| Carnival cancels

CARNIVAL Cruise Line’s decision to reposition both Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor to the United States has left the Australian cruise sector even more despondent (CW breaking news Fri).

Brisbane-based Spirit is now not scheduled to return to local waters for more than 18 months (CW breaking news Fri).

The update from Carnival followed initial confirmation that Spirit would be deployed from Jacksonville from early next month (CW 04 Feb), with the cruise line forced to move the ships to markets where the industry is booming again.

Splendor sailings from 10 Jun 2022 through to 26 Sep 2022 have been cancelled, as have Spirit cruises from 05 Jun 2022 through to 05 Oct 2023.

Any guests impacted by these changes will receive an email with details of the changes along with specific offers available to them.

Carnival is also protecting the commission on all bookings paid in full, on the original fully paid booking cancelled by the cruise line, and on the final fully paid rebooking when a future credit is redeemed on an active sailing.

Travellers must follow the automated process to request either the bonus value offer of a future cruise credit combined with an onboard credit or a full refund.

Carnival said “details for a two-ship return to Australia will be announced when they are confirmed,” with the cruise line looking forward to resuming local operations when government officials can provide clarity.