Celebrity Solstice will be the first of 41 CLIA member line cruise ships coming to Australia for the local summer season when she arrives in Sydney on October 8. This compares with 38 ships during the previous October-April period.
They will make almost 900 calls at ports around Australia—up 10%.
‘Anyone wanting evidence of the continuing rapid growth of the cruise industry in Australia just needs to look at the horizon this summer,’ said CLIA Australasia commercial director Brett Jardine.
Jardine said Royal Caribbean’s 167,000gt Ovation of the Seas will be the largest ship to visit Australia and Seabourn Encore will be the youngest when she arrives two weeks after she is officially named in Singapore.
Eight ships will be making their maiden visits Down Under, with close to 70 maiden calls to coastal towns and cities.
‘It’s going to be an exciting summer for communities around Australia as they welcome these wonderful ships and share in the A$3.6 billion in economic benefits that flow from cruise tourism in Australia annually,’ he said.
Jardine said just some of the highlights are:
- Holland America Line’s Maasdam making the first of the maiden ship calls when she debuts in Sydney on October 20
- The largest Princess ship to sail from Australia, the 3,082-passenger Emerald Princess
- The debut of the 92,000gt Norwegian Star which will make seven maiden Australian calls, commencing with Darwin on January 29
- The maiden visit of Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa 2 which will make 13 inaugural calls around the country
- The inaugural visit of Oceania’s Sirena which will make eight maiden calls to local ports
- A royal rendezvous of Cunard’s remastered flagship Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in Sydney on February 25
- The first round voyage from Australia to South America by Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess, departing Sydney on January 11
- The first call to Port Kembla by Radiance of the Seas on October 30
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