Australia is set to ride the wave of a resurgent summer cruise season as 46 ships, including 20 CLIA cruise lines, bring economic opportunities back to ports around the country as part of a carefully managed cruising revival.
CLIA hosted more than 500 industry delegates at the Cruise360 Australasia conference in Sydney, which marked the first time the region’s cruise community has gathered for more than two years.
The event also helps launch CLIA’s Cruise Month campaign, promoting new cruising opportunities in the region and around the world throughout September.
CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said: “As we move into spring and summer, we’ll see more international cruise ships that we’ve been missing over the past two seasons,” Mr Katz said.
“Each visit will bring new visitors and new opportunities for local communities, helping to rebuild an industry previously worth more than $5 billion a year to the Australian economy.”
Visiting international vessels will make their first seasonal deployments and world-cruise stopovers in more than two years, joining the homeported ships already shoring up the nation’s cruising recovery.
Debutants, seasonal ships and homeported heroes
- P&O Cruises’ Pacific Explorer and Pacific Encounter are already operating in Australian waters and will be joined by Pacific Adventure in October.
- Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess is currently sailing her first local season with Grand Princess debuting in Australia in October, while Island Princess will visit as part of a world cruise.
- PONANT ships Le Lapérouse and Le Soléal have been operating in the Kimberley region since May and Le Ponant will make her debut in the Kimberley in April.
- Silversea’s Silver Explorer has been in the Kimberley since earlier this year with Silver Muse, Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper sailing to Australia from December to March.
- Coral Expeditions has three Australian-flagged expedition ships in Australia – Coral Discoverer, Coral Adventurer and Coral Geographer, while APT’s Australian-owned MS Caledonian Sky has also been operating in the Kimberley.
- Carnival Cruise Line is introducing Carnival Luminosa, which will be based in Brisbane from November, and Carnival Splendor will return to Sydney in late September.
- Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas will be the biggest ships in the region this season, while Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse will debut in the region on 22 October.
- Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth will make her first circumnavigation of Australia in November and Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria will also visit on world cruises.
- Holland America Line’s Noordam and Westerdam will arrive in Australia in November and Zuiderdam will visit as part of a world cruise itinerary.
- Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spirit will make her debut Down Under in December with Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Explorer arriving in late December for her first Asia-Pacific season.
- Windstar Cruises’ all-suite yacht Star Breeze will make her inaugural visit to Australia with Oceania Cruises’ Regatta arriving in Sydney in December.
- Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Quest will sail a variety of cruises in the region, while Seabourn’s Seabourn Odyssey will sail Australia and New Zealand from December to March with Seabourn Sojourn visiting coasts as part of a world cruise in March.
- MSC Cruises will bring MSC Poesia and MSC Magnifica and other visitors to Australian waters include Aida Cruises’ AIDAsol, P&O UK’s Arcadia and TUI Cruises’ Europa and Europa 2.
To find out more, visit cruising.org.au
