Australia’s bumper cruise season kicks off today as the first ship of the summer sailed into Sydney Harbour from overseas.
Celebrity Solstice, which holds over 2800 passengers, arrived this morning after crossing the Pacific from Hawaii.
Around 70 ships from 27 different companies will sail in Aussie waters this summer, including three new cruise companies.
Virgin Voyages, Disney Cruise Line and Scenic are all venturing to Australia for the first time, hoping for a slice of the $5 billion industry.
Sydney is the nation’s biggest cruise hub, but Brisbane and Melbourne both have ships based there for summer.
Joel Katz, managing director of Cruise Lines International Association Australasia, said ship numbers this season are set to exceed pre-pandemic levels.
Ships will spend a total of 1848 port days in Australia.
That’s 18 per cent more than in 2019-20.
“We are gearing up for a spectacular summer season, bringing new ships, new cruise lines and many thousands of port calls to destinations across the region,” Katz said.
“The sheer number of ships and increasingly diverse range of itineraries on offer across our region highlight the strength, resilience and underlying demand of our local cruise industry, both as a source market and a destination.”
Long-awaited arrival, Disney Wonder, is on its way from Hawaii and is due on Friday week.
The family-favourite company will offer short and longer cruises around Australia and to New Zealand.
Virgin Voyages ship Resilient Lady will soon set sail from Greece via Singapore for Sydney, before sailing out of Melbourne from December.
Also based in Sydney for summer is Grand Princess, one of four ships from Princess Cruises heading to Australia in the coming days.
It’s currently sailing from Vancouver via New Zealand and will dock on Saturday.
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Ship spotters will also be on the lookout for Celebrity Edge, which arrives on December 9.
Ovation of the Seas, with just under 5000 passengers, will be one of the biggest ships to sail from Sydney for the summer.
Then there are ocean-going liners like the Queen Elizabeth, sailing from Sydney in January.
At the other end of the scale, Scenic Eclipse II, dubbed a “luxury discovery yacht”, will offer small group voyages around Australia for just 228 pampered passengers from April.
It even has its own helicopters and submersible.
Other smaller ultra-luxe ships – Star Breeze and Silver Muze - are set to call at Sydney Harbour this summer.
Port Authority of NSW CEO Philip confirmed a “significant increase” in cruise calls to Sydney.
“Cruising in NSW is well and truly back,” Holliday said.
Meanwhile, Brisbane will be the home port for Carnival Luminosa which has just arrived after a summer season in the US.
The cruise ships that started it all
The main cruise season lasts until the end of April with at least one ship docked in Sydney Harbour – sometimes two – at a time.
White Bay Cruise Terminal in Balmain is also in regular use for ships small enough to pass under the Harbour Bridge.
A third cruise terminal is being mooted for Wollongong after Yarra Bay near Port Botany in Sydney’s south was rejected.
More than a million Aussies go on a cruise from Australia every year, with Sydney one of the most sought-after cruising ports in the world.
