In a testament to the strength
of the Australian cruise market
and Carnival Cruise Lines’
dedication to service it,
Carnival Spirit will stay in
Australia in 2014.
THE deployment will see the 2,680-guest
Carnival Spirit homeport in Sydney and offer
41 sailings between January and December
2014, the majority of which will be 8-12 day
Pacific Islands sailings.
Carnival Spirit is set to hit Australian shores
in October, a move which marks the first time
Carnival Cruise Lines has homeported outside
of the United States.
“At Carnival Cruise Lines we have a theory, go
big or go home,” said the cruise company’s
Vice President and General Manager Australia,
Jennifer Vandekreeke.
“And we’re not going home anytime soon,
Carnival Spirit is here to stay,” she added.
Speaking to media at the announcement of
the 2014 program, Vandekreeke said that
to cater to Spirit’s core market (30-50 year old
couples and families who work and can’t go on
epic sailings) the vessel will feature more
shorter itineraries of 8 to 10 days.
“Interestingly we also found that Australians
prefer to leave and return to the same port,”
Vandekreeke said, adding that this led the
cruise line to the decision to exclusively sail
from Sydney for the 2014 season.
“We have 41 sailings out of Sydney, and
we’re almost exclusively going to the Pacific
Islands,” she said.
“These are the sailings that are selling really
well for us, so we’re going to continue to give
Australians what they want,” she added.
The 2014 schedule includes eight- and nineday
itineraries to New Caledonia, 10- and 11-
day itineraries to Vanuatu and New Caledonia;
and 12-day sailings to Fiji, Vanuatu and New
Caledonia; as well as two three-day weekend
cruises and a five-day cruise to Tasmania.
In terms of what’s new for 2014, guests look
forward to the Chef’s Table experience, which
offers private dining for up to 12 guests
including a galley tour and tasting for $75pp;
as well as the Taste Bar which allows guests to
meet before dinner to sample appetisers and
drinks for free, to give them an idea of the
flavours available at all of Spirit’s dining venues.
Also new for 2014 will be the Punchliner
Comedy Brunch, which is free of charge, and
offers guests a mid-morning lunch coupled
with comedy performances from a selection of
onboard entertainers.
Prices for Spirit’s 2014 Pacific Islands sailings
start from $964pp quad share or $1,179pp
twin share for an eight-day cruise.
MEANWHILE to celebrate the launch of the
2014 season, Carnival is offering a ‘That’s the
Spirit’ three-in-one sale, which provides guests
with great rates, plus up to $200 onboard
credit and a free upgrade to a higher category
based on availability for Spirit departures from
Sydney and Melbourne between 20 October
2012 and December 2014.
The deal is applicable on bookings made
between 17 June and 17 August for sailings
between 20 October 2012 and 30 December
2013; and between 01 July and 17 August
2012, for sailings between 09 January and 30
December 2014.
For details see your travel agent.
