Carnival Luminosa

The 2009-built (as Costa Luminosa) Carnival Luminosa cruise ship is Costa's first of two LUMINOSA-class liners, followed by the sistership Costa Deliziosa (2010).

The vessel (IMO number 9398905) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI tba) and registered in Nassau. Costa Luminosa was Italy-flagged (MMSI 247257900) and registered in Genoa.

On June 15, 2022, CCL-Carnival Cruise Line announced that Costa Luminosa will be transferred from Costa to CCL in September and renamed "Carnival Luminosa". Luminosa's acquisition followed the shipowner Carnival Corporation's decision for Costa to keep Costa Magica in the fleet.

Starting in November 2022, Carnival Luminosa will operate Australia and New Zealand roundtrips from Brisbane (Queensland Australia).

When the announcement for Luminosa's acquisition by Carnival was made (June 15, 2022), the ship's schedule listed a total of 173x future voyages (itineraries with departures between June 19, 2022, and April 16, 2024). Following the announcement, all voyages between/including Sept 4, 2022, and April 14, 2024 (151x total) were canceled. Luminosa's last cruise for Costa was on Aug 28, 2022 (7-day roundtrip from Trieste Italy). Luminosa's last drydock refurbishment by Costa was in 2017.

Note: On June 23, 2021, CCL announced plans to add two additional ships to its fleet by 2023. The vessels included an EXCEL-class newbuild 2023 (Carnival Jubilee/originally was assigned to AIDA) and Costa Magica.

History - construction and ownership

Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) is a US shipping company, trademarked brand and subsidiary of Carnival Corporation (shipowner). CCL was founded in 1972 as an independent company by Ted Arison (1924-1999, co-founder of NCL Norwegian). Carnival Cruise Lines has Corporation's largest fleet as both a number of vessels and GT tonnage (ship sizes and capacities). CCL has over 1/5 of the cruise industry's worldwide market.

The 2800-passenger ship Costa Luminosa is a vessel served by professional staff and crew, but also by Peper robots - the latest cyborg technology implemented fleetwide in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon embarkation. They also assist them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions and tours. Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in 3 languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing voice tones and facial expressions.

Decks and Cabins

Costa/Carnival Luminosa staterooms (1130 total, in 14 grades) include 90x Suites, 662x Balconies, 178x Oceanviews, 180x Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 185 ft2 / 17 m2 (68% of all) and have a private step-out balcony. Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 23. The largest accommodations are the Grand Suites (455 ft2 / 43 m2, with terrace sized 105 ft2 / 9 m2).

There are also 56x Spa Staterooms (including 4x Spa Suites, 38x Spa Balcony, 14x Spa Inside). Panorama Suites are with scenic (forward and aft) deck locations, sized 370 ft2 / 35 m2, wraparound balconies, large bathrooms (with two sinks and bathtub), VIP amenities (priority embarkation, concierge service, other perks).

The boat has 12 passenger decks, of which 6 are with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Costa Luminosa features four restaurants. Its MDR, Taurus, is a beautiful 2-deck aft venue with gorgeous views. One of its best features is the way it is designed into smaller areas, each with a different ambiance. The buffet restaurant, called Ristorante Buffet Andromeda, is open for breakfast, lunch, and tea (late-afternoon snack). Andromeda operates in a lunch counter fashion, where passengers line up to plod through the variety of offerings, which is quite uncomfortable. The quality of the food is the usual steam-table fare, though some exceptions include the omelet station at breakfast, the pasta station at lunch, and the hot and crispy pizza slices available from lunchtime through the evening. Costa Luminosa also offers complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service.

Follows the complete list of Costa Luminosa restaurants and food bars.

• Ristorante Samsara (serves healthy and low-calorie food; with a complimentary dining room for guests in Samsara Spa cabins, and a specialty restaurant for other passengers at a surcharge/reservations are required)
• Ristorante Taurus (aft Dining Room, complimentary; serves open-seating breakfast and lunch, 2 fixed dinner seatings - at 6:30 pm and 9 pm)
• Ristorante Buffet Andromeda (self-service buffet restaurant, complimentary; offers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea at 4-5 pm, and dinner; in the evening is transformed into Pizzeria, complimentary, with waiter service)
• Club Luminosa (specialty dinner restaurant; reservations-only)
• Lido Dorado Bar and Buffet (offers snacks and sandwiches, lunch buffet station).

Introduced in 2021, "Destination Dishes" are complimentary and available at the MDR's/main dining rooms fleetwide. They are based on individual recipes designed by a "celebrity chef trio" (Bruno Barbieri/Italian, Helene Darroze/French, Angel Leon/Spanish) and interpret the traditional food of the destinations to be visiting by the ship on the following day of the voyage.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Costa Cruises Deliziosa and Luminosa ships are built on new smaller for Costa lines design. The balance of slightly smaller size and exotic routes plays a good part in the wish of Costa to orient these two cruise ships to higher-spending guests. Luminosa cruise ship appeals to new passengers who want to travel to thrilling destinations on a vessel still offering all mega-sized conveniences of Costa Crociere. And these are from vast spa amenities and kids club to Grand Prix simulator and other amusement options. Costa Luminosa ship provides two dining rooms, casino, theater, two show lounges, library, steam room, modern fitness center, 4 swimming pools, and 5 jacuzzis plus SPA.

Among amenities, onboard Luminosa is the three-level wellness facility with a gym, called "Samsara Spa". It offers the guest a Turkish bath, a thalassotherapy pool, UVA-ray solarium, sauna, many treatment rooms. Entertainment options on board include a 4D cinema, a huge three-level theater, an 18-hole championship golf simulator, PlayStation World area, Grand Prix race car simulator. The ship also has 290 original artworks and 4730 prints onboard.

