We have P&O Cruises, we have Carnival Cruise Lines and during peak we have Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Seabourn… and the list goes on.
We’re pretty spoiled for cruising choice but just like a chocaholic on a Mars-bar-a-day-diet we want more!
And what do we want? Ask the big ship lovers and the avid cruising agents, and they’ll say there’s demand for a permanent presence from Norwegian Cruise Line.
In fact, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Steve Odell, told KarryOn that while the cruise line has a small share in the Australian market, he is seeing so much demand for the line that he is confident Aussie cruise passengers will double over the next two years.
This will be achieved thanks in large part to the company’s first locally based office, which opened late last year with around five team members and has grown to over 50 employees.
Additionally, he expects Norwegian Star’s first visit to Australia and New Zealand early next year to heavily contribute to numbers, especially amongst those who want to try the ship during her short stay Down Under.
He continued, saying it’s evident that the line is heavily investing in Australia, indicating Norwegian’s confidence in the local market.
“We represent a relatively small overall share in the market, but that’s the point of having the office.”
Steve Odell, Norwegian Cruise Line Managing Director Asia Pacific
“We want to be an equal competitor, so we are investing to build the brand here and looking to increase the number of Australians taking.”
But could the line be so confident in the market that it would base a ship here for longer periods of time? Maybe even year-round?
Odell told KarryOn that while there are no set plans for a long-term Australian based ship, “it’s definitely on the radar to do that”.
“We don’t have a definitive plan for it yet,” he said.
“Bringing Star here regularly will start to develop the plan. We’ll let people get the flavour for the brand and we’ll understand more about how it could work.”
In the meantime, Norwegian Star is scheduled to depart Hong Kong on 16 January 2017 for a cruise to Sydney via Vietnam. Upon arriving in Australia, she will conduct a 12-day cruise to New Zealand departing 6 February 2017.
She will then depart Auckland for a 19-day voyage to Kuala Lumpur via the Bay of Islands, Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Cairns and Darwin.
