Ovation of the Seas: Largest luxury liner to visit Darwin cruising in with 4,200 passengers

Darwin city workers will be able to see the largest luxury ship to visit Darwin cruise into our harbour on Thursday morning carrying almost 4,200 passengers. Find out which one it is and when it arrives.

MS Ovation of the Seas docked in Darwin with over 4000 passengers taking in the Top End stopover. Picture: Justin Kennedy

The largest luxury ship to visit Darwin cruises into our harbour Thursday morning carrying almost 4,200 passengers and 1,610 crew, providing an influx of visitors to the Top End during the off-peak season.

Ovation of Seas will tower over Fort Hill Wharf with 16 decks and a height of 72 metres.

The boat is 48 metres longer than the 300m length of the wharf and is due to arrive at 7.30am.

The $1 billion state-of-the art Quantum class cruise ship is owned by Royal Caribbean and has 2091 guest rooms and 1426 balcony rooms.

The robotic drinkmaker on-board the Ovation of the Seas Picture: Adam Taylor

The ship boasts the world’s first bionic bar, a glass observation viewing capsule that can hover 90 metres above sea level, surfing experiences, indoor skydiving, bumper cars, multiple pools and 17 dining options.

Flowrider

From Darwin it heads to Singapore for a series of cruises in the region to our north before heading for a cruise season in the US.

Darwin businesses will have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the massive influx of tourists with the boat not leaving until 7pm just after sunset.

It has been a busy period for the Darwin CBD and local tour operators with a steady stream of cruise ships docking over the past four weeks.

Last Sunday 4000 tourists arrived on two cruise ships, the Crown princess and the Seven Seas Mariner.

The weekend’s passengers will be followed by more this week when the Coral Geographer (120 passengers), the Nautica (684 passengers) and the Seven Seas Voyager (700 passengers) docked.

The Crown Princess has two more scheduled visits to Darwin before the end of the season.

Tourism and Hospitality, Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the arrival of thousands of passengers on the Ovation of the Seas is a boon for tourism operators and local retailers.

“We urge all of our tourism operators and retailers to welcome these visitors with open arms and show them what a wonderful and friendly place the Northern Territory is,” she said.

“Tourism is a key pillar of the government’s plan to strengthen the Northern Territory’s economy, and the cruise industry plays a vital role in this effort.

“The cruise ship season is typically outside of the peak tourist season in the Top End, providing significant economic uptick at a time when it is most needed.

“The cruise industry unlocks opportunities to grow regional visits to destinations such as Yirrkala, Bathurst Island, Cobourg Peninsula, and Melville Island.”

Originally published as Ovation of the Seas: Largest luxury liner to visit Darwin cruising in with 4,200 passengers