Which ships, and from where?

Carnival Australia's page, Sydney, 28 Oct 2026, says Carnival Splendor sails year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter sails year-round from Brisbane. The same wording is on Carnival's U.S. newsroom post dated 28 Oct 2026. Seatrade Cruise News, Helen Hutcheon, 28 Oct, reports that split and adds that Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa are set to leave local waters in March 2028. That March exit is the earlier Carnival announcement, covered separately. This release is the program that follows it.

What can you book, and when?

The Australia page says the voyages are on sale from today, on a page dated 28 Oct 2026. It lists 112 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Named highlights are a solar eclipse cruise from Brisbane on Carnival Encounter in July 2028, a new 13-day cruise from Brisbane to New Zealand on Encounter, and a Melbourne Cup cruise from Sydney on Carnival Splendor in November 2028. It also lists 23 three-day getaways from Sydney and Brisbane, 18 Tangalooma-Moreton Island voyages from Sydney, 12 Encounter cruises from Brisbane to Airlie Beach, a returning Mutiny on the Bounty cruise to Fiji, and six New Zealand voyages between mid-2028 and mid-2029. Seatrade prints the same counts. Cruise Weekly, 28 Oct, says more than 100 voyages and does not print 112.

What happens to Splendor in August 2028?

The Australia page and the U.S. newsroom post say Carnival Splendor enters dry dock in August 2028 and then returns for the rest of the 2028/29 program. Neither page names the yard or a repositioning port. Cruise Passenger, Tallis Boerne Marcus, 28 Oct, says the dry dock means you can sail to Singapore and back. That Singapore line is Cruise Passenger's. It is not in the Carnival pages read for this post.

Does the release print a fare or a homeport outside Sydney and Brisbane?

No fare is on the Australia page, the U.S. newsroom post, Seatrade, or Cruise Weekly. Booking paths on the Carnival pages are carnival.com.au, a local travel agent, or 13 31 94. Cruise Passenger says the scheduled homeports are Sydney and Brisbane, and that Melbourne, Adelaide, and Auckland are not homeports in this program. The Carnival pages say Splendor is year-round from Sydney and Encounter is year-round from Brisbane. They do not print a sentence that cancels other homeports. Use Cruise Passenger for that reading, and the Carnival pages for the two ships they name.

Carnival Cruise Line · Itineraries

Carnival opens a two-ship 2028-29 Australia season

Matthew No Fluff Cruising · Oct 29, 2026, 7:12 AM ET

Photo: Carnival Cruise Line · Seatrade Cruise News · Carnival Splendor, left, and Carnival Encounter · https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/carnival-releases-two-ship-2028-29-australia-programme

The short answerCarnival Australia said on 28 Oct 2026 that Carnival Splendor sails year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter sails year-round from Brisbane for 2028/29. The release adds 112 voyages, on sale that day, including a July 2028 eclipse cruise, a new 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise, and a November 2028 Melbourne Cup cruise. It prints no fares.

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Carnival Australia put the 2028/29 program on sale on 28 Oct 2026. The Australia page, datelined Sydney that day, says Carnival Splendor sails year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter sails year-round from Brisbane. Carnival’s U.S. newsroom posts the same release. Seatrade Cruise News, Helen Hutcheon, 28 Oct, reports it.

The photo is the lead image on the Seatrade story. The caption says Carnival Splendor is on the left and Carnival Encounter is the other frame, and it credits Carnival Cruise Line. The bow on the left reads Carnival Splendor. The right-hand frame is a deck and a set of water slides. This post does not read a ship name in that frame.

The Australia page uses a different lead file, named EncounterAirlieBeach. That page does not print a caption or a photographer. This post does not use that file.

What is on sale?

The Australia page says the voyages are on sale from today. The page date is 28 Oct 2026. It adds 112 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

The U.S. newsroom post prints 112 as well. Cruise Weekly, 28 Oct, says more than 100. Use 112. That is the figure on both Carnival pages.

