Cruise giant Carnival is about to send a ship somewhere it almost never does
Carnival Cruise Line is offering something it almost never does: a cruise to Japan.
The world's second-largest cruise brand announced Wednesday that its 4,008-passenger Carnival Panorama would operate a one-time voyage from Long Beach, California, to Yokohama, Japan (the port for Tokyo), on Aug. 22, 2024.
The trip will be unusually long for a Carnival sailing —18 nights — and bring calls in both Alaska and Japan as the ship arcs around the top of the Pacific basin on its way to Yokohama.
As it sails up the coast of Alaska, the ship will visit Ketchikan, Endicott Arm Fjord, Sitka and Icy Strait Point. Calls in Japan will include the northern ports of Kushiro and Aomori. The itinerary includes 11 sea days, plus a day of scenic cruising in Endicott Arm.
The voyage comes as Carnival repositions Carnival Panorama to Asia for a month for an overhaul in a dry dock at a shipyard. No cruises are currently scheduled for the ship in September 2024.
After the monthlong stay in Asia, Carnival Panorama will return to North America by way of another unusual-for-the-brand itinerary announced Wednesday: a 25-day transpacific voyage from Singapore to Long Beach.
The latter trip will begin Oct. 12, 2024, and brings stops in Phu My, Vietnam (the port for Ho Chi Minh City); Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Guam; and the islands of Oahu and Maui in Hawaii as the vessel sails eastward across the Pacific to California.
Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Carnival ship
Such far-ranging itineraries are extremely rare for Carnival, which is known for its focus on short cruises out of U.S. ports. Nearly all the line's ships sail out of U.S. ports. The only regular exceptions are a small number of vessels deployed in Australia to offer cruises aimed at the local market; occasionally, the line will offer one-off cruises from European ports.
Among the ships Carnival deploys to Australia is its 3,012-passenger Carnival Splendor, which also will operate two unusually long itineraries in 2024.
In addition to announcing the long Carnival Panorama sailings Wednesday, Carnival said Carnival Splendor would operate a 15-night voyage from Sydney to Singapore on July 21, 2024, that would bring two stops in Indonesia in addition to several calls in Australia.
The ship will make a return voyage of 16 nights to Sydney on Aug. 24, 2024, which also will bring several stops in Indonesia.
Lke the Carnival Panorama sailings, the longer Carnival Splendor sailings also are related to the ship sailing to Asia for an overhaul in a dry dock at a shipyard.
As of Thursday morning, fares for the 18-night sailing to Japan started at $1,979 per person, not including taxes and fees. Fares for the 25-night sailing from Singapore to California start at $1,359 per person.
The long sailings to and from Singapore on Carnival Splendor start at $755 per person.
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