CRUISE UPDATE
AUSTRALIA is about to witness another record summer cruise season with more than 640 cruise ship visits scheduled for ports right around the country over the coming months. Thirty-six ships from CLIA member cruise lines will visit our shores between October 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015 and between them they will make a total of 642 calls to Australian ports. That’s a massive influx of tourism dollars which will be spread around the coast from Brisbane to Busselton and Melbourne to Margaret River. We will also get our first peek at three ships making their inaugural trip down under this summer. After kicking off the summer cruise season with its arrival in Sydney on September 22, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Legend will be a regular in Sydney’s Harbour offering a summer of cruising alongside sister ship Carnival Spirit. We’ll also see Ponant’s L’austral in local waters for the first time after it arrives at Cape York on Christmas Eve, while MSC Orchestra will make its maiden Australian visits in 2015 after it cruises into Cairns on March 13. It’s not only the biggest cruise season in terms of numbers, it’s also the biggest for regional ports with ships making a variety of calls to more off-the-beaten-track parts of our coastline. Busselton, Eden, Esperance, Albany, Port Hedland and Geelong are among the regional towns who will be sharing in this summer’s mega wave of cruise tourism. Some will be welcoming a cruise ship for the first time with an impressive 38 maiden port visits occurring this summer – twice as many as last year. Sydney still remains the cruising gateway but with 18 ships making a total of 253 roundtrip cruises from ports around the country, the Harbour City won’t be the only one reaping the economic rewards of a turnaround call. The number of roundtrip itineraries on offer this summer is significantly more than the 202 we saw during the 2013/14 season, which means a significant spike in economic returns as well as a magnificent parade of ships sailing in and out of our ports. Because most of the 36 ships making calls this summer are visiting from the northern hemisphere, there will also be a parade of tens of thousands of international tourists marching onto our shores. Cruising generates economic benefits for Australia 12 months of the year but during this record peak season, we’ll see a huge flotilla of ships and all the wonderful flow-ons they bring with them. As cruise season comes to a crescendo in February, we’ll be celebrating with two of the biggest events on the cruise calendar happening over consecutive days at the end of the month – the Cruise3sixty Australasia conference and the 2014 Cruise Industry Awards. To make it easier for those travelling from interstate or overseas to attend, both events will be held at the revamped Star Event Centre, Sydney, on February 27 and 28. For more information and to buy tickets visit www.cruising.org.au SILVERSEA Cruises turns 20 this year – but that’s not the only reason for celebration. Australia is now the upmarket brand’s third largest market, and Silversea president Europe, Africa, Middle East & Asia Pacific, Steve Odell expects us to move into second place (overtaking the UK) in the next 24 months or so. Silversea’s 20th birthday celebrations have rolled around the world, with events which have also launched its 2015 program in London, Monaco, Venice, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra. Speaking with travelbulletin last month, Odell said the company had its sights firmly set on Asia. But he also singled out Australia as a strong performer. “The business books early, it has the highest yield and Australians travel the longest,” he said, with Aussie passengers staying on board for an average of 16 days. Such is the importance of the local market that Silversea earlier this year debuted its Silver Discoverer in Australia. More than 60% of passengers have been Australians. Aussies have a big affinity to expedition cruising, with products such as Silversea’s Galapagos program seen as having strong potential.