Carnival Cruise Line no longer year-round in Australia from 2018.
Carnival Cruise Line has today announced that its Carnival Spirit will cruise out of Shanghai, China during the Australian winter season in 2018.
The seasonal deployment will follow a scheduled drydock in Singapore, and will mean the Sydney-based vessel will no longer operate year-round out of Australia. Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said the selection of Spirit for the China season was based on its availability and proximity, given it will already be in Singapore.
Previously Carnival had planned to send Carnival Miracle to China, but Duffy said this ship would now remain cruising in North America. However plans remain in place for Carnival Splendor to be based in China full time from 2019.
Duffy said despite the winter pullout, Carnival was still committed to the growing Australian cruise market. “Carnival Spirit has performed strongly in its home market of Australia since its Sydney debut in 2012, and it will continue to be based there, with Carnival Legend again joining her sister ship Down Under over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 Australian summers,” she said.
Duffy said the 2018 Australian program for Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend would be announced later this month, with the addition of some itineraries to and from Asia as a result of Spirit‘s China season.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Cruise Weekly.