The vessel, which entered service in 2009 and carries 2,826 guests, will be renamed Carnival Luminosa.
After its delivery, Luminosa will operate seasonally through to April from Brisbane, then reposition to Seattle, where it will offer Alaska itineraries from May until September, before returning to Brisbane.
Luminosa’s transfer to Carnival replaces previously announced plans for the line to take Costa Magica, which will now remain at Costa Cruises.
In addition to Luminosa out of Brisbane, Carnival Splendor will arrive in Sydney to resume sailing year-round on 2 October.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: “Our Spirit-class ships are very popular with our guests and Luminosa will be a great addition given the large number of balcony cabins which make her an ideal ship for this deployment. And equally important, this will allow Carnival to finally start our highly anticipated itineraries from Brisbane, so we’ll have two ships operating in Australia for the high season down under.”
Carnival said the ship would undergo “modest updates” but would initially not have all Funship 2.0-branded spaces seen across its fleet.
With the arrival of Carnival Celebration this November, Carnival’s fleet will number 24 ships, and its lower berth capacity will be 7% higher than at the end of November 2019.
Costa Luminosa’s cruise programme from September forward will be cancelled, while Magica will continue to be part of the line’s fleet and its itineraries will be announced shortly.
