Carnival Corp. will incorporate P&O Cruises Australia into Carnival Cruise Line Next year.
The cruise operator will retire the P&O Cruises Australia brand in March 2025, the company announced on Monday.
“Despite Carnival Cruise Line’s capacity increase by almost 25% since 2019, including the transfer of three ships from Costa Cruises, guest demand remains incredibly strong, so we are leveraging our scale in an even more significant way, by absorbing an entire brand into the most popular cruise in the world. line,” said Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein in a Press release.
Other Carnival Corp. brands Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn.
Carnival Cruise Line will make up about 35% of the company’s worldwide capacity when the transition is complete, up from 29% in 2019. P&O’s Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will sail for Carnival following a rebrand, while the Pacific Explorer will leave the fleet in February. .
“P&O Cruises Australia is a historic brand with an incredible team and we are incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished together in Australia and the wider region,” continued Weinstein. “However, given the strategic realities of the South Pacific’s small population and significantly higher operational and regulatory costs, we are adjusting our approach to give us the efficiencies needed to continue offering an incredible year-round cruising experience to our customers. guests in the region. .”
The company did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment about possible staffing cuts.
With the change, Carnival will have four ships sailing in the market, including the Carnival Splendor and the Carnival Luminosa. The company said guests will be contacted “in the coming days” about any changes to future cruises due to the consolidation. Current itineraries will sail as scheduled.
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“We look forward to building on the history and heritage of P&O Cruises Australia by bringing some of our innovations to more cruise guests in the region,” Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy added in the statement. “While we plan to make some technology upgrades and other small changes to both P&O Cruises Australia ships, they will continue to target the unique Australian market, with a family feel and many of the same experiences for P&O Cruises Australia guests.”
The change does not affect England-based Carnival Corp.’s P&O Cruises, which is a separate brand. The company also recently announced that Carnival Cruise Line will add two new Excel class ships in 2027 and 2028.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY and lives in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Carnival Cruise Line will absorb P&O Cruises Australia
