Australia set for record cruise season
Monday's maiden arrival of the superliner Carnival Legend in Sydney marks the start of what is set to be a record cruise season in Australia.
The 88,500-tonne Carnival Legend is the first international ship to arrive for the bumper 2014-2015 cruise season with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia figures showing its member cruise lines will have 36 ships arriving in local waters between 1 October and 30 April next year.
CLIA says from a total of 642 calls to Australian ports there will be 38 maiden visits to a range of cities and towns including Busselton, Eden, Esperance, Albany, Port Hedland and Geelong.
CLIA Australasia General Manager Brett Jardine said 18 of the 36 ships will make a total of 253 roundtrip cruises from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle over the 2014-15 season – an increase on last year's total of 202.
"This summer we'll be seeing growth across the board – not only have the number of member line ships cruising our waters risen from 34 to 36, the total number of Australian calls by those ships has risen from 588 last year to 642 this year," Jardine said in a statement.
"In addition, the number of roundtrip cruises has also increased significantly, which means there'll be greater economic returns all round."
CLIA's international membership includes more than 60 major cruise line brands, representing 98 per cent of global cruise capacity.
The figures come after statistics earlier this month showing Australia to be the fastest growing major passenger market with local cruisers rising by 20% last year to reach 833,348.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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