Money-saving hack Aussie cruisers are loving

This year is shaping up as Australia’s biggest ever winter cruise season, with a record 17 ships operating locally.

The day after booking a midwinter long weekend cruise, I woke to the coldest morning of the year as a sudden blast of freezing weather ripped through the country. What had I done?

We’d been promising to take the kids on a cruise for years, but lured by Queensland’s sunshine, Carnival Splendor’s water slides and affordable deals, the plan for a longer cruise later in the year morphed into an impulse booking for a winter escape. 

But would I live to regret the timing? After all, most cruise ships clear out of Australian waters from March to October, leaving only a handful of year-rounders behind. Was I one of the enlightened few or the clueless minority?

As it turned out, I’m on trend. This year is shaping up as Australia’s biggest ever winter cruise season, with a record 17 ships operating locally.

“The options for winter cruises in our region have increased considerably over the past decade,” says Joel Katz, managing director of Cruise Lines International Association Australasia. “We now promote Australia as a year-round destination for cruising.” For many, it’s an opportunity to escape the depths of winter without taking long-haul flights.

This year, Carnival has introduced ‘Grinchmas in July’ sailings.

I soon discovered off-season cruising’s advantages. The price is one. At the time of booking, a month before sailing, the cheapest cabin available for our family of four was $1680, or $410 a night for a four-night break. In peak season, the same itinerary is priced upwards of $2000, and you’d need to book much earlier. I considered booking a cabin at a NSW Central Coast caravan park for the same period but at $1300, it didn’t include meals, a drop-off kids club or Queensland’s sunshine. The cruise had all of the above.

The crowds – or rather, lack of – are another attraction. Being a long weekend, our cruise was busy, but that’s not always the case through winter. And it wasn’t so busy that there were long lines for the water slides, even with perfect winter temperatures in the 20s. The hot tubs got a bigger workout than the chillier main pool, but our wild-about-water kids never had trouble finding space.

Winter sunrises were another highlight. Sunrise over the ocean is always special, but I’m not always an early riser. In winter, the sky waits until a respectable 7am or so to put on its full show (and if you miss that, sunset rolls in around 5pm).

If we’d waited a few more weeks, we could have discovered another winter bonus. Carnival Cruise Line Australia vice president Kara Glamore says certain itineraries and themed cruises only occur in the cooler months.

“This year we’ve introduced our ‘Grinchmas in July’ sailings. These cruises have proven so popular we’ve extended them from June 30 through to the end of August. They’ve almost completely sold out, so the demand for winter sailings is absolutely there.”

Originally published as Money-saving hack Aussie cruisers are loving