Costa Luminosa, currently part of the Costa Cruises fleet, will soon become Carnival Luminosa and move to join the Fun Ship Fleet, Carnival Cruise Line announced on June 14, 2022.
This change is an update to the previously announced plan to move Costa Magica from Costa Cruises to Carnival Cruise Linebut that ship will now remain with the Costa fleet.
Costa Luminosa to Become Carnival Luminosa
Carnival Luminosa will arrive to join the cruise line in November 2022, just prior to the debut of the line’s newest Excel-class vessel, Carnival Celebration.
“With our full fleet back to guest operations and the pent-up demand for Carnival we are seeing every week aboard our ships, the chance to expand with Luminosa and then the arrival of Carnival Celebration in November provides our guests with more choices and new ways to enjoy a Carnival vacation,” said Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line.
After this delivery, Carnival Luminosa will operate seasonally from October through April from Brisbane, Australia, then reposition to Seattle to sail Alaska itineraries from May through September, before returning to Brisbane for the Southern Hemisphere summer season in 2023.
Itineraries for Carnival Luminosa have not yet been finalized, but will be announced in the coming days.
Carnival Cruise Line’s typical sailings include visits to Australian favorites such as the Great Barrier Reef and Airlie Beach. Additional ports of call in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji will be likely options as travel restrictions ease in the region and more choices become available.
“The opportunity to deliver these bucket list itineraries will be exciting for our guests and we are thrilled to see the growing number of guests from the US sailing on Carnival in Australia,” said Duffy.
“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.”
“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.”
Photo Credit: SeregaSibTravel/Shutterstock
The Splendor (Concordia) class Carnival Splendor is the fleet’s other ship positioned in Australia later this year. Interestingly, Carnival Splendor was originally intended for Costa Cruises, but was transferred to the Carnival fleet during construction.
Because of the fleet change, Costa Luminosa’s sailings from September forward will be canceled and Costa Cruises will be informing impacted guests of their options and alternatives.
The Destiny-class Costa Magica will remain with the Costa fleet and its itineraries will be announced soon, which may include taking over some sailings initially planned for Costa Luminosa.
Introducing Carnival Luminosa
Luminosa is a sister ship to the four other popular Spirit class ships that already sail for Carnival: Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride, and Carnival Miracle. Carnival Luminosa will be younger than all her classmates, having been christened in 2009, compared to 2001 (Spirit), 2002 (Pride and Legend), and 2004 (Miracle).
Photo Credit: gary yim / Shutterstock
Prior to joining the Carnival fleet, Costa Luminosa will be upgraded and rebranded in the familiar Fun Ship style, as well as take on a full Carnival Cruise Line crew.
Due to time constraints and shipyard schedules, however, the remade ship will not have all the popular 2.0 branded spaces popular with Carnival cruisers.
The 2.0 upgrades include Guy’s Burger Joint, RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Cantina, Punchliner Comedy Club, Alchemy Bar, and more. It is likely that at least some of these guest favorites will appear on Carnival Luminosa, but which features may or may not be added has not been announced.
The soon-to-be Carnival Luminosa weighs in at 92,600 gross tons, with a guest capacity of 2,260 at double occupancy and up to 2,826 passengers when fully booked, though it is possible that some stateroom changes may be made as the ship is refitted for the Carnival fleet and her overall stats could change.
