Carnival Cruise Line is set to embark on its “largest-ever” period of growth in its 50-year history.

Following the launch of Carnival Luminosa earlier this year, the brand will add five more ships to its fleet over the next two years, the next being the delivery of two Excel-class vessels, Carnival Celebration to Miami and Carnival Jubilee to Texas.


As part of the expansion plan, Carnival will also introduce a new concept – “Carnival Fun Italian Style” – with two additional ships from sister brand Costa Cruises, starting with Carnival Venezia next spring, sailing year-round from New York, and Carnival Firenze in 2024 out of from Long Beach.

“Carnival Luminosa is a testament to our ongoing commitment to Australia, and the start of a period of growth unlike any other in Carnival’s 50-year history,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“Having a Brisbane-based ship has been a goal of ours for quite some time, so we are so happy that they are the first market globally to experience the big, bright, fun that this ship has to offer and so excited to give our guests more Carnival ships and itinerary options to sail over the next two years.”

Luminosa – which arrived at its homeport of Brisbane on Monday (31 October) – will sail on its first cruise on 6 November and operate 28 sailings through 13 April 2023, visiting 60 ports across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

The sailings will support Carnival Australia’s anticipated $165 million contribution to the Queensland economy this year.

Carnival Corporation is upgrading its ships’ engines and technical systems to improve energy efficiency

The “service power packages” upgrades will include ongoing installations throughout 2023 on ships belonging to the company’s nine brands – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Australia, Costa Cruises, Aida Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cunard.

Developed over the last six years and tailored to each vessel, upgrades to save energy include investments in variable speed drives and on-demand automation and controls, cooling enhancements, energy-saving LED lighting and more efficient heating and ventilation systems.

Carnival estimates the programme will deliver an average of 5-10% fuel savings per ship and is expected to reduce fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions by more than 500,000 metric tons each year.

The upgrades will also result in around $150 million in fuel cost savings per year.

Carnival’s chief maritime officer Bill Burke said: “Based on our improved fleet composition, including adding six industry-leading LNG-powered ships, and our previous investments to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, our absolute carbon emissions peaked in 2011 despite significant capacity growth over the past decade.”

“These tailored service power packages further build on those efforts as part of our comprehensive approach to sustainability.”

The fleet-wide enhancements are part of Carnival’s energy efficiency investment programme. The company has committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 20% from its 2019 baseline by 2030, supporting its efforts to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050.

Carnival Cruise Line to Operate Full Ships this Summer at 110 Percent Occupancy

With its full fleet sailing as of May, Carnival Cruise Line is helping lead the comeback for Carnival Corporation.

The brand is expected to operate at 110 per cent occupancy for the all-important summer season, according to Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation.

“Carnival Cruise Line, our largest brand, achieved consistently positive adjusted EBITDA beginning in March. Carnival Cruise Line also became our first brand to sail its entire fleet in May and is expecting occupancy to approach 110 per cent during our third quarter,” he said.

Donald, on the company’s second-quarter and business update call, noted these “close-to-home” cruises, where guests perceive far less friction travelling than going abroad.

With a strong North American cruise market, Carnival is pivoting to add more capacity in the form of two redeployed Costa Cruises vessels under the Costa by Carnival umbrella. The Costa Venezia will sail from New York starting in 2023 while the Costa Firenze will homeport in California beginning in 2024.