Carnival Adventure will only sail seasonally in Australia from April 2028, as Carnival Cruise Line has announced her relocation to North America for the northern hemisphere summer.
Carnival said that while it remains the only cruise line with a year-round commitment to this region, it has had to make this deployment decision “given more favourable market conditions elsewhere” and the “uncertain regulatory environment in Australia and New Zealand”.
Union concerns
The news follows the Maritime Union of Australia unsuccessfully attempting to board Carnival Adventure when it was in port in Sydney on Monday. The union attempted to board the vessel at the request of a member in regard to a Work Health Safety matter after giving the line and the NSW Port Authority 24 hours’ notice of its concerns.
Carnival security declined to give the union access which the union said is in contravention of the Work Health Safety Act. SafeWork NSW was also contacted but were unable to make it in time before the vessel before it sailed to Hobart. It returns to Sydney on Saturday.
‘Business as usual’
“We’re proud of our long-standing commitment to this market,” Carnival Country Manager Peter Little said in a statement. But he gave was no indication of the news to come when he boarded Seabourn Sojourn earlier this week.
“It is business as usual with Carnival Cruise Line operating from more homeports across Australia and New Zealand in 2027/28 than ever before, so there are plenty of attractive itineraries for our guests.
“Over the next two years, we look forward to welcoming onboard about 1.2 million fun-loving guests across about 400 voyages as we continue to sail year-round to amazing destinations.”
Carnival Adventure will relocate to North America in April 2028, after completing her published voyages.
CLIA concern
In a statement Cruise Lines International Association Australasia (CLIA) warned that more capacity could be at risk if governments continue to ignore repeated requests for a national action plan.
“CLIA and the Australasian cruise industry have consistently warned that regulatory uncertainty and a complex operating environment make Australia uncompetitive among cruise destinations and reduce our ability to attract ships to this region.
“While demand for cruising is at record levels internationally and Australians remain some of the world’s most passionate cruisers, Australia is at risk of losing deployment to other countries that offer a more constructive operating environment.
“CLIA has previously called for a national action plan across Federal, State and Territory governments, to support cruise tourism, improve Australia’s competitiveness, attract more ships, safeguard jobs, and create greater economic opportunities in destinations around the country.”
Carnival ‘adjusting’ deployment
Little said Carnival was seeing stronger momentum and local governmental support in other major travel and tourism markets globally.
“In this context, Carnival is adjusting its deployment to better capture greater opportunities elsewhere, while continuing to champion a more competitive and certain operating environment – matters we’ve long emphasised,” Little said.
“We look forward to continuing our strong commitment to a cruise sector that provides 22,000 jobs and more than $7 billion in economic benefit to thousands of travel agents, shore tour operators, fresh food producers and transport providers right across Australia.”
