Carnival Cruise Line has announced it will operate four ships in Australia for its 2026/2027 season.
Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter are currently sailing for sister line P&O Cruises Australia but will transfer to Carnival in March 2025 and be renamed Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter.
They will join Carnival Splendor, pictured above, and Carnival Luminosa in the region, sailing via Sydney and Brisbane.
Voyages will visit destinations such as Moreton Island, the South Pacific and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
From Sydney, Carnival Splendor will offer itineraries ranging from two to 12 days. Four-day cruises include calls at Moreton Island and five and six-day cruises will visit Tasmania, taking in Hobart and Port Arthur.
Additionally, nine and 10-day South Pacific cruises will visit Mystery Island, Port Vila and other island destinations. The ship will offer additional longer sailings, including 10-day New Zealand itineraries with multiple departures, taking in ports such as Wellington, Lyttelton (Christchurch) and Dunedin, along with scenic cruising in Fiordland National Park.
Pacific Encounter will be re-christened Carnival Encounter when she joins the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in 2025
Carnival Adventure will also sail from Sydney on two to 12-day itineraries, visiting Moreton Island and the Great Barrier Reef. A 12-day sailing to Fiji, departing April 2027, will call at Lautoka and Dravuni Island. Carnival Adventure and Carnival Splendor will offer cruises to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most popular horse race.
Carnival Luminosa will depart from Brisbane on a variety of three to 14-day itineraries. A six-day Great Barrier Reef cruise will visit Airlie Beach and Cairns.
Elsewhere, week-long South Pacific cruises will stop at Mystery Island and Port Vila, and an eight-day option includes multiple stops in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Also available is a 14-day ‘Carnival Journeys’ cruise that highlights the locations where Mutiny on the Bounty took place in 1789, such as Norfolk Island, and Nuku’alofa, Tonga.
Meanwhile, Carnival Encounter, sailing from Brisbane, will stop at destinations in the South Pacific and Great Barrier Reef regions. Options include three and four-day cruises with stops at Airlie Beach. Longer voyages, ranging from six to 10 days, will call at Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific islands, while 12 and 14-day options will each visit the islands of Fiji.