Florida-based Carnival Corporation has made the surprise announcement to shelve a legacy 90-year-old Australian cruise brand citing high regulatory costs that have made the business unsustainable.
The Pacific Explorer vessel, which ports in Australia and New Zealand under the P&O Australia brand, is owned by parent company Carnival. It will cease operations from the end of next summer.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter vessels will be absorbed into their sister line Carnival Cruises.
Via a statement on their website, P&O said operations would cease in early March 2025.
“When the transition is complete next year, the Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will begin sailing under the Carnival Cruise Line brand while the Pacific Explorer will exit the fleet at that time,” the company said.
P&O added they were “immensely proud of P&O Cruises Australia’s 90-year heritage of dedicated operations in the region. Carnival Cruise Line are honoured to carry forward its storied legacy and continue to deliver the same onboard experiences and itineraries.”
Profit Margins Weak
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said despite the dry-docking of Pacific Explorer, the company remained committed to Australia and the South Pacific and would maintain four year-round Carnival Cruise-branded ships in the region with three home-ported in Sydney, and one in Brisbane.
Its entire fleet will command a near 60 percent market share of the region. The company said new vessels were still on order, and the Carnival fleet had recently expanded with ships from the Costa brand.
Mr. Weinstein said the decision to shelve P&O was driven by weak economic conditions.
“Given the strategic reality of the South Pacific’s small population and significantly higher operating and regulatory costs, we’re adjusting our approach to give us the efficiencies we need to continue delivering an incredible cruise experience year-round to our guests in the region.”
President of Carnival Cruise Line Christine Duffy said despite the move to the Carnival brand, customers should expect a “familiar feel and much of the same experiences for P&O Cruises Australia guests.”
Ms. Duffy added that technology upgrades related to the onboard experience were on the way.
The Company’s Legacy
It is understood that staff on the affected ships will be redeployed, but some employees from the P&O head office in Sydney will be made redundant.Acting P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Australia chief Peter Little will assume a new position as country manager and continue to run local operations.
The company apologised for the “necessary” change and said travellers who had booked trips after March 2 will have their deposit refunded or can put a cruise credit towards future trips.
P&O Cruises, originally known as the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, was founded in 1837 in Britain.
After evolving into one of the world’s leading cruise lines, the company began its pioneering operations down under in Australia in 1932 when a ship left Sydney to call upon Brisbane and Norfolk Island.
