Carnival Cruise Line to double Australia deployment for 2026/27

Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter – which are transferring to the fleet from sister line P&O Cruises Australia in March 2025 – will join Carnival Splendor and Carnival Luminosa in the region, sailing via Sydney and Brisbane.

 
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.

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.