Carnival Luminosa has set sail from Brisbane following a 169-day season bringing a wave of FUN to the Sunshine State.
Yesterday, the cruise ship bid a temporary farewell to the land down under, departing on a 31-night transpacific Journeys voyage to Seattle, including stops in incredible destinations such as Guam, Japan, and Alaska, as well as crossing the International Dateline.
After creating fun-filled memories for over 70,000 guests in her second season sailing from Brisbane, Carnival Luminosa will now spend the US summer cruise season sailing to Alaska from Seattle. However, fun-loving Aussies can rest assured that the goodbye is only temporary, as Luminosa will once again return to her Brisbane home port in October 2024, in time for the Australian summer cruise season.
Carnival Luminosa has achieved some impressive feats in her 169 days at sea this 2023-2024 season. Having sailed over 42,000 nautical miles across the Queensland coast, South Pacific and Papua New Guinea, guests have enjoyed over 260,000 ice creams, 85,000 pizzas, 80,000 burgers and nearly 1.5 million beverages onboard Luminosa this season.
The Carnival crew were also busy creating over 155,000 towel animals, helping kids build 2,800 bears at the onboard Build-A-Bear workshop and hosting 30 Dr Seuss-themed Green Eggs & Ham breakfasts.
“We’re so grateful for the way Queenslanders have welcomed Carnival Luminosa back to Brisbane and made her second season so much FUN! Having 70,000 guests onboard in the last six months has been a privilege and we can’t wait for Luminosa to return for a third season in October, when she will again be homeported in the beautiful Sunshine State,” said Carnival Cruise Line VP Kara Glamore.
“We’re honoured that Queenslanders have been choosing fun by sailing with Carnival, and we’ll see you next summer.”
Smiles weren’t the only thing that Luminosa contributed to the state this season, with the ship raising over $20,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation through their Conga for Kids initiative and further cementing Carnival’s commitment to Queensland, and wrapping up its first season as Premier Partner of the Brisbane Bullets Basketball team.
Additionally, the ship homeporting out of the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal this season contributed an approximate $30 million to the Queensland economy.
On the economic impact generated by Carnival Luminosa, Port of Brisbane CEO Neil Stephens said, “During the summer cruise season, Carnival Luminosa called almost 30 times into Brisbane, which is a fantastic show of confidence in the local cruise market. It’s also brought a big economic boost to Queensland – it’s estimated that every time a cruise ship calls in Brisbane, it contributes around $1 million to the state economy.”
“We’ve just had our biggest summer cruise season in Brisbane, and partners like Carnival Cruise Line are central to that. We wish the Carnival Luminosa crew safe onward travels and can’t wait to see her back in Brisbane next summer.”