Carnival Corp. will shut down the P&O Cruises Australia brand in March, with its assets set to be absorbed by Carnival Cruise Line.
The Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will be rebranded and operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Pacific Explorer will leave the fleet in February.
Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter are sister ships that entered service in 2002 as Golden Princess and Star Princess, respectively. Pacific Explorer, formerly Dawn Princess, made its maiden voyage in 1997.
Carnival. Corp. said it chose Carnival Cruise Line to absorb the operations of P&O Australia. That's because Carnival Cruise Line is the company's highest-grossing brand. Once the conversion is complete, CCL will account for approximately 35% of Carnival Corp.'s global capacity, up from 29% in 2019.
Carnival Corp. remains committed to Australia and plans to remain the country's largest cruise operator with 19 ships representing nearly 60% of the market, CEO Josh Weinstein said.
“However, given the strategic realities of the South Pacific’s small population and significantly higher operating and regulatory costs, we are adjusting our approach to deliver the efficiencies needed to continue to deliver incredible cruise experiences to guests in the region year-round,” he said.
Following the conversion, Carnival Cruise Line will operate four ships in Australia and the South Pacific, including the Sydney-based Carnival Splendor, the seasonal Carnival Luminosa from Brisbane, and the rebranded P&O Australia ships. You will own a ship.
In addition to the two P&O Australia ships, Carnival Cruise Line has added three ships from sister brand Costa Cruises (Luminosa, Firenze and Venezia), debuted Carnival Jubilee this year and has two more Excel-class cruise ships on order for launch in 2027 and 2028.
