Passengers embarking on Carnival Luminosa's extensive 30-night/31-day relocation voyage from Alaska to Australia (Seattle WA to Brisbane QLD/RepositionCruises.com) received notice of an itinerary adjustment as they commenced boarding on Thursday, September 14th.
This revision entailed the cancellation of all planned Alaskan port calls, encompassing Ketchikan (Sept 16th) and Icy Strait Point/Hoonah (Sept 17th), along with the scenic cruising route near Hubbard Glacier (Sept 18th).
CCL-Carnival Cruise Line, in a formal statement, clarified that this decision was reached in partnership with their Fleet Operations Center following continuous monitoring of a low-pressure system in the wider Alaska region, anticipated to generate abnormally high swells and strong winds.
The paramount priority, as affirmed in the statement, remains the safety of both guests and crew, and this decision was deemed to be in the best interests of all concerned parties.
Consequently, Luminosa's altered itinerary necessitates spending the initial 10 days of the voyage exclusively at sea, devoid of any call ports during this period. Notably, this encompasses the crossing of the International Date Line, an event of significance on any transpacific voyage.
CCL underscored that the remainder of the cruise's route through Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia remains unaltered, with no repercussions on the scheduled arrival in Brisbane on October 15th, 2023.
To mitigate the absence of the originally planned Alaskan stops, two additional Japanese ports of call have been introduced to the revised itinerary, specifically Otaru (Sept 24th) and Hakodate (Septh 25th), located on Hokkaido (Japan's northernmost island).
CCL has assured guests booked on the affected cruise that compensation for the canceled ports will be provided, with further details to follow in the coming days.
As a goodwill gesture, the cruise line has decided to allocate a $200 onboard credit per stateroom to guests, accessible through their Sail & Sign account.
Following the scheduled arrival on October 15th, the cruise ship will spend the winter season of 2023-2024 in Australia, sailing from Brisbane until its repositioning voyage to Seattle on May 1st, 2024.