed CCTV footage and determined the pair had gone overboard about 8.50pm local time on Wednesday.

A spokesman for NSW police said: "Police and Australian Search and Rescue have determined a search area approximately 60Nm east of Forster and have deployed aircraft and marine vessels.

"Officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the pair and, in these early stages, are focused on the search efforts."

A spokesman for Carnival Cruise Lines said: "We have naturally been concerned since we became aware that two passengers were missing from Carnival Spirit and our thoughts are clearly with their families at this difficult time.

"We are working closely with New South Wales Police and assisting them in their inquiries.

"At approximately 9.15am today during the debarkation process for Carnival Spirit at the conclusion of a 10-night cruise in Sydney, it became apparent that two guests, a 26-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, were unaccounted for.

"The ship immediately initiated standard missing person procedures including a full search of the vessel as per protocol. The guests in question were travelling with family and friends and initial reports indicate that the couple were last seen onboard the vessel last night."

 Cruise fall couple may have been arguing, claims police source

14 May 2013 at 11.07 GMT

A couple who went overboard from a cruise ship off the coast of Australia on May 8 had been arguing before the fall, a senior police source told the Associated Australian Press.

The incident occurred on the Carnival Spirit as it sailed along the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

CCTV captured Paul Rossington and Kristen Schroder in the ship's casino on Wednesday evening having a heated argument, which led them to skip dinner with Ms. Schroder's family.

Later footage shows the pair 'mucking around' in the ship's corridor, apparently no longer arguing. The couple then head to the deck of the ship where Ms. Schroder can be seen climbing over the Spirit's railing, facing the sea.

Around 8.50pm, the footage shows the couple going overboard into the Tasman Sea, one immediately after the other. Police have been unable to determine whether Ms. Schroder jumped or fell, but Mr. Rossington can be seen jumping overboard moments later.

The search for the pair was called off last Friday afternoon after police had searched 500 square nautical miles off the coast of Forster, NSW.

Carnival Australia has defended the company's safety standards, saying rails on the ship are higher than required by international regulations.