Not enough ships: Cruising in Australia may have reached its peak

Last year, cruising returned from pandemic shutdowns with a vengeance and Australians were among the first to scramble back on board. We stuck more cautiously to home, though: a record number and percentage of passengers visited Australian ports.

The Viking Sun in Sydney Harbour: Demand for berths in Sydney is tight.Credit:

Just over a million Australians took a local cruise in 2023, during which 13 ships were home-ported here. The domestic surge was fuelled by pent-up demand and aggressive pricing from cruise companies eager to fill their ships.

Our enthusiasm for cruising didn’t falter, however, as cabin prices rose significantly this year. More than 80 cruise ships will have operated in Australian waters in 2024, making 3700 port calls. Among them, Carnival Cruise Line recorded 846 port calls in Australia, compared with 575 in 2023. Companies such as Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages sent ships here for the first time.

We have good reason to enjoy cruising at home. There is abundant choice, whether we’re after a short break in the Queensland sun on a big, family-oriented ship, a slow slide down the east coast on a small luxury vessel, or an expedition cruise into the Torres Strait. Some cruise lines even offer a circumnavigation of the continent.

Our favourite cruise destination is Queensland, followed by Tasmania. New Zealand, our most popular overseas cruise destination, is often reached from Australian ports such as Melbourne or Sydney.

Our cruise tastes are changing too. The average length of cruises is down by a day to an average of 8.1 days. More Millennial and Gen-Z passengers are boarding, as are more multi-generational families.

Silversea excursion in the Kimberley’s King George River: The area is becoming increasingly popular at home and overseas.Credit:

Demand for small-ship, luxury and expedition cruising is rising; passengers in those categories are looking for longer cruises. Yet despite its many remote assets, Australia has limited choices in these sectors, which is no doubt why the Kimberley is booming.

The Kimberley is now touted worldwide as one of the hottest cruise destinations and is attracting international arrivals, but domestic cruisers are its bread and butter. APT, Coral Expeditions, Lindblad, Ponant, Seabourn, Scenic, Silversea and Travelmarvel are among companies offering greatly increased ship choices, though itineraries are often very similar.

Other expedition destinations are Far North Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia’s Coral Coast and the peninsulas and islands of South Australia. You can also sail the Murray River on boutique river cruises.

Eager as we might be for domestic cruising, market forces aren’t working in our favour. The number of cruise ships home-porting here next season will fall, with Cunard and Virgin Voyages among those withdrawing. Some big ships are redeploying to the Caribbean, where they make bigger profit margins.

P&O Cruises Australia will be absorbed into Carnival Cruises from March 2025, with the loss of one ship. Overall, domestic capacity is shrinking. The cruise industry blames high operating costs and port fees, bureaucratic complexity and tight terminal access in Sydney. The heady days of domestic cruising might have reached their peak.