Cruise Port Reopens for Regular Calls Following Major Earthquake

Eight months after a devastating earthquake crippled much of the infrastructure in the South Pacific destination of Vanuatu, local officials are heralding the return of cruise tourism.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Adventure will be the first cruise ship with regularly scheduled port calls to visit Vanuatu’s Port Vila. Her first call is set for August 8, 2025 as the ship sails a 10-night Vanuatu & New Caledonia voyage roundtrip from Sydney, Australia.

Other calls on the itinerary include Mystery Island, Vanuatu, Lifou, and Noumea, New Caledonia.

Carnival Adventure is not the first ship to call at Port Vila in 2025. The destination was a scheduled port call on Oceania Cruises’ Oceania Insignia’s world cruise on June 4, 2025.

Also, the line’s Oceania Regatta visited Port Vila on July 7, 2025 as part of her 72-night Asia & Oceania Odyssey Tokyo to Honolulu voyage.

The 2,600-guest Carnival Adventure will sail itineraries that feature Port Vila through September 2025. While the ship will continue to homeport in Sydney year-round, Port Vila is not included in winter 2025-26 itineraries, however, the ship will resume calls there in summer 2026.

Carnival Adventure and sister ship Carnival Encounter are the former Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter operated by P&O Australia, which, like Carnival Cruise Line, is a brand of Carnival Corporation.

In June 2024, the parent company announced that the P&O brand would be dissolved and the two ships transferred to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet. Carnival Encounter, also accommodating 2,600 guests, is homeported in Brisbane, Australia, and features Port Vila on certain itineraries in 2025.

Like other cruise lines, Carnival discontinued visits to Vanuatu following the 7.3 earthquake that hit the destination on December 16, 2024. It caused massive damage to the island, prompting Carnival Cruise Line to donate $60,000 to a local paramedic service that provided care to injured people.

Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas are among other cruise line ships that are returning to Port Vila in the coming months. The 4,100-guest Anthem of the Seas is homeporting in Sydney and the 4,000-guest Voyager of the Seas in Brisbane.

Local Population Gearing Up for Cruise Ship Visits

The Vanuatu Tourism Office is prepping for the launch of the destination’s first cruise tourism season since the 2024 earthquake.

In a Facebook post, the office, along with the Port Vila City Council and the Departments of Urban Affairs and Ports and Harbors, issued a community invite to a pre-cruise season meeting on July 23, 2025.

The gathering will bring local residents and businesses up to date on the preparations for the resumption of cruise tourism. Port Vila is a tender port, and discussions will include details about the destination’s temporary wharf facilities, the full cruise ship schedule, and other elements.

The tourism office is also encouraging local businesses to put up welcome banners and other decorations in advance of the cruise ships’ arrivals. Local media reports indicate that the destination is planning a Port Vila Clean-Up Campaign to beautify areas frequented by cruise passengers.

“Many people are excited because we know the benefits cruise ships bring to our country and communities,” Rachel Koran, marketing office at the Vanuatu Tourism Office, told the local media outlet. 

“We are already running awareness programs so that the public, and especially businesses, are informed and prepared to welcome the visitors on this important day,” added Koran.

The arrival of Carnival Adventure early on August 8, 2025, will be marked with a VIP ceremony attended by local government officials, who will issue a warm welcome to her passengers.

Donna Tunney

Donna Tunney is a travel news/feature writer and editor with 20-plus years covering cruise news, luxury travel, and Europe and UK destinations. A former staffer at Travel Weekly and at the USAToday Network, she also was a luxury travel columnist at Travel Market Report, and a cruise columnist at Sherman's Travel.