Booking paths on those pages are carnival.com.au, a local travel agent, or 13 31 94. None of the pages read for this post prints a fare.

Which cruises are named?

Three highlights are on the Carnival pages and in Seatrade.

A solar eclipse cruise leaves Brisbane on Carnival Encounter in July 2028. The pages do not print the day inside July.

A new 13-day cruise leaves Brisbane for New Zealand on Carnival Encounter. The pages do not print the port list or the month.

A Melbourne Cup cruise leaves Sydney on Carnival Splendor in November 2028. The pages do not print the cup-week dates.

The Australia page also lists shorter trips. There are 23 three-day getaways from Sydney and Brisbane. There are 18 Tangalooma-Moreton Island voyages from Sydney. On those calls, the page says you can book a beachfront cabana at the Tangalooma Dunes Cabana Club. It says the cabanas are exclusive to Carnival guests when the ships are at the island. It does not print a cabana price.

Carnival Encounter has 12 cruises from Brisbane to Airlie Beach. The Mutiny on the Bounty cruise to Fiji returns. Carnival lists six voyages to New Zealand between mid-2028 and mid-2029. Seatrade prints those same counts. Cruise Weekly does not.

What about the dry dock?

Carnival Splendor enters dry dock in August 2028. The Australia page and the U.S. newsroom post both say she returns for the rest of the 2028/29 program. Neither page names the yard.

Cruise Passenger, Tallis Boerne Marcus, 28 Oct, says that dry dock means you can sail to Singapore and back. That line is Cruise Passenger’s. It is not on the Carnival pages. Do not book a Singapore leg off this release until Carnival prints the port.

What did Anton Loeb say?

The Australia page calls Anton Loeb Asst Vice President Sales and Marketing. Seatrade calls him assistant vice president of sales and marketing.

He says the program should be popular with first-time cruisers and with families and friends who want a fun, great-value holiday. He says to book early so you do not miss out. He says Carnival remains the only cruise line sailing in Australia all year. He says this release takes the line through the next three years, to mid-2029.

Those sentences are the quotes. They are not a fare, and they are not a promise that a cabin is still open.

What do the other write-ups add?

Seatrade ties this program to Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa leaving Australian waters in March 2028. That exit was already announced. The 15 Oct story has the dates and the earlier line that this 2028/29 program was still to come. This page is that program.

Cruise Passenger calls this the first Australia season with just two ships, down from four. It says Carnival is not adding new ports, and that the new sailing is the 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise. It also says the only homeports on the schedule are Sydney and Brisbane, so a Melbourne, Adelaide, or Auckland homeport is not in this release. The Carnival pages name Sydney for Splendor and Brisbane for Encounter. They do not print a sentence that shuts the other cities. If you need a homeport outside those two, read Cruise Passenger as a reading of the schedule, then check carnival.com.au for the ship you want.

What this means for you

If you want Carnival in Australia after Adventure and Luminosa leave, the ships in this release are Splendor from Sydney and Encounter from Brisbane. The trips are on sale now, on the 28 Oct pages. The release prints no fare.

If you want the eclipse cruise, the 13-day New Zealand cruise, or Melbourne Cup week, the Carnival pages name the ship and the month. They do not name the day. Open the sailing on carnival.com.au before you treat a headline month as your departure date.

If you were waiting on a Singapore dry-dock cruise, that port is in Cruise Passenger. It is not in the Carnival text read here. More Carnival reporting is on the Carnival news hub.

