In one of Sydney Harbour’s epic maritime events, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor arrived home today escorted by sister brand ship P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Adventure as the official summer cruise season gets underway for Carnival Australia’s eight brands, signalling growing cruise industry recovery.

Carnival Splendor and Pacific Adventure met off the coast sailing together before separating to enter the harbour in majestic single file and momentarily pausing adjacent to Fort Denison, and the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge providing a stunning backdrop.

This spectacular Fort Denison ‘moment’ signified the fact that Carnival Splendor and Pacific Adventure are now both home-ported in Sydney to resume cruising on itineraries in Australia and to the South Pacific.

Carnival Splendor’s return also fulfilled a promise made by the crew of Carnival Spirit the night before their ship left Sydney in March 2020 as the two-year cruising pause began. They used cabin lights along the length of the ship to spell out the message: ‘WE WILL BE BACK’.

Today’s maritime pageantry also served to highlight the rapid recovery of cruising in Australia.

Eighteen ships from Carnival Australia’s eight brands are set for a peak summer cruise season in 2022-23 making 667 turnarounds and port calls to 33 destinations across the country.

The number of ship turnarounds and calls eclipses the 625 that were announced prior to the 2019-20 season, which was curtailed due to the onset of the covid pandemic.

Carnival Australia’s three cruise brands that base ships year round in Australia — P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line — are well advanced in their restoration of local operations.

In addition, Cunard will base Queen Elizabeth in Australia for its longest ever local season of cruises, while two Holland America Line ships and a Seabourn ship will also spend significant periods in Australian waters.

Destinations in all Australian states will benefit from cruise calls and turnarounds including:

• NSW — Sydney, Eden and Newcastle.
• QLD — Brisbane, Moreton Island, Airlie Beach and Cairns.
• VIC — Melbourne and Phillip Island
• SA — Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln.
• WA — Fremantle, Albany, Broome and the Kimberley region.
• TAS — Hobart, Burnie and Port Arthur.