Australia Cruise Boom Details, Specifics, Why??!!

From the Travel Weekly trade publication yesterday, they have this headline: "Australia cruising makes big gains" with these highlights: "While Europe sputters, and North America plods along, Australia is emerging as a boom market for cruising. Cruise lines are sending more ships there. The latest sign of Australia’s emergence is Carnival Cruise Lines’ decision this month to deploy a second ship there seasonally. In 2014, the cruise industry’s biggest brand will have two ships in Australia and