Carnival Corporation is celebrating the start of its summer cruise season in Australia, which will see 17 of the company’s ships sail Down Under.
The season began with Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess arriving in Sydney on 26 Sep, and will finish on 15 Apr, with the departure of her fleetmate Island Princess from Brisbane.
Seven of Carnival Corp’s cruise lines will sail in Australia this season, including Princess, Holland America Line, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Line, which will contribute four ships.
Carnival Corp cruise lines will make almost 450 port calls across Australia during the season, carrying 600,000 guests.
The company estimates its contribution to the economy will be around $4 billion – a commitment Country Manager Peter Little called “unparalleled”.
The local Carnival Corp head told Cruise Weekly although there is plenty to be excited about in Australia’s cruise sector, there is still work to be done to ensure ongoing challenges are met head-on.
“Bringing all of the stakeholders together, there needs to be a holistic view taken,” he said.
“Australia is an ecosystem, so all the states and territories need to work together to continue to grow cruise.
“Ultimately, Australia is not competing with itself internally, Australia is competing on a global scale to attract business, so it’s in the best interest to work collectively…some states are all really onto that and getting the message, but there’s a bit of work to be done in other areas, including the federal area.”
