Cruising: What to know before you go on holidays in 2020

Whether you’re a cruise virgin or a cruise veteran, you’ll be booking a trip on these new ships before you know it.

Whether you’re a cruise virgin or a cruise veteran, 2020 will be filled with new ships, hot destinations and a range of on-board experiences that will make a trip this year your best one yet.

Australia, one of the biggest cruising markets in the world, is gearing up for a packed 2019-20 cruise season, with new vessels, extended visits and more than 60 ships on offer.

But as with any holiday there are myths, and cruise ship holidays are no exception.

Australia has become one of the fastest-growing cruise destinations in the world.

THE CRUISE BUSINESS IS BOOMING

Yes, cruising is a huge business. The global Cruise Line International Association estimates 30 million people will cruise this year, up 6 per cent from 2018. The ocean cruise industry has grown 6.63 per cent each year from 1970-2020, driven by larger ships and more styles of vessel, more ports and inland destinations, and more extreme on-board-onshore activities.

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From 2018-2020, 37 new cruise ships will come online adding 99,895 guests to worldwide passenger capacity.

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An Australian researcher compared the costs of a week-long P & O Pacific Islands cruise from Brisbane, with stop-offs at Noumea and Lifou, to a similar land-based trip.

Using the ship as accommodation and transport, around-the-clock food and entertainment, the fare was $A1766. Adding in a drinks package, shopping and shore tours, the holiday totted up to $A2880.

Though it’s not possible to replicate the cruise, the flights and the land-based accommodation, shuttles, food and drinks, entertainment, shopping, and excursions cost around $A4348.

For newbie cruisers, the first decision is probably what’s the right type of holiday for us?

If you want to sail on an enormous floating hotel with pools, waterslides, restaurants and nightly shows, opt for an ocean cruise.

River cruising involves smaller ships with fewer passengers and less likelihood of seasickness. They mostly travel at night, reaching a new place every day, and offer more time to visit destinations.

There’s a big difference between river and ocean cruising. Picture: Phil Hoffmann Travel

If you’re a solo traveller, look for a line offering single-occupancy cabins or waiving the solo supplement. Some facilitate cruise groups for solo travellers.

Family-friendly cruises offer programs like kids’ clubs to keep the offspring entertained, but if you’re not keen to share your ship with the younger generation, several companies operate over-18-only cruises.

Luxury cruises offer VIP service, more refined dining and better amenities. If you’re less keen on waterslides and cabaret and more interested in nature watching and remote villages, consider an adventure or expedition cruise.

It’s often thought cruise passengers are more mature travellers, but the CLIA Global Passenger Report puts the average age at 49 years. The median age is between 60 and 69 years, with 19 per cent younger than that.

As you might expect, short and close-to-home cruises attract a younger crew; longer itineraries and exotic destinations tend to attract an older set.

NEW CRUISE SHIPS IN 2020

Coming on stream this year is a new cruise line: Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages will launch Scarlet Lady, with 2860 berths, the first of three identical ships and an adults-only cruise.

Meanwhile, Carnival’s Mardi Gras will be the first of two vessels able to accommodate 6600 passengers, the largest in the world by passenger capacity.

At 331m long with 2444 cabins, MSC Virtuosa will carry nearly 6300 passengers. On-board entertainment includes a fine art museum, Cirque du Soleil show, a double-deck indoor amusement park and an outdoor water park.

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady will launch in 2020. Picture: Virgin Voyages

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady cruise ship has seabeds that will convert from full-sized beds to lounges. Picture: Andrea Black

New to Australia this year is Dream Cruises, which will operate its Explorer Dream in local waters for the first time. Sailing from Sydney, the ship will offer a series of Queensland coastal itineraries before crossing the Tasman for a season of New Zealand cruises from Auckland. It will then return to Sydney for a series of Tasmania cruises before returning to Asia via Cairns and Darwin.

P & O’s Iona, carrying 5200 guests, will be the biggest ship built for the UK market and the first powered entirely by LNG.

Odyssey of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean’s second Quantum Ultra Class vessel, a similar size but a step up in facilities and entertainment from the Ovation of the Seas.

Princess Cruises’ Golden Princess will be renamed Pacific Adventure and be transferred to P & O Cruises’ Australian fleet. Celebrity Apex, sister ship to the Celebrity Edge, features the Magic Carpet, a movable deck cantilevered off the side of the ship that rises from decks 2 to 16 and transforms into a bar, a restaurant and an extension of the embarkation area.

HOW TO BOOK THE PERFECT CRUISE

The golden rule for booking a cruise is to get in early. While you’re thinking about your 2020 holiday, veteran cruisers have probably snapped up the balcony cabins and are thinking about where they’ll sail in 2021.

Apart from the classics – the Med, Alaska, the Caribbean, the Pacific – hot new destinations include Madagascar, Reunion, and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where you can visit lemur colonies and swim with manta rays and sharks.

Southeast Asia has become popular in the past few years; Viking’s 15-day trip between Bangkok and Hong Kong offers overnight stays in five ports.

Veteran cruisers know to start booking their holidays 12 months in advance.

Europe’s great waterways – the Danube, Rhine and Rhone – are favourite river cruises, but the Mekong is beginning to rival them in popularity, particularly with Kiwis.

Adventure or expedition cruises can take you to meet the giant tortoises and iguana of the Galapagos or in search of the polar bear in the Arctic. On this type of cruise, you’re likely to be joined by a scientists who will help you learn from your trip.

Don’t think that cruise lines are going to run out of new destinations anytime soon. Adam Armstrong, Australia-New Zealand managing director of Silversea Cruises, says his line takes its Classic (luxury ocean cruise) and Expedition (smaller, adventure) ships to 1084 ports and “for 2021 and early 2022 we’ve found another 26 that we haven’t been to”.

Itineraries include a return to the eastern Mediterranean – the Black Sea, Holy Land, Istanbul – off the books for a few years for security concerns.

Iceland has become a very in-demand location for cruise buffs around the world.

“In northern Europe we’re doing even more Iceland content because it’s in such high demand. We’re doing a full circumnavigation of Iceland, not just one or two ports, but almost a dozen in one itinerary.”

Closer to home, Silversea is moving an Expedition ship from Europe to Australia’s Kimberley Region.

Other lines with a big presence in Australia this season include Holland America Line, which will have three ships in local waters: Noordam, Maasdam, and Amsterdam – the latter on her world voyage. Between them, the trio will make 75 calls to ports around Australia in 2020.

– with New Zealand Herald