Australians boarding cruise ships in higher numbers than before Covid
Despite the death knell being sounded for cruising during the pandemic, Australians are boarding in higher numbers than ever before.
Cruising is coming back in a big way, with 70 ships heading to Australia for summer and more than a million holidaymakers packing their bags for a voyage at sea.
Defying the critics – who sounded the death knell for the $5.2bn industry during the pandemic after the infamous Covid outbreaks onboard – bookings are now even higher than in 2019.
Operators say global passenger volume will reach 106 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, with 31.5 million passengers sailing around the world.
According to Cruise Line International Association, the peak industry body, Australia will welcome 70 ships to its waters for the 2023-24 season compared with 60 in 2019-20. Dubbed wave season, the official peak period for cruising starts this weekend and runs through until April.
In a sign of confidence in the local market, new companies are coming to Australia for the first time, including adults-only Virgin Voyages and the child-friendly Disney Cruise Line.
“I think the strong recovery and strong demand for cruising in Australia has put those misconceptions to rest,” said CLIA managing director Australasia Joel Katz of the industry’s vocal critics during the pandemic.
“Cruise passengers are very passionate and they love cruising. This upcoming season really highlights that Australia is back both as a source country and a destination for cruising, and it is back bigger and better than ever.”
Queenslander Trish Greene is one of those devotees and she will be boarding P&O’s Pacific Encounter in Brisbane on Saturday for a three-day comedy cruise with her family.
“It’s a girls’ break,” she told The Weekend Australian. “It is my birthday and my grown-up niece’s birthday so I am taking her on her first cruise.”
But it is definitely not Ms Greene’s first rodeo; she has been on seven sailings already this year and well over 50 in her lifetime.
“The way I see it is that I live in the Sunshine Coast and if I go to Brisbane for the weekend to see a show, there is the hotel accommodation, restaurants, and it is actually cheaper to go on a cruise,” she said. “You get all meals, a show every night – and your own room.”
Ms Greene, who is also a travel agent, said she was not at all deterred by the Covid outbreaks on ships during the pandemic. In fact, in May she sailed in Japan on the Diamond Princess, which was notorious for its two-week quarantine in Yokohama in 2020, when hundreds of passengers contracted the virus.
“The protocols have changed so much on ships since the pandemic,” she said. “The companies have worked so hard to improve the guest experience and safety.”
A spokesman for P&O, which has guests embarking on ships in Sydney and Brisbane this weekend, said the cruise line was looking forward to what has been tipped as the biggest summer yet.
“Cruise season is in full swing at P&O, and our fleet of three ships – Pacific Adventure, Pacific Encounter and Pacific Explorer – are expected to carry out over 80 sailings in the 2023-24 season,” said P&O Cruises Australia senior vice-president Peter Little.
CLIA’s Mr Katz said the ships visiting this season would spend a total of 1848 port days here – up 18 per cent on 2019-20 – and contribute billions of dollars to the local economy. Pre-pandemic, the industry was worth $5.2bn, including spending on hotels, transport, tour operators and restaurants.
“This is really encouraging for communities around the country that have been waiting for that visitation to rebound,” he said.
A state of the industry report by the CLIA revealed the average age of a cruise tourist internationally was 46.5. But far from being the domain of the elderly, the report also found cruising is increasingly attracting a younger cohort of travellers, with 88 per cent of millennials who have cruised before planning to cruise again.
And of those young adults who have never been on a voyage, 77 per cent indicated they would consider a cruise holiday.
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