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Carnival Cruise Line has unveiled the final Australian voyages for two of its ships. Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa are scheduled to officially leave the Australian market in March 2028.

The final “g’day mate” for the two ships will include four itineraries ranging from 8 to 23 days. The itineraries will feature destinations across the Pacific, including ports in Japan, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and French Polynesia. 

Carnival Adventure will offer three itineraries, beginning March 20, 2028 with a 19-day departure from Sydney to Tokyo. The voyage will feature visits to Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Taipei in Taiwan, and destinations in Japan.

The 2,636-guest vessel will then sail from Tokyo on an 8-day, round-trip voyage departing April 8, 2028. Busan and destinations near Mount Fuji were highlighted by Carnival for this sailing. 

Wrapping up the ship’s tenure in the region will be a 15-day Transpacific cruise from Tokyo to Seattle departing April 16, 2028. Carnival did not specify any ports of call for this voyage in its announcement.

Meanwhile, the 2,260-guest Carnival Luminosa will sail one 23-day repositioning cruise from Sydney to Los Angeles. This cruise will depart on March 15, 2028 and visit Hawaii and French Polynesia.

Carnival Luminosa has sailed from Brisbane since 2022, first year-round and then seasonally from 2025. Carnival Adventure sails year-round from Sydney, first joining Carnival’s fleet in March 2025 after previously sailing as Pacific Adventure under P&O Cruises Australia.

Both ships will continue to offer Australian itineraries until the March 2028 departures. Bookings for the newly announced repositioning voyages will open later this week, though Carnival has not provided an exact date or time.

Why Carnival is Pulling Ships From Australia

The two ships’ departures from Australia were first announced on October 15, 2026. Both ships had previously been expected to split their time between Australia and North America, but Carnival has confirmed neither will return.

As Cruise Hive covered at the time, the move was motivated by several factors. Government regulations, global competition, and overall itinerary planning and management were cited by the cruise line as reasons for the change.

Australia’s federal government provided an extension to exemptions to the Coastal Trading Act 2012 for cruise ships through the end of 2028. However, the cruise line said that, as the only cruise line with ships dedicated to Australia year-round, it faces a greater impact from changes in operating conditions than seasonal operators.

The removal of the two ships is also causing concern outside of Australia. Vanuatu’s Ministry of Trade and Commerce recently published a blog post, detailing how the redeployments may impact local tourism businesses with reduced cruise calls to Port Vila, Mystery Island, and other destinations.

“It is decisions taken in Australia, not in the Pacific, that are now determining how ships are deployed across the South Pacific,” said the blog post, “and it is Pacific destinations such as Vanuatu, and the operators and communities who depend on cruise visitors, that are bearing the consequences.”

Despite the reduction in ships, Carnival is not leaving the region altogether. Carnival Encounter and Carnival Splendor will remain homeported in Australia, sailing year-round from Sydney and Brisbane.

Carnival Reveals Farewell Voyages as Two Ships Leave Australia

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