Follows the complete list of Costa Luminosa lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Teatro Phoenix (800-seat, 3-tiered theatre, and main show lounge; hosts grand scale show productions, musicals, classical concerts, ballet performances, circus, and laser light shows)
• Cinema Mizar (4D cinema room, featuring 3D films with moving seats)
• Grand Bar Elettra (with own dance floor and stage for live performances; hosts quiz games and fashion reviews)
• Rigel Cigar Lounge and Bar (selling cigars and fine liquor)
• Sala Carte (cards room)
• Casino Vega (served by bar Vega)
• Luminosa Atrium (9-deck high "Atrio Supernova" - open-floor area with live music and entertainment, served by Atrium Lobby Bar Supernova)
• Discoteca Altair (Disco Nightclub, DJ program nightly)
• Antares Piano Bar (live music, dance floor, cabaret-style performances)
• Caffetteria Sirius (specialty coffee and chocolates bar/patisserie)
• Biblioteca Bellatrix and Internet Point (Library/computers room)
• Galleria Shops (duty and tax-free shops for brand watches, jewelry, perfumes, fashion clothes, Costa-logo merchandise, sportswear, gifts, tobacco, and liquor)
• Photo Gallery and Shop; Galleria d'Arte (Art Gallery)
• Libra Lounge and Bar; Virgo Lounge and Bar
• Bar Scuderia Costa (themed bar Formula 1 with Grand Prix simulator)
• Mondo Virtuale (Video Games Arcade)
• Cappella (Wedding Chapel, also used for religious services)
• Squok Club (kids lounge with Mini Club (3-6 yo) and Maxi Club (7-11 yo) playing rooms; with complimentary kids program and supervised activities; complimentary babysitting)
• Teen Zone (teenagers' lounge with Teen Junior (12-14 yo) and Teen Club (15-17 yo) rooms; complimentary supervised activities, themed parties, sports contests)
• Centro Banessere Samsara (2-level Spa and Wellness complex, with Fitness and separate Spinning/Aerobics Room; Venus Beauty Salon, Massages and Treatments Rooms, Japanese TeaRoom, Relaxation Room, Thermal Suites, Solarium, Tepidarium (heated loungers), Laconium (low humidity sauna), Aroma Steam Baths, Thalassotherapy pool, Turkish Bath, Solarium, Saunas, Kinesis Room. All guests in Samsara Spa staterooms have free access to most of the Spa complex)
• Lido Dorado pool area (lido pool with two Whirlpools, huge LED screen, PlayStation nights; served by Lido Dorado Bar)
• Delphinus pool area (with two Whirlpools, served by Lido Delphinus Bar)
• Lido Squok (kids' mini Aquapark)
• Balconata Dorado (outdoor movie screen)
• Area Yoga (outdoor area)
• Campo da Gioco (combined court for tennis and basketball); Pista da Jogging (Power Walking/Jogging Track), doubled with a Roller Skating Track; Putting Green Area; Virtual Golf Game.

Itineraries

Carnival Luminosa's itinerary program is based on Australia-New Zealand voyages (roundtrips from homeport Brisbane, Queensland Australia) and Alaskan voyages from Seattle (Washington USA). Transpacific crossings on relocation between Australia and Alaska via Hawaii (RepositionCruises.com) are offered seasonally.

Out of Brisbane QLD, Carnival Luminosa visits Queensland's favorite destinations Great Barrier Reef and Airlie Beach, as well as destinations in New Caledonia (Noumea/Grande Terre island and Lifou Island), Vanuatu (Port Vila/Efate Island and Aneityum/Mystery Island), Fiji, Papua New Guinea.

Seasonally (during summer), Luminosa is deployed in Alaska (inaugural Alaskan season starts in May 2023) for 7-day roundtrips from Seattle WA. The program also includes northbound and southbound Transpacific crossings (RepositionCruises.com) between Australia and the USA via Hawaii (Honolulu).

Costa Luminosa itineraries

Costa Luminosa's itinerary program was initially based on 10-day Caribbean roundtrips out of homeport Miami Florida USA. In the summer, Luminosa operated in Europe on Mediterranean and Baltic itineraries (leaving from Stockholm and Sankt Petersburg Russia), with Transatlantic crossings on seasonal relocation ().

In January 2018, Costa Luminosa started a 106-night / 107-day World Cruise (itinerary January 6 - April 22) roundtrip from Venice Italy, The around-the-world voyage visited a total of 41 ports and popular travel destinations, like the Caribbean, Panama Canal (transit), Pacific Mexico, USA (California, Hawaii), South Pacific Islands, Australia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia (Singapore / 2 overnights), Suez Canal (transit), For the full list of ports of call see in the ship's wiki section.

For winter 2020-2021 Costa planned for Luminosa a South America program based on 7-night roundtrips from Santos (Brazil) visiting Buenos Aires (Argentina), Itajai (Brazil), and Montevideo (Uruguay). However, this program was canceled and replaced with Eastern Mediterranean (Adriatic) roundtrips leaving from Italy to ports in Greece and Croatia.

Costa Luminosa's 2022-2023-2024 schedule listed mainly 7-day Mediterranean itineraries leaving from homeports in Italy (Trieste, Venice-Marghera, Genoa), Spain (Barcelona) and France (Marseille). The program also included a 108-day World Cruise (roundtrip from Genoa) - read more in the ship's Wiki section.