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Unique Cruise Solutions The news you need to know |
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Cruise News for the Corporate Travel Professional |
January 2011 Edition |
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Carnival Cruise Lines announced it will base a ship year-round in Australia starting in 2012 |
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The 2,124-passenger, 88,500-ton
Carnival Spirit, which debuted in 2001 and is the ship that gave the
four-vessel Spirit Class its name. The Spirit currently is sailing seasonal
four- to nine-day voyages to the Mexican Riviera.. The world's largest cruise operator says the 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit will reposition to Sydney, Australia in October, 2012 and begin offering 8- to 12-night voyages to the Pacific Islands as well as 13-night sailings to New Zealand. The announcement is a milestone not only for 22-ship Carnival, which until now has focused almost exclusively on close-to-the-USA destinations, but for Australia. The 88,500-ton Spirit will be the largest ship ever to be based year-round in the country and the first ship based in Sydney that is so big it can't fit under the city's Harbour Bridge. In a statement sent to USA TODAY, Carnival says that due to its height the Carnival Spirit will be based at the only cruise facility east of Sydney's Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay's Overseas Passenger Terminal. In a twist for Carnival, which caters heavily to Americans, the Spirit's new Australia-based itineraries primarily will be targeted at the local market of Australians and New Zealanders, though the line also hopes to attract U.S. vacationers to the region. The new voyages will go on sale by the middle of this year, Carnival says. Australia has been growing fast as a cruise destination in recent years, and Carnival's parent company, Miami-based Carnival Corp., already has a significant presence in the region through its P&O Cruises Australia subsidiary. P&O Cruises Australia has four ships in the region year-round. Another Carnival Corp.-owned line, Princess Cruises, has two ships in the region year-round. The Carnival Spirit currently is based in California where it is scheduled to spend much of the coming year sailing voyages to Mexico out of San Diego and Los Angeles. It will spend the summer sailing to Alaska out of Seattle. Carnival has not yet announced if another ship will replace the Carnival Spirit on the Mexican and Alaskan itineraries. |
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Worldwide Travel & Cruise Assoc., Inc. 150 S. University Dr. Ste E, Plantation, FL 33324 - USA Tel: +1 954 452 8800 Fax: +1 954 252 3945 EMail: sales@cruiseco.com |
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