Carnival Luminosa, Feb 23, 2025. 11-Day South Pacific

[MegBees]

Welcome to Carnival Luminosa 11-Day South Pacific February 23, 2025.

Our cruise is a little way off yet, but definately looking forward to getting back into cruising after a 10 year break.

I hope everyone can introduce themselves and share some hints and tips. 

Let the countdown begin!

[drvmywifecrzy]

What do you know about the ports in this itinerary? 

[MegBees]

Hi! Port Vila is great for duty free shopping. Fung Kuei Duty Free was a great place to shop. 

Blue Lagoon is an amazing place to visit, as is the Cascade Waterfalls. 

Last time we went to Noumea, there wasn't much to do, but we were there on a Monday in the afternoon and everything was closed. 

Don't know much about the other ports. I'll be doing some research on the must see and do in these other ports.

[Taters]

Hi everyone!  We are Annie and Kevin from Fairbanks, Alaska and we just booked this cruise back-to-back with the 7 night Australia preceding it on February 16, 2025 for 18 nights onboard!  We are so excited.  This will be our first trip to Australia and South Pacific islands.  This will be a very special trip for us, as we'll be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.

 

We can't wait to see Brisbane prior to the cruise.  So many new adventures are coming!

 

Cheers,

 

Annie

[Taters]

I'm wondering why this thread is not active at all.  It says there are 1.1 k views, so it must be interesting to a lot of people.  

[pault76]

My wife and I will be on this cruise.    Hopefully flights don't get to crazy expensive.

[Taters]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:40 AM, pault76 said:

My wife and I will be on this cruise.    Hopefully flights don't get to crazy expensive.

We are hoping to use our Alaska Airlines miles to get to Brisbane and back.  We are going to be watching the fares closely, and also checking into Carnival's air program to see what kind of fares they might offer.  Another thing we'll be doing is watching fares from Honolulu to Brisbane.  In the past we could have used miles to get to Honolulu, then purchased tickets from there to Brisbane for around $400 one way.  Alaska Airlines is trying to buy Hawaiian Airlines, so things may be very different once the fares become available.  There is a lot to consider and we do not want to have to pay $2000 USD for coach fares each way.  Oy!  But we're going and just can't wait!

[pault76]

We are looking into flying into Fiji and possibly staying a few days.  Not real sure just yet. Honolulu could be an option for us also.  Planning the trip is half the fun for me

[Taters]

8 hours ago, pault76 said:

We are looking into flying into Fiji and possibly staying a few days.  Not real sure just yet. Honolulu could be an option for us also.  Planning the trip is half the fun for me

I love the planning!  

[thereselevels]

Hi, guys,

 

I have the same itinerary for February 2026 on Luminosa. Do you have any tips, what do you recommend on each island, was the weather nice? I was reading somewhere (I think on Carnival website) that we might need travel insurance for New Caledonia, maybe it was supposed only for Australian citizens, but I wanna be sure.

 

Regards, 

 

Vlad

[Taters]

On 3/8/2024 at 9:45 AM, thereselevels said:

Hi, guys,

 

I have the same itinerary for February 2026 on Luminosa. Do you have any tips, what do you recommend on each island, was the weather nice? I was reading somewhere (I think on Carnival website) that we might need travel insurance for New Caledonia, maybe it was supposed only for Australian citizens, but I wanna be sure.

 

Regards, 

 

Vlad

Hi Vlad,

 

We haven't gone on this cruise yet.   It's for 2025.  We are going to be watching for guidance regarding the Covid insurance requirements for New Caledonia closely.  Nothing on sites for US citizens visiting New Caledonia mentions this requirement.  I've only been able to find that info on sites for Australian citizens.  But we will have that insurance if it is still required for Australians because we won't know how well the staff at the embarkation port in Brisbane are trained in these policies.  We don't want to be turned away!

 

Cheers,

 

Annie

[thereselevels]

Yeah, my bad, I forgot I'm in 2025 Roll Call :))

I was reading here about the insurance: https://www.carnival.com.au/already-booked/travel-insurance. 

When I inquired with the agency I booked through, they informed me that international travel insurance is mandatory for this cruise stating this:

 

"New Caledonia mandates that all guests possess international travel insurance covering both cruise and COVID-related incidents. Guests must carry printed evidence of their insurance and present it during check-in and potentially throughout the cruise. Failure to provide proof of suitable insurance will result in denied boarding."

 

Probably the travel insurance might still be mandatory for 2025 and beyond, not sure about COVID coverage though.

 

Regards,

 

Vlad