At its annual general meeting for shareholders held in Southampton, England, Carnival Corporation & plc announced that Carnival Cruise Lines' 1,486-passenger Jubilee will be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in fall 2004, more than doubling the size of the brand's operations in the region. The 47,262-ton Jubilee, which will be renamed, will be the largest cruise ship based year-round in Australia. She will join the Pacific Sky that is also based year round in Australia and together both ships will deliver a
fun, easygoing holiday experience to their passengers.
The Jubilee and Pacific Sky will sail year-round on seven to 14 day cruises
to the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuata and Tonga as
well as to New Zealand and Australia, including a schedule from Brisbane for
part of the year, opening up a new market for P&O Cruises Australia. The
opportunity of the arrival of the Jubilee will also be taken to extend the
seasonal deployment of the Pacific Sky in New Zealand, supporting the
further growth of this market.
These two Australian fun ships will join the premium cruise ship Pacific
Princess, which is also deployed in the Australian market for part of the
year. Upon the completion of its service for Carnival Cruise Lines, the
Jubilee will undergo a multi-million-dollar refurbishment to assume the
characteristics of a typical P&O Cruises Australian fun ship.
"We are continually exploring opportunities to take advantage of the
synergies that exist within the various Carnival Corp. & plc brands. The
transfer of the Jubilee to P&O Cruises Australia is yet another example of
optimizing asset utilization to benefit our brands and maximize returns for
the group," said Carnival Corp. & plc Chairman and CEO Micky Arison. He
noted that while no immediate timetable has been finalized, the Jubilee will
be deployed in Australia in time for the 2004 summer cruise season, which
begins in November.
The Swedish-built Jubilee, which entered service in May 1986, currently
operates four- and five-day Mexico sailings from Galveston, Texas, and will
begin a seven-day Caribbean cruise program
from San Juan in September.