Cruise ships sailing north to Cairns as Covid travel ban is lifted

After a two-year hiatus, the federal government is lifting its ban on cruise ships and the first glamorous big boats will soon be docking in Cairns. FIND OUT WHEN

CRUISE ships will dock in Cairns from May this year, bringing a tangible economic boost to the Far North.

Locals weary of border closures will jump at the chance to hop aboard the big boats, with the federal government lifting a two-year industry ban.

But people will stick close to home, with major cruise companies including Carnival and P&O adjusting their sailing schedules to meet strong domestic demand.

Endeavour Travel and Cruise agent Jenny Christensen said the first ship, P&O’s Encounter, would dock in Cairns on August 20.

“P&O are starting in August from Brisbane up the coast to Cairns, with two days in port, which is great for day tour operators and retail businesses,” Mrs Christensen.

P&O Pacific Adventure: the cruise company will be sailing by the end of May following the federal government’s lifting of a two-year ban on cruise ships after a Covid outbreak on the Ruby Princess in Sydney. Picture: supplied

“Carnival has cancelled international sailings and will be cruising from Sydney to Brisbane, so that’s great news for us.”

She said from July 2023, P&O would be cruising from Cairns.

“That can bring international tourists to us, as they fly in to pick up the cruise,” Mrs Christensen said.

“Our locals absolutely love cruising out of here and not having to fly south, it’s very popular, plus the catering is done up here and that’s another advantage for those businesses.

“To see the ships again will be just wonderful, we are very excited.”

She said travellers were hesitant to cruise around the world, but there was enormous demand for five to seven night cruises closer to home.

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Coral Expeditions commercial director Jeff Gillies, whose company has been cruising throughout the pandemic with passenger numbers around 120, said uncertainty around the global political environment as well as the pandemic meant travellers were looking for more intimate experiences off the Australian coast.

A cruise from Darwin to Broome to coincide with a solar eclipse sold out in four days.

Mr Gillies said there were inflationary pressures, particularly the cost of fuel, factoring in to people’s travel plans.

“People are really wanting to travel in smaller numbers into really remote places – we have two new vessels and we resisted the urge to make them big,” he said.

All three Coral Expedition boats will be in Cairns cruising the Great Barrier Reef in October and December.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said the return of the cruise industry was eagerly awaited with many businesses relying on the ships to boost trade during summer.

Senior consultant at Endeavour Travel and Cruise Jenny Christensen and manager Jill Faircloth are ready to book travel hungry Cairns residents back onto cruises. Picture: Brendan Radke

“In 2018-19, Cairns welcomed 193 cruise visit days, with 97,174 passengers and nearly 16,000 crew contributing more than $50m direct expenditure into the region, while the total economic benefit reached nearly $102m,” he said.

“Port Douglas received 15 ship calls in 2018-19 with 20,500 passengers contributing $4.78m in direct expenditure to the local economy, while weather forced the cancellation of several visits further north with just one cruise ship visiting Cooktown, and Thursday Island welcoming six.”

Kuranda Traders Association president Dei Gould said the news was welcome.

“Kuranda and all of Far North Queensland has always been a very popular destination, beloved by passengers travelling with both the domestic and international cruise companies,” she said.

“We have been anxiously waiting for signs of a shift to normality within the tourism sector and this announcement, along with the opening of international air travel, brings an enormous sense of relief to our struggling village.

“The Kuranda traders are very ready and very prepared for the influx of visitors to our region.”

WHAT’S COMING UP

P&O Cruises will be sailing from the end of May with a new program for 2023 from Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.

The program includes P&O Explorer voyages leaving from Cairns with three appealing options coming up, Endeavour Cruise and Travel consultant Jenny Christensen said.

They are:

Depart Cairns May 29 – seven nights cruising from Cairns into Papua New Guinea ports of Rabaul, Kiriwina Island priced from $811 per person.

Depart Cairns June 14 – seven nights cruising from Cairns into Solomon Islands ports of Honiara and Gizo and Papua New Guinea ports of Rabaul, Kiriwina Island and Conflict Islands – priced from $1519 per person.

Depart Cairns June 24 – six night cruise from Cairns to Auckland via Norfolk Island – priced from $769 per person.

Visit endeavourtravel.com.au.

Cairns-based Coral Expeditions has 10 to 12 night cruises with itineraries including Broome, the Kimberleys, Fremantle, Cape York and Arnhem Land, Darwin, and the Abrolhos Islands throughout the year.

Visit coralexpeditions.com

Originally published as Cruise ships sailing north to Cairns as Covid travel ban is lifted