Carnival Cruise Line has announced that Costa Luminosa will be renamed Carnival Luminosa and will start guest operations under the Carnival flag in the fall.
Luminosa is a sister ship to the four other popular Spirit class ships that already sail for Carnival. Entering service in 2009, the ship accommodates up to 2,826 guests and 1,050 crew at 92,720 gross tons.
The acquisition of Luminosa is an update to the line's previously announced plans for Carnival to take Costa Magica, which will now remain at Costa Cruises.
After its delivery to Carnival, Luminosa will operate seasonally OCT-APR from Brisbane, Australia, then reposition to Seattle, where it will sail Alaska itineraries from MAY - SEP, 2023, before returning to Brisbane.
"With our full fleet back to guest operations and the pent-up demand for Carnival we are seeing every week aboard our ships, the chance to expand with Luminosa and then the arrival of Carnival Celebration in November provides our guests with more choices and new ways to enjoy a Carnival vacation," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
"Our Spirit class ships are very popular with our guests and Luminosa will be a great addition given the large number of balcony cabins which make her an ideal ship for this deployment. And equally important, this will allow Carnival to finally start our highly anticipated itineraries from Brisbane, so we'll have two ships operating in Australia for the high season Down Under."
Given the short timeline to get Carnival Luminosa ready for service, the cruise line says that the ship will go through some "modest updates" to change over from Costa to Carnival over the next few months ahead of the fall service start-up. The ship will not initially have all of the Funship 2.0 branded spaces that are seen across the Carnival fleet. The entire vessel will be staffed by the Carnival Cruise Line crew, however, to impart the Carnival 'fun ships' experience for guests.
Australia Itineraries
Cruises out of Brisbane will be announced shortly, and Carnival will sail a variety of itineraries that will initially include visits to Australian favorites such as the Great Barrier Reef and Airlie Beach, and, as destinations open over time, ports of call such as Noumea and Lifou Isle in New Caledonia, Port Vila and Mystery Island in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Duffy said, "The opportunity to deliver these bucket list itineraries will be exciting for our guests and we are thrilled to see the growing number of guests from the U.S. sailing on Carnival in Australia."
In addition to Carnival Luminosa out of Brisbane, Carnival Splendor will arrive in Sydney to resume sailing year-round on 02OCT, 2022.
For additional information, visit www.carnival.com.
