*Update as of 28th September 2017*
Carnival Splendor is set to remain within the Carnival Cruise Line fleet instead of transferring to P&O Australia.
The news comes after several adjustments have affected the Australian cruise market from Carnival Corp and its cruise brands; Golden Princess, owned by Princess Cruises, will be transferred to P&O Cruises down under in 2020.
The ship will also have the new Ocean Medallion tech, the first in the region. Ruby Princess will also replace Golden Princess deployments in Australia to serve the cruise line interests in the region.
Carnival will have two ships based out of Australia and Carnival Australia Executive Chairman, Ann Sherry, has said that two ships will be based there full-time from 2020. Details on the Carnival cruise ship deployment will be announced in May 2018.
Carnival Splendor is the only ship of its class in the fleet at 133,300 gross tonnes and carrying over 3,000 passengers at double occupancy. The ship is currently based out of Port Everglades, Florida sailing Caribbean cruises.
Carnival Cruise Line has just revealed that its vessel, Carnival Splendor, will be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in late 2019.
The move is to boost guest capacity and maintain the line’s growth in the Australian market. The 113,000gt Carnival ship is 50% larger than P&O’s biggest ship and will accommodate 3,000 guests.
P&O Cruises Australia president, Sture Myrmell, stated: ‘Welcoming a transformed and renamed Carnival Splendor to the P&O Cruises’ fleet in 2019 on the back of the addition of Pacific Explorer in mid 2017 cements our position as Australia’s leading cruise line and the only true home grown Australia brand’.
‘In four years P&O Cruises will have doubled capacity by welcoming four ships- Pacific Aria, Pacific Eden and Pacific Explorer as well as the additional ship in 2019- as part of the remarkable evolution of the brand’.
A newbuild originally designed for P&O Cruises Australia will now join the Carnival fleet as the third in its Vista Class whilst Carnival Splendor will be transformed into P&O Cruises Australia.
Myrmell continues: ‘We benefit from being part of a global organisation with a worldwide fleet of cruise ships that ensure we have the flexibility to make the most of opportunities in our region and to adjust our strategies accordingly. Having reviewed the market, we believe a 3,000 passenger ship is the right sized ship for the P&O fleet to drive further sustained growth in our market.’
P&O Cruises Australia hopes that Carnival Splendor will enable it to maintain its position as the region’s largest and longest-serving cruise operator.
Before joining the fleet, Carnival Splendor will be refurbished ‘to reflect the P&O look-and-feel and build in the experiences core to our offering’, Myrmell said. And while P&O’s desire to grow its position in an increasingly competitive market was the core reason for the change in plans, Myrmell has further stated that other longer term factors could not be ignored in the recent market review.
Carnival Splendor will join P&O at the end of 2019 and more details regarding the ship’s features and itineraries will be revealed in due course.
So, what do you think of today’s news? Are you shocked that this Carnival ship will be moving to P&O? Do you think that this is a good decision for the line? Who do you prefer: Carnival or P&O? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below!
