Thursday, 15th October 2026 – Port Vila: The Department of Tourism (DOT) is assessing the impact on Vanuatu of Carnival Cruise Line’s announcement that Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure will leave Australia in March 2028 as part of the company’s long-term global fleet
planning.
Between them, the 2 ships sail from Sydney and Brisbane and call regularly in Vanuatu, and their departure will reduce the number of cruise calls to Port Vila, Mystery Island and our other ports from mid-2028 onward.
The Department wishes to make clear that this redeployment is in no way a result of any issue in Vanuatu or in the Pacific. It is driven largely by operating conditions in Australia, the main source market for cruise visitors to Vanuatu. Carnival has pointed to the importance of long-term certainty and globally competitive operating conditions, and its Country Manager, Mr. Peter Little, noted that “as the only cruise line with ships dedicated year-round to Australia, Carnival has greater exposure to changes in local market and operating conditions than cruise lines with a seasonal or more limited presence.” The Federal Government’s recent extension of the industry’s ability to sail between Australian ports until the end of 2028 is an interim measure only, and a long-term framework for the sector is yet to be settled.
These concerns were raised at the Australian Cruise Association (ACA) Annual Conference in Brisbane in September 2026, which the Department attended, and they remain unresolved. Cruise lines, through the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), have been advocating to the Australian Federal and State Governments, but these efforts have yet to deliver the long-term certainty the industry needs. CLIA Australasia head Mr. Joel Katz has warned that “Australia is struggling to attract ships to our waters because of regulatory uncertainties and rising costs”, and that “cruise lines are now making decisions about deployments for 2029, 2030 and even 2031. If we don’t provide that certainty, other countries are doing it and perhaps doing it a little better than we are.” It is decisions taken in Australia, not in the Pacific, that are now determining how ships are deployed across the South Pacific, and it is Pacific destinations such as Vanuatu, and the operators and communities who depend on cruise visitors, that are bearing the consequences.
Cruise tourism to Vanuatu will continue. Carnival Splendor and Carnival Encounter will keep sailing year-round from Sydney and Brisbane, other brands within the Carnival Corporation portfolio, including Princess Cruises, will continue to call in Vanuatu, and Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure will keep their scheduled calls into early 2028. The industry therefore has time to prepare.
Managing the transition
The Department is working with the cruise lines to confirm how many calls will be affected in each season and at which ports. This information will be shared with tour operators, transport providers, handicraft vendors, the mamas who sell at our markets and host communities as soon as it is confirmed, so that businesses can plan with accurate information rather than speculation.
Supporting the industry
Together with the Vanuatu Tourism Office and industry partners, the Department will continue to engage cruise lines to retain existing calls and attract new ones, and will help operators who rely on cruise visitors to reach other markets through its existing programmes. Australia is a valued partner, and the Government will continue to work with the Australian Government to address the regulatory settings that are affecting cruise deployment in the region. As these settings directly affect tourism livelihoods in Vanuatu, the Government will make its concerns clear, in a spirit of partnership and in support of the industry’s advocacy, so that the impact on the Pacific is taken into account as Australia settles its long-term framework. Vanuatu will continue to work with its Pacific neighbours on the future of cruise tourism in the region.