Carnival Cruise Line to Absorb P&O Australia

[CDaze71]

Those bloody Yanks can stop rubbing their hands together and get their dirty mitts off our ships. They have enough choice over there, sooooo many ships. 

[Sparky74]

1 minute ago, CDaze71 said:

Those bloody Yanks can stop rubbing their hands together and get their dirty mitts off our ships. They have enough choice over there, sooooo many ships. 

I love telling Americans that all Australians get 4 weeks paid vacation each year. After seeing their jaws drop I add, "And you thought the USA was the greatest country in the world!" 🤣

 

But I’m now reflecting on how many ships they might need over there if they DID get proper holidays like we do here. 😱

[ilikeanswers]

7 hours ago, arxcards said:

Wasn't there a CLIA article a couple of months back saying how much cruising was booming here too.

 

Even if Australian cruising is booming it isn't going to be the same numbers as a booming North America. Our industry is tiny in global figures. 

[SinbadThePorter]

11 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Even if Australian cruising is booming it isn't going to be the same numbers as a booming North America. Our industry is tiny in global figures. 

 

Cruising is booming and for Carnival Corp the most booming part is Carnival Cruises. They are trying to get as many ships into the Carnival basket as they possibly can in the expectation that extra big profits will flow.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

I too got the e-mail reconfirming my trips on the Explorer (Melb-Freo-Exmouth) Jan/Feb 2025. So yes, another once, never to be repeated cruise. It doesn't mention where the Explorer is going after it sails out of Australian waters....perhaps off the edge of the Earth. I just assume that Melbourne won't have any cruise ships home-porting there. But who knows. The cruise lines seem to be chopping and changing things around at a rapid rate of knots with less than a years notice. Anything is possible.

 

If I want a short break, as I'll need to go to the airport anyway, I may as well just go for a week to a Pacific island. I do have family in Brisbane so could cruise from there now and again but on Carnival? I feel a headache coming on 🙃. I'm just so glad I got to do all these great cruises in the past year before all these adverse (to me) changes come in.

[arxcards]

18 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

And there is the possibility that the will deploy ships elsewhere so there is a possibility that we won't have ships here year round. Who knows? Speculation of the Seas here we come/.

I am just speculating, or maybe just reading this a bit different, but I think that is unlikely. They could have taken Splendor away this winter if that were the case and wouldn't need to dissolve P&O to achieve that. As is current with the announcement, we are losing a ship with the retirement of Pacific Explorer. They would have kept her longer, but there was no point spending excess dollars on her for converting to Carnival Explorer livery.

 

In time, I believe they will keep the Brisbane ship here full-time, with summer in Brisbane and the off season in Freo, Auckland & Melbourne. That still reduces the P&O/Carnival fleet from 3 x P&O + 1.5 Carnival to a fleet of 4.x Carnival.

 

They dumped a shock news release on Tuesday. They will now be looking to buoy the market by drip feeding pieces of positive news, 

[arxcards]

17 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Yep, we're on Encounter in December. Silence from P&O is deafening. We got a message from a travel insurer we haven't even used! Obviously I'm somehow on their mailing list. Only thing from P&O was an email a few days back advising a change to embarkation and disembarkation times. Don't know about Cruislings, I think we're Mushrooms.🙄

If your itinerary is unaffected, it would be business as usual and nothing to communicate. Yes, they could have sent a blanket email to everyone in their contact list, but I presume they are going to be run off their feet just responding to passengers who have had their cruises cancelled. 

 

In early 2025 P&O Cruises Australia brand will be sunset and its operations integrated into sister line, Carnival Cruise Line. As a result, the following itineraries are affected.

 

Pacific Explorer – discontinued operations from 2nd March 2025

 

Pacific Adventure:
Itineraries cancelled: V515, V516, V517, V518
Operated by Carnival Cruise Line after April 2025

 

Pacific Encounter:
Itineraries cancelled: I512, I513, I514
Operated by Carnival Cruise Line after April 2025

 

If you are booked on one of these itineraries you will be contacted by Guest Services in the coming days with refund details. We apologise that this change has been necessary.

 

If you are booked on any other P&O Cruises Australia itinerary your cruise is unaffected by this announcement and we look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.

 

No Carnival Cruise Line itineraries are impacted by this announcement.

Notice of Cruise Cancellations and Changes to Operating Brand | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au)

[arxcards]

11 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Even if Australian cruising is booming it isn't going to be the same numbers as a booming North America. Our industry is tiny in global figures. 

Correct. Scale is everything. I am taking a shot at the way this is being spun.

 

CLIA say it is booming here, yet we are losing ships which suggests that isn't true but just an isolated stat to spin. Similarly, the US is apparently booming, yet none of the cruise lines are turning a profit. Specific to, Carnival, they are taking in Costa ships, yet they have only partly replaced the capacity of the 6 ships they scrapped during covid. Booming? The industry is just talking themselves up.

[arxcards]

11 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Cruising is booming and for Carnival Corp the most booming part is Carnival Cruises. They are trying to get as many ships into the Carnival basket as they possibly can in the expectation that extra big profits will flow.

