The giant cruise ship Carnival is about to send a ship to a place where it almost never happens
Festival cruise line is offering something it almost never does: an excursion to Japan.
The world’s second-largest yachting brand announced Wednesday that its 4,008-passenger Carnival Panorama will operate a one-off cruise from Long Beach, California, to Yokohama, Japan (the port of Tokyo), on August 22, 2024.
The voyage would be unusually long for a Carnival sailing—18 nights—and bring calls in both Alaska and Japan as the ship circled the top of the Pacific Basin en route to Yokohama.
While sailing along the Alaskan coast, 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 days of sea travel, plus a day of scenic excursions at the Endicott Arm.
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The trip comes as Carnival repositions Carnival Panorama to Asia for a month for an overhaul at a dry dock at a shipyard. There are currently no cruises scheduled for the ship in September 2024.
After a month-long break in Asia, Carnival Panorama is returning to North America with an unusual itinerary for the brand announced Wednesday: a 25-day trans-Pacific voyage from Singapore to Long Beach. .
The second voyage will commence on October 12, 2024 and will have stops at Phu My, Vietnam (port of Ho Chi Minh City); Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Guam; and the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Maui as the ship headed east across the Pacific to California.
Related: 5 best destinations you can visit on a Carnival ship
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Such long journeys are extremely rare for the Carnival, known for its focus on short excursions out of US ports. Nearly all of the service’s ships sail out of US ports. The only usual exceptions are the small number of vessels deployed in Australia to provide excursions aimed at the local market; Occasionally, the service will offer one-off excursions from European ports.
Among the ships that Carnival deploys to Australia is the Carnival Splendor carrying 3,012 passengers, which will also operate two unusually long cruises in 2024.
In addition to announcing Carnival Panorama’s long rides on Wednesday, Carnival said Carnival Splendor will operate a 15-night cruise from Sydney to Singapore on July 21, 2024, which will feature two stops in Indonesia along with some port calls in Australia.
The ship will make a 16-night return journey to Sydney on 24 August 2024, which will also make several stops in Indonesia.
Like the Festival Panorama cruises, the longer Glory Festival cruises also involve the ship heading to Asia for an overhaul at a dry dock at the shipyard.
As of Thursday morning, fares for the 18-night trip to Japan start at $1,979 per person, excluding taxes and fees. Fares for a 25-night trip from Singapore to California start at $1,359 per person.
Long trips to and from Singapore during Carnival Splendor start at $755 per person.
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