To be precise 22 vessels in all (including P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and the luxury line Seabourn) will frequent Australian waters this coming cruise summer season, featuring a capacity of 530,000+ passengers. The economic impact of this activity is estimated to be in the region of $4 billion to the Australian economy.
Meanwhile, Carnival's main competitor globally Royal Caribbean is planning to base 7 cruise ships (20% of the Royal Caribbean global fleet) in Australia, with 4 ships directly home ported in Sydney, 2 floating between various Australian ports and 1 in Brisbane. By all accounts forward bookings for the summer are reported to be significantly ahead of 2014 and expectation are 30% growth year on year.
The Radiance of the Seas, which is (scheduled for Sydney 95 calls) will be the first vessel to commence the 2015 cruising season. Moving forward, Royal Caribbean plans to visit Port Kembla, south of Sydney in the future and is seriously considering the port for the 2018-2019 summer, enabling it to extend the summer cruising season.
In essence it is widely known that savvy Australians like cruising due to the fact that the majority of costs all inclusive. Cruise Lines have adapted to cruising product to meet the tastes and preferences of the Australian consumer, which in the grand scheme of things is not so far removed from the American cruisers. Moreover, most established Cruise Lines sell and operate in Australian dollars so there is no confusion or currency risk.
Only China is outpacing Australia in terms of Cruise Industry growth and the trend is expected to continue for years to come as Australians embrace the cruising world!