During covid, they scrapped 6 ships. That allowed Royal Caribbean to take their mantle of the biggest cruise fleet. The rebranding of Costa ships and P&O Australia is as much about hubris and regaining their mantle.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I too got the e-mail reconfirming my trips on the Explorer (Melb-Freo-Exmouth) Jan/Feb 2025. So yes, another once, never to be repeated cruise. It doesn't mention where the Explorer is going after it sails out of Australian waters....perhaps off the edge of the Earth. I just assume that Melbourne won't have any cruise ships home-porting there. But who knows. The cruise lines seem to be chopping and changing things around at a rapid rate of knots with less than a years notice. Anything is possible.

 

Dora will be already up for sale. Even if she has a buyer, they won't announce anything, and it is usually up to the buyer to spruik that If she doesn't have an afterlife at the time she departs, she will be heading to Aliaga for recycling. Her younger sister, the former Oceana, has been up for sale for some time with no takers, and Carnival is not about to lay her up to await a buyer.

 

Have a look at NCL for Melbourne. I do think that in time Carnival will do short seasons in Melbourne. Unlikely for 2025/6, but very possible beyond that.

[lyndarra]

13 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

I love telling Americans that all Australians get 4 weeks paid vacation each year. After seeing their jaws drop I add, "And you thought the USA was the greatest country in the world!" 🤣

 

 

Do you follow up with Long Service leave, RDO's, Leave Loading and paid Maternity leave?😁

 

[Aus Traveller]

10 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Do you follow up with Long Service leave, RDO's, Leave Loading and paid Maternity leave?😁

 

I have found that when I mention Leave Loading, that's when Americans think I am joking. 🤣

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

Do you follow up with Long Service leave, RDO's, Leave Loading and paid Maternity leave?😁

 

And sick leave, compassionate leave, carers leave and the big one, Early retirement 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I have found that when I mention Leave Loading, that's when Americans think I am joking. 🤣

Fancy getting paid extra to go on holidays. How awesome. 😂

[CarnivalShips480]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Specific to, Carnival, they are taking in Costa ships, yet they have only partly replaced the capacity of the 6 ships they scrapped during covid.

They replaced the capacities of the six Fantasy class ships with just Mardi Gras, Celebration and Luminosa. (With Celebration and Luminosa joining the same year Ecstasy and Sensation left) They then added capacity with Venezia, Jubilee, Firenze, and now Adventure & Encounter.

[reeves35]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Fancy getting paid extra to go on holidays. How awesome. 😂

Outside of the public service and highly unionised companies, I don't think many Australians get leave loading anymore.  I haven't had it in 25 years.

[lyndarra]

I wont miss the P & O experience.

Can't miss what you've never had.😉

[arxcards]

4 minutes ago, reeves35 said:

Outside of the public service and highly unionised companies, I don't think many Australians get leave loading anymore.  I haven't had it in 25 years.

For me, it was an award condition rolled into an enterprise. The enterprise predates me, and I have been at the same establishment for 31 years. Certainly can't be described as public service or heavily unionised though. I am aware that many do miss out, but other sectors have had all of their entitlements rolled into a fixed salary at some stage in the past.

[cruiser3775]

19 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Better late than never (or else P&O are reading this forum and me whinging).

 

Lucky you. I still haven't received anything.

[cruiser3775]

Spoke too soon. I just got the same email as you, confirming my December cruise is still on.  A bit cheeky to tell us we should now be booking last minute P & O cruises for 2024, so we don't miss out on saying farewell.

[CountessCookie]

Anyone notice an increase of P&O ads on social media this week. Then in the comments they are having to explain that there are still cruises untill march. 🤣

[MicCanberra]

Yes, the emails telling us our cruise remains unaffected, but what about the vibe?

[CountessCookie]

The vibe is what I was wondering about when they said it would be "buisness as usual" untill March. I would personally hate to be on the February sailings.

[joejoe 59]

We also got the email reassuring us it made no difference to our upcoming bounty cruise, which I wasn't worried about at all.

 

I wonder if they'll have a big send off cruise for P&O out of Brisbane & Sydney. 

Edited June 6 by joejoe 59

[Ondine]

19 hours ago, CDaze71 said:

Those bloody Yanks can stop rubbing their hands together and get their dirty mitts off our ships. They have enough choice over there, sooooo many ships. 

 

Up until yesterday most of them didn't even have a clue that P&O Australia even existed.  Watched one (who usually knows what she is talking about) saying that P&O have 5 ships and what a good thing it was for us.  

I guess Carnival Adventure will stay in Sydney because she can fit under the bridge but not if they put a whale tail on her.

By rolling P&O into Carnival I guess they will be able to advertise in USA and get more overseas passengers to sail on "OUR" ships.

 

Also not sure about the "Sunset" bit.  What, was P&O dying?  What a strange way to describe "shutting down".

I do think that they will be able to save lots of money by amalgamating the companies with back office stuff and probable won't have many tax obligations in Aus now, payroll tax etc.

Edited June 6 by Ondine