Shocker: This major cruise line is shutting down

04.06.2024 - 19:15 / thepointsguy.com / Christine Duffy / Josh Weinstein

Get ready, Carnival cruisers: The line's fleet is about to grow by two ships following the shutdown of one of its sister brands.

Carnival Corp., which operates both Carnival Cruise Line and P&O Cruises Australia, will shutter the latter in early 2025 and roll two of its three ships into the Carnival Cruise Line fleet.

The move gives Carnival fans two more ships — 24-year-old, 2,636-passenger Pacific Adventure and 23-year-old, 2,600-passenger Pacific Encounter — to choose from in Australia if they're looking for the Carnival experience Down Under. P&O's third ship, 28-year-old, 1,998-passenger Pacific Explorer, will leave the fleet entirely in February.

P&O Cruises Australia's currently scheduled voyages will continue to operate as planned; guests booked on future sailings will be notified if their voyages will be affected.

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The decision comes a few years after Carnival Cruise Line absorbed three ships from Italian sister line Costa Cruises, branding two of them — Carnival Venezia and Carnival Firenze — as "Fun Italian Style."

"Despite increasing Carnival Cruise Line's capacity by almost 25% since 2019 including transferring three ships from Costa Cruises, guest demand remains incredibly strong so we're leveraging our scale in an even more meaningful way by absorbing an entire brand into the world's most popular cruise line," said Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corp., in a statement.

Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said in the statement that the ships will largely remain familiar to the Australian audience but with some Carnival additions, including access to the line's Hub mobile app and the VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) Club loyalty program.

Wall Street analyst Brandt Montour of Barclays said in a report that he believes this is a positive move for Carnival Cruise Line, which will likely see benefits from rolling more ships into one brand. Additionally, by eliminating one of the three ships in the Australia market, the line can avoid maintenance costs for what would soon be a 30-year-old vessel and slightly decrease supply. That would allow fares for available berths to command higher prices — a boon for the company's bottom line but not necessarily great news for cruisers looking to save on their next vacation.

The decision does not affect U.K.-focused cruise line P&O Cruises, which is a separate cruise line under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. It will continue to operate as scheduled.

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