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Will Carnival Cruise Line have two ships in Australia again?

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Carnival Spirit's US-based deployment stretches through mid-September 2023
With 'Australia ship' Carnival Spirit now redeployed in the US year-round, is a second Carnival Cruise Line vessel in the cards Down Under?

Until the pandemic, both Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor operated there. Both have been redeployed to the US for the northern summer, with Spirit subsequently confirmed for US service stretching through mid September 2023.

'Whether we'll put another ship into Australia for the Carnival brand is a decision to be made over time,' Carnival Corp. & plc President and CEO Arnold Donald said Tuesday. Given the demand in Australia historically, 'It would not be illogical to think at some point, once things are up and going again, that Carnival would have a stronger presence. We have no specific plans at this time.'

Need to re-examine

CFO David Bernstein pointed out that six Carnival Cruise Line ships will have exited during the pandemic so 'Everything needs to be re-examined to make sure we optimize the cash flow and profitability of Carnival Cruise Line.'

Donald said the brand is performing extremely well, with strong occupancies and 'wave-level bookings' in the last weeks.