Questions

Which ships, and from where?: Carnival Australia's page, Sydney, 28 Oct 2026, says Carnival Splendor sails year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter sails year-round from Brisbane. The same wording is on Carnival's U.S. newsroom post dated 28 Oct 2026. Seatrade Cruise News, Helen Hutcheon, 28 Oct, reports that split and adds that Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa are set to leave local waters in March 2028. That March exit is the earlier Carnival announcement, covered separately. This release is the program that follows it.
What can you book, and when?: The Australia page says the voyages are on sale from today, on a page dated 28 Oct 2026. It lists 112 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Named highlights are a solar eclipse cruise from Brisbane on Carnival Encounter in July 2028, a new 13-day cruise from Brisbane to New Zealand on Encounter, and a Melbourne Cup cruise from Sydney on Carnival Splendor in November 2028. It also lists 23 three-day getaways from Sydney and Brisbane, 18 Tangalooma-Moreton Island voyages from Sydney, 12 Encounter cruises from Brisbane to Airlie Beach, a returning Mutiny on the Bounty cruise to Fiji, and six New Zealand voyages between mid-2028 and mid-2029. Seatrade prints the same counts. Cruise Weekly, 28 Oct, says more than 100 voyages and does not print 112.
What happens to Splendor in August 2028?: The Australia page and the U.S. newsroom post say Carnival Splendor enters dry dock in August 2028 and then returns for the rest of the 2028/29 program. Neither page names the yard or a repositioning port. Cruise Passenger, Tallis Boerne Marcus, 28 Oct, says the dry dock means you can sail to Singapore and back. That Singapore line is Cruise Passenger's. It is not in the Carnival pages read for this post.
Does the release print a fare or a homeport outside Sydney and Brisbane?: No fare is on the Australia page, the U.S. newsroom post, Seatrade, or Cruise Weekly. Booking paths on the Carnival pages are carnival.com.au, a local travel agent, or 13 31 94. Cruise Passenger says the scheduled homeports are Sydney and Brisbane, and that Melbourne, Adelaide, and Auckland are not homeports in this program. The Carnival pages say Splendor is year-round from Sydney and Encounter is year-round from Brisbane. They do not print a sentence that cancels other homeports. Use Cruise Passenger for that reading, and the Carnival pages for the two ships they name.

Sources

Tier 1 = the cruise line’s own published material · Tier 2 = an established cruise-news outlet

