Carnival Cruise Line fans can now register to be the “first to know” about Carnival Luminosa’s itineraries and special sale promotions at www.carnival.com/carnivalluminosa.
The Costa Luminosa will join the Carnival fleet in September and will start guest operations as Carnival Luminosa in November 2022 from Brisbane, Australia.
The Carnival Luminosa will operate seasonally from October through April from Brisbane, then reposition to Seattle, where it will sail Alaska itineraries from May through September, before returning to Brisbane, according to a press release.
Cruises out of Brisbane will be announced shortly, and Carnival will sail a variety of itineraries that will initially include visits to Australian favourites 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.
The Luminosa is a sister ship to the four other Spirit-class ships that already sail for Carnival. Given the short timeline to get the Carnival Luminosa ready for service, the ship will go through some modest updates to change over from Costa to Carnival over the next few months ahead of the November service start-up.
Cash from operations is turning positive and the company has turned the corner of its recovery trajectory, according to Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald, who spoke on today’s second-quarter business update call with analysts.
“We are aggressively ramping up to full operations, driving higher occupancy on our ships, and focused on increasing revenues,” Donald said.
Bookings are expected to continue to improve during the rest of the year and reach historical levels in 2023, according to David Bernstein, executive vice president and CFO. He also said that there is the potential that EBITDA will be greater in 2023 than it was in 2019. The wild card is the cost of fuel. The target for 2023 is to carry 14 million guests.
Contributing to the recovery will also be fleet optimisation, reallocating ships to the strongest markets, such as introducing the new Costa by Carnival brand in North America.
Donald noted that European markets are in many ways more challenging than North America from a consumer standpoint as it relates to travel and added that moving Costa ships was also about right-sizing the Italian brand. A big chunk of Costa’s capacity has been in China, he said, and with that market closed, it made more sense to expand the strong North American market than to put all that capacity in Europe.
Bernstein added that North America and Europe are headed in the right direction, but that the company’s North American brands are doing better than their European counterparts.
As for other headwinds, such as the impact of the recession, Donald said the industry is resilient, offering a strong value proposition and that people feel entitled to their vacations. In addition, there is a tailwind of pent-up demand, he added, and the relaxing of health protocols is also expected to attract more people who may have been on the sidelines.
As for any other allocation moves, Donald said: “We are very pleased with our portfolio of brands but will always have an open mind to do what makes sense for our shareholders.”
He also said that since 2019, the company has shed 23 less efficient ships while adding nine larger, more efficient ships, including more premium-priced staterooms, while reducing operating expenses, including fuel, on a per available guest day basis.
The new Costa Toscana has been christened in Barcelona by Chanel, a young singer, actress and dancer who enjoyed great success in Spain and in all of Europe after her exhibition during the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.
Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises commented: “It is a great thrill to celebrate the christening of our Costa Toscana in Barcelona, a city to which we are particularly attached and where we have been at home since the beginning of our history.
“For this occasion, we have organized an event to celebrate the start of a summer that marks the serene resumption of travel and vacations. The event also features the excellence of Costa’s offerings in all aspects, from high gastronomy to high-quality entertainment, to unique experiences ashore,” he said.
“According to recent market research, nearly 14 million Europeans are dreaming of taking a cruise in the next 12 months, and cruises are among the trips with the highest potential to meet the needs of destinations exploration. We must take advantage of this upswing to promote more sustainable tourism that respects the environment and values local communities. Our commitment is expressed not only through technologically advanced ships such as the LNG-powered Costa Toscana, but also by supporting innovative projects whose scope goes beyond the tourism sector, such as Chef Ángel León’s project.”
She joined the ship’s Captain Pietro Sinisi for the ribbon-cutting ceremony in which a bottle was shattered on the ship’s prow, as per maritime tradition.
The event was hosted by two exceptional masters of ceremonies: Carlos Sobera and Flora Gonzalez, two real stars of Spanish television well-loved by the general public.
The ceremony was then closed by a performance by the Italian artist Andrea Casta, a “globetrotter” violinist who has performed all over the world with his electric violin and his unique luminous bow.
Among the guests were Spanish celebrities, such as “El Sevilla”.
As the ship leaves Barcelona on the way to Valencia, guests can look forward to a performance by Meduza, a famous Italian trio of house music producers, who will host an exclusive DJ set onboard. The aperitif and gala dinner will be signed by Spanish chef Ángel León known as the “chef of the sea” who has been awarded 3 Michelin stars with his restaurant Aponiente.
Costa Cruises and Ángel León are further strengthening their collaboration, addressing a theme that both have long been committed to, which is environmental sustainability. Through her Costa Cruises Foundation, Costa Cruises is supporting a worldwide pioneering project: the development of the “marine grain.”
Restaurant Aponiente’s research centre has started the cultivation of the Zostera marina in the Bay of Cadiz. The Zostera marina is a plant that helps generate greater marine biodiversity, thus enriching the ecosystem. Thanks to the support of the Costa Cruises Foundation, the cultivated area of the ocean garden, which is currently about 3,000 m2, can be expanded, in order to promote the project and export the Zostera marina to new coastal areas, the company said.
Costa will sail 10 ships this summer, with the Toscana offering a week-long Western Mediterranean program,
Wetravel2u's Weblog 