Carnival Luminosa arrived in the Sunshine State over the weekend, with the ship lighting up 61 windows to read ‘We <3 Queensland.’

Formerly Costa Luminosa, Carnival Luminosa has been renovated and redesigned with Carnival Cruise Line’s signature fun atmosphere.

The vessel is a sister ship to the other four Spirit-class ships of Carnival’s fleet, accommodating 2826 guests and 1050 crew. Carnival’s previous plan was to acquire Costa Magica, which will instead now remain part of Costa Cruises’ fleet.

Ported at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, the Luminosa’s spectacular arrival celebrates the ship setting sail on her first passenger cruise on November 6 and being the first Carnival ship to sail from Brisbane, with 28 sailings from November 2022 to April 2023.

 

With 60 ports of call across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific, the Luminosa will visit a number of Queensland destinations including Airlie Beach and The Great Barrier Reef, supporting Carnival Australia’s anticipated $165 million contribution to the Queensland economy this year.

Last week, Carnival revealed some of the ship’s unique special features including a 10-deck-high atrium, a multi-million dollar bronze sculpture by the world-renowned artist Fernando Botero, a sunset bar, a two-deck-high sky dome, and one of the fleet’s largest spas and thermal areas.

On Luminosa’s arrival, Carnival Cruise Line Australia VP Kara Glamore said that having a Brisbane-based ship has long been in the works for Carnival.

“Brisbane is the first market globally to experience the big, bright, fun that Carnival Luminosa has to offer and we thank Queenslanders for their patience, love, and support,” Glamore said.

“Having a Brisbane-based ship has been a goal of ours for quite some time and it’s only appropriate that our ship in the Sunshine State is packed with natural light, plus the hospitality and fun that Carnival is famous for.”

Back in June, Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line said of the expansion: “With our full fleet back to guest operations and the pent-up demand for Carnival we are seeing every week aboard our ships, the chance to expand with Luminosa and then the arrival of Carnival Celebration in November provides our guests with more choices and new ways to enjoy a Carnival vacation.

“Our Spirit-class ships are very popular with our guests and Luminosa will be a great addition given the large number of balcony cabins which make her an ideal ship for this deployment. And equally important, this will allow Carnival to finally start our highly anticipated itineraries from Brisbane, so we’ll have two ships operating in Australia for the high season Down Under.”

Carnival Luminosa will operate out of Brisbane seasonally from November 2022 to April 2023. The ship will then reposition to Seattle from May 2023 for a series of Alaskan itineraries before returning to Queensland later in the year.