Carnival Cruise Line has announced that Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure will leave Australia in March 2028. According to the cruise line’s press release of 15 October 2026, the decision is part of its long-term fleet planning.
Carnival Luminosa, which has sailed seasonally from Brisbane since cruising restarted in Australia in 2022, will make her last cruise from Sydney on 15 March 2028. Carnival Adventure will leave Sydney on 20 March 2028 and, contrary to the original plan, will not return to Australia. The press release does not say where the two ships will sail after that.
Two ships stay year-round
Carnival Splendor will keep sailing year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter from Brisbane. Carnival says it is the only cruise line with ships based in Australia all year, and that it will publish its 2028-2029 programme for these two ships in the coming weeks.
Carnival Adventure arriving in Sydney. Photo: Carnival Cruise Line.
The reasons given by Carnival
Carnival explains that ships are deployed several years in advance and that its decision takes into account, among other factors, long-term certainty and operating conditions that are competitive with other markets. The Australian Government recently extended, until the end of 2028, the arrangement that allows cruise ships to sail between Australian ports, while it works on a long-term licensing system for the sector.
Peter Little, Carnival’s country manager in Australia, called the extension “a welcome but interim step” and said that, because its ships are in Australia all year, Carnival is more exposed to changes in local operating conditions than lines with a seasonal presence. He added that Carnival will keep working with the Federal Government on the future rules.
Until March 2028, both ships continue their cruises to the South Pacific, with destinations such as Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.
