Carnival Cruise Line has adjusted itineraries for the Carnival Encounter after to the sale of Conflict Islands port in Papua New Guinea.
The new owner brings an end to cruise ship visits to the destination. Sailings from 2026 to 2028 wil be affected. Guests are to receive notifications about the changes while Carnival examines alternatives.
Carnival Encounter scheduled six visits to Conflict Islands through 2028. Two calls, planned for 2026 on June 16 and August 2, formed part of ten-night South Pacific cruises from Brisbane. Itineraries included other Papua New Guinea ports like Alotau and Rabaul. The vessel is baseds in Australia for regional routes.
Carnival has confirmed plans to contact guests in January 2026 with finalised alternatives. Other cruise lines have not, as yet, adjusted scheduled calls to the port.
Carnival shared “Carnival has been advised that Conflict Islands, Papua New Guinea, has been sold to a new owner and will no longer be available for cruise ship visits. We are now actively evaluating the alternatives for your itinerary and will be in touch in January 2026, once we have finalised plans”.
