Carnival Cruises Australia will be sending its first ever cruise ship to China – the much loved Carnival Spirit.

She will go in the dry dock in Singapore for a make over in 2018 before sailing to Shanghai where she will be homeported in time for summer.

Carnival Spirit will be sailing around China on a number of itineraries.

Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said, “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.

Carnival Spirit has performed strongly in its home market of Australia since its Sydney debut in 2012 and will continue to be based there, with the Carnival Legend again joining here sister ship Down Under.

“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.