Tuesday, June 4, 2024 Carnival Corporation & plc , the world’s largest cruise company, announced that it will phase out the P&O Cruises Australia brand in March 2025, integrating its operations into Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s most popular cruise line. This decision is part of a strategic effort to boost guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation’s flagship and highest-returning brand. Since 2021, Carnival Cruise Line has expanded its fleet with eight new ships, including the successful transition of three vessels from Costa Cruises.
Additionally, the company has recently ordered two new Excel-class cruise ships, set to join the fleet in 2027 and 2028, marking their first new ship order in five years. “Despite increasing Carnival Cruise Line’s capacity by almost 25% since 2019 including transferring three ships from Costa Cruises, guest demand remains incredibly strong so we’re leveraging our scale in an even more meaningful way by absorbing an entire brand into the world’s most popular cruise line,” said Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation & plc. “In 2019, Carnival Cruise Line was 29% of our total capacity, and when we complete this move early next year, Carnival Cruise Line – our highest-returning brand – will make up approximately 35% of our total global capacity.
While our company’s overall growth between 2019 – 2028 is projected to be less than 2% (CAGR), the majority will be for Carnival Crui.
