It’s the end of an era, but just the beginning of a new one. On a soggy Sydney Friday, Carnival Adventure sailed into Sydney Harbour to mark its official launch and the end of the renowned P&O Cruises brand in Australia.
Meanwhile, in Brisbane, Carnival Encounter also made its long-awaited debut, as Carnival Cruise Line formally doubled its Aussie fleet to four ships overnight.
In Sydney, Adventure was welcomed by two water-spraying tugboats and a giant floating Cruise Captain ahead of an official launch event.
During the day, hundreds of special guests (including Karryon) will be stepping onboard the ship to check out its new look after its transition from P&O.
Twice the fun
Formerly known as Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter, the rebranded ships will continue to offer year-round cruise holidays from Australia while blending Carnival’s “Fun Ship” experience with some of P&O’s most popular features.
Carnival now operates four ships from Australia: Carnival Adventure and Carnival Splendor from Sydney, and Carnival Encounter and Carnival Luminosa from Brisbane. The cruise line expects to welcome over 500,000 passengers in 2025.
What to expect
Onboard, Carnival has introduced new offerings for the refreshed ships, including the HubApp for booking activities, the VIFP Club loyalty program, CCL’s signature Fun Squad for entertainment, Seuss at Sea for kids and free unlimited pizza slices. Build-A-Bear workshop events, a Conga for Kids line dance party and 80s Rock and Glow nights will also debut.
Returning P&O favourites include the Byron Beach Club resort experience, EDGE adventure course featuring zipline, rock-climbing and waterslides, and Luke’s Bar & Grill.
Speaking in Sydney, Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said today marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Australian cruising.
“Carnival Cruise Line is proud to strengthen its commitment to the millions of Australians who love to cruise,” she remarked.
“As the world’s most popular cruise line, we’re thrilled to offer great-value, memory-making holidays packed with FUN for families and friends.”
Supersizing
In an interview with Karryon in Sydney, Duffy said the transition from P&O Australia (POA) to Carnival-branded ships was “a real positive [for Australian travellers] because we’ll be the only global cruise line sailing year-round, from Sydney and Brisbane, with four ships”.
It also allows Carnival Cruise Lines, which now comprises 29 vessels, to “really leverage our scale for the benefit of what was the POA brand”.
“The ability to leverage the size and scale of Carnival Cruise Line and support POA is what’s enabling us to keep four ships here year-round,” she adds.
Keep an eye out for our full interview with Duffy.
For more on CCL, visit www.carnival.com.au
