September 15, 2025 — 12:04am
I’m kind of a cruise snob. The big cruise ships docked at Sydney’s Circular Quay always looked obnoxious, and the passengers in matching custom Hawaiian shirts rolling giant suitcases behind them seemed to reinforce the idea that cruising in Australia, at least, was big, loud and bogan.
But after four days at sea aboard Carnival Adventure, I find myself humbled. Turns out, I had been missing out on all the fun.
Carnival Adventure off Moreton Island. Carnival offers a four-day cruise from Sydney to Moreton Island return. A report from Cruise Lines International shows Australians are the fourth-largest cruise market globally (extraordinary considering the size of our population).
In 2024, almost one in every 20 Australians took an ocean cruise. And two newer trends emerged: passengers are getting younger and cruises are getting shorter, with three- to four-day cruises growing in popularity.
I’ve signed up for a four-night taster. It might be my first cruise, but it’s also the first season that the P&O workhorse, Adventure, has rebranded under parent company Carnival Cruise Line.
Water, water everywhere … but most appealing in the Oasis pool. There were plenty of grumbles from staunch loyalists when Carnival put the much-loved P&O Australia brand to bed, folding Adventure and Splendour under the
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