Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said Carnival Spirit has performed strongly in Australia and the decision to send her to China was based on her availability and proximity to China after the dry dock.
Duffy said the 2,680-passenger ship will be the first Carnival Cruise Line ship to operate cruises from China and that she will return to Australia in the local spring of 2018.
This is not the first time this year Carnival has revised its entry date into China: In February it said Carnival Miracle would start sailing in China in early 2018, not spring 2017 as originally outlined.
‘It is important for the Carnival brand to establish a presence in the Asia cruise market and after evaluating many different options we decided that the seasonal deployment of Carnival Spirit in 2018 was the best opportunity for us,’ she said.
She said Carnival Miracle, the ship initially announced for entry to China, will continue to sail from North America in 2018. Plans remain in place for Carnival Splendor to be positioned in China full-time from 2019.
She said Carnival Legend will again join Carnival Spirit in Australia for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 Australian summer seasons.
“The two ships have proven extremely popular and we look forward to continuing to deliver Carnival’s fun holiday experience to existing and new Australasian guests over the coming years,” she said.
She said the 2018 Australian programme for Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend will be announced shortly, with some exciting itineraries to and from Asia as a result of Carnival Spirit’s China season.
