Costa Luminosa has completed her last voyage as a Costa Cruises ship, and is now one step closer to joining Carnival Cruise Line as Carnival Luminosa. What is next for the soon-to-be hybrid cruise ship?
Costa Luminosa Completes Last Voyage
When she arrived in Trieste, Italy on Sunday, September 4, 2022, Costa Luminosa officially completed her last sailing with Costa Cruises.
That final itinerary was a fitting homage to the ship’s Mediterranean heritage, as a 7-night roundtrip voyage that called on stunning ports throughout the Adriatic Sea, including Dubrovnik and Split, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Kefalonia Island and Corfu Island, Greece; and Brindisi, Italy.
The 92,720-gross-ton vessel was constructed at the Fincantieri Marghera near Venice, Italy, and first entered service in 2009.
Costa Luminosa served guests well for her 13 years with Costa Cruises, regularly offering a variety of Mediterranean sailings to popular destinations, including the Greek Islands, Italy, Norwegian fjords, Persian Gulf, and more.
Now, the ship will be refit as a Carnival Cruise Line vessel to continue to delight as many as 2,826 guests per sailing with a new personality, new features, and new destinations to explore.
Transforming to Carnival Luminosa
The transfer of Costa Luminosa to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet was first announced on June 14, 2022. While it was expected that a Costa Cruises ship would be transferred to Carnival, rumors had long abounded that Costa Magica would be the ship to make that switch.
A hybrid of the Vista- and Spirit-class vessels, Costa Luminosa has features of both those popular designs. Now that her Costa Cruises service is complete, the ship will undergo an extensive dry dock to refit several spaces with key Carnival Cruise Line brands and experiences.
Among the additions to Costa Luminosa will be the Punchliner Comedy Club, RedFrog Rum Bar, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi Express, and the adults-only Serenity retreat.
The ship will also feature Carnival’s signature Playlist Productions performances, as well as the exclusive Chef’s Table dining experience.
During dry dock, the ship will also receive new signature red-white-and-blue livery on her hull that was first introduced with the cruise line’s new flagship Mardi Gras in 2021, and has gradually been rolled out to other Carnival ships.
“To truly make Luminosa feel part of the Carnival Cruise Line family, we are adding our beautiful new livery to her hull, of course, and are keeping her throwback funnel design that once adorned some of our most iconic earlier vessels,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, when the refit was announced.
Luminosa is a sister ship to the four other popular Spirit class ships that already sail for Carnival: Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride, and Carnival Miracle. These updates will bring familiar Carnival Cruise Line experiences to the vessel, providing that distinctive Fun Ship experience to all who sail on the renovated ship.
Sailing Aboard Carnival Luminosa
The new ship will debut with an inaugural sailing from Brisbane, Australia, on November 6, 2022, with a 7-night Great Barrier Reef itinerary, visiting Airlie Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas, and Willis Island. Multiple days at sea will give guests the opportunity to explore all the new onboard features.
Throughout her first season Down Under, Carnival Luminosa will offer 3-11 night sailings, calling on popular ports in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and New Zealand.
The ship will then reposition for the summer season in Alaska with a 22-night transpacific itinerary, departing Brisbane on April 13, 2023 and visiting ports in New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti, and Hawaii before arriving in Seattle on May 4, 2023.
“We couldn’t be prouder to welcome Carnival Luminosa to our fleet and to start our highly anticipated sailings from Brisbane followed by unique bucket-list itineraries in Alaska,” said Duffy.
In Alaska – one of the most popular cruise destinations in the world – Carnival Luminosa will offer a season of 6-, 7-, and 8-night sailings to top Last Frontier ports such as Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, and Ketchikan.
The ship will then return to Brisbane via an epic 30-night sailing departing Seattle on September 14, 2023, traveling south through Asia with port visits to Kushiro, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Bitung, and more, before beginning her second Australian season.
