Carnival Corp will accommodate thousands of political dignitaries next month in the southwestern Pacific.

The New York-listed cruise major will charter P&O Cruises Australia's 70,310-gt Pacific Jewel (built 1990) and 77,441-gt Pacific Explorer (built 1997) and Princess Cruises' 77,499-gt Sea Princess (built 1998) to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

The VIP gathering, to be held 17 and 18 November in Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby, will consist of 10,000 delegates, senior officials and journalists from APEC's 21 member countries.