The cruise industry is almost back to normal.
Well, give or take you have to test negative for Covid before boarding a cruise, a safety procedure that some people find necessary and some find stressful.
Last month, the big three players in the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise (CCL) Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) which all spent millions refurbishing their ships to make them as safe as possible, all have reactivated their entire fleets.
But for one cruise leader, back to normal isn’t good enough, as Carnival Cruise is looking to expand even further.
What has Cruise Carnival planned?
Carnival Cruise has announced that it has purchased the cruise ship Costa Luminosa from the Italian company Costa Crociere.
Initially, Carnival was to take over the Costa Magica ship, which will now remain with Costa Cruises.
Costa Crociere began sailing in 2009 and accommodates up to 2,826 guests and 1,050 crew at 92,720 gross tons.
The ship will undergo what the company calls “modest updates” to prepare for a November launch under the Carnival flag.
Once the ship is ready, it will be staffed by Carnival Cruise Line crew and will specialize in visits to Australian attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef and Airlie Beach. There are also plans for the ship to visit places such as Lifou Island in New Caledonia, Port Vila and Mystery Island in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
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And next year, you can scratch two items off your bucket list, as Costa Luminosa will sail Alaska itineraries from May to September, before returning to Brisbane.
“With our full fleet back in guest operations and the pent-up demand for Carnival we are seeing each week aboard our ships, the opportunity to expand with Luminosa and then the arrival of the Carnival Party in November offers guests our 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 that make her an ideal ship for this deployment. And just as importantly, it will allow Carnival to finally start our long-awaited itineraries from Brisbane, so we’ll have two ships operating in Australia for the high season Down Under,” Duffy said.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
The carnival is going outside
Carnival celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and has a lot planned for its biggest fan.
This November will see the debut of Carnival Celebration, the company’s other newest ship. The ship is meant to be a celebration of the company’s history, complete with The Golden Jubilee retro cocktail lounge, which will be decorated with items from throughout the company’s history.
The lobby will come with a gallery installation that will chart the evolution of Carnival through six decorative porthole windows with three-dimensional dioramas, one for each decade of the company’s history and one showing its future.
This week Carnival sheds a little more light on what fans can expect from Celebration.
It will include a grand atrium spanning several decks, complete with 3,000 square feet of floor-to-ceiling windows on the ship’s side that will change to 16 individually controlled, six-by-14-foot LED screens. The Atrium will also offer the second coaster at sea.