TIER 1Carnival Australia news page, Sydney, 28 October 2026, Carnival Cruise Line has unveiled its 2028/29 program: Carnival Splendor and Carnival Encounter sail year-round from Sydney and Brisbane. The program adds 112 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Highlights are a solar eclipse cruise from Brisbane on Carnival Encounter in July 2028, a new 13-day cruise from Brisbane to New Zealand on Carnival Encounter, and a Melbourne Cup cruise from Sydney on Carnival Splendor in November 2028. The page lists 23 three-day getaway sailings from Sydney and Brisbane, 18 Tangalooma-Moreton Island voyages from Sydney with beachfront cabanas at the Tangalooma Dunes Cabana Club exclusive to Carnival guests when the ships are visiting, 12 Carnival Encounter cruises from Brisbane to Airlie Beach, the return of the Mutiny on the Bounty cruise to Fiji, and six voyages to New Zealand between mid-2028 and mid-2029. Carnival Splendor enters dry dock in August 2028 and then returns for the rest of the 2028/29 program. Anton Loeb, Asst Vice President Sales and Marketing, says the program should be popular with first-time cruisers and with families and friends who want a fun, great-value holiday, and he tells people to book early. He says Carnival remains the only cruise line sailing in Australia all year, and that this release takes the line through the next three years, to mid-2029. Voyages are on sale from today. Booking is carnival.com.au, a local travel agent, or 13 31 94. The page prints no fare, no eclipse date inside July, no port list for the 13-day cruise, no dry-dock yard, and no Singapore sailing. The lead image file is EncounterAirlieBeach-scaled.jpg. The page does not print a caption or a photographer.
Carnival Cruise Line, checked 28 Oct 2026 · Read 29 Oct 2026. Load-bearing source. The page schema lists datePublished 2026-10-28T00:14:17+00:00. This post uses the Seatrade lead image, which captions both ships, rather than the uncaptioned Australia file.
TIER 1Carnival Cruise Line U.S. newsroom, 28 Oct 2026, Carnival Cruise Line Reveals 2028/29 Program for Australia On Sale Today: the same ship split, the same 112 voyages, the same destination list, the same July 2028 eclipse cruise, the same 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise, the same November 2028 Melbourne Cup cruise, the same 23, 18, 12, and six counts, the same August 2028 Splendor dry dock, the same Loeb quotes, and the same booking paths. The page does not print a Sydney dateline. It prints no fare, no dry-dock port, and no Singapore sailing. Its social image on this check was the Carnival logo, not a ship photo.
Carnival Cruise Line, checked 28 Oct 2026 · Read 29 Oct 2026. Matches the Australia page on the counts and the on-sale line.
TIER 2Seatrade Cruise News, Helen Hutcheon, 28 Oct 2026: with Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa set to leave local waters in March 2028, Carnival unveiled a 2028/29 program with Carnival Splendor year-round from Sydney and Carnival Encounter year-round from Brisbane. The ships make 112 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania. The article prints the eclipse cruise, the 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise, the Melbourne Cup cruise, 23 three-day getaways, 18 Tangalooma-Moreton Island voyages, 12 Airlie Beach cruises, the Mutiny on the Bounty Fiji cruise, six New Zealand voyages between mid-2028 and mid-2029, and the August 2028 Splendor dry dock. It quotes Anton Loeb, assistant vice president of sales and marketing, on first-time cruisers and on Carnival remaining the only cruise line sailing in Australia all year through mid-2029. The photo caption says Carnival Splendor, left, and Carnival Encounter will operate the program, and it credits Carnival Cruise Line. The article prints no fare, no 13 31 94, and no Singapore sailing.
Seatrade Cruise News, checked 28 Oct 2026 · Read 29 Oct 2026. The hero is this article's lead image. The caption puts Splendor on the left. This post does not read a ship name on the right-hand deck photo.
TIER 2Cruise Passenger, Tallis Boerne Marcus, 28 Oct 2026: this is Carnival's first Australia season with just two ships after Adventure and Luminosa leave, taking the local fleet from four ships to two. Splendor and Encounter operate from Sydney and Brisbane. The article says Carnival will not visit new destinations or ports, and that the new sailing is the 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise, plus the July 2028 eclipse cruise on Encounter. It prints 23 three-day getaways, 18 short Sydney cruises to Tangalooma/Moreton Island with cabanas that can be rented, and 12 Airlie Beach sailings. It says Splendor's August 2028 dry dock means guests can sail to Singapore and back, and that new features may be added. It says the only homeports in the program are Sydney and Brisbane, so Melbourne, Adelaide, and Auckland homeports are not in it, and that people elsewhere in Australia fly to Sydney or Brisbane. It quotes Loeb on booking early and on sailing in Australia all year through mid-2029. It prints no fare and no 112.
Cruise Passenger, checked 28 Oct 2026 · Read 29 Oct 2026. The no-new-ports line, the Singapore dry-dock sailing, and the closed regional homeports are this article. The Carnival pages do not print them.
TIER 2Cruise Weekly, 28 Oct 2026: Carnival revealed its 2028/29 Australia program, with Carnival Splendor sailing from Sydney and Carnival Encounter sailing from Brisbane. On sale now are more than 100 voyages to the South Pacific, Far North Queensland, New Zealand, and Tasmania, with a solar eclipse cruise from Brisbane on Encounter in July 2028, a new 13-day Brisbane to New Zealand cruise on Encounter, and a Melbourne Cup cruise from Sydney on Splendor in November 2028. The page gives 13 31 94. It does not print 112, year-round, the 23, 18, 12, or six counts, the dry dock, a fare, or Loeb.
Cruise Weekly, checked 28 Oct 2026 · Read 29 Oct 2026. Use 112 from the Carnival pages. This page's more than 100 is a rounder figure.

Prices and policies move. This page was last checked on Oct 29, 2026, 7:12 AM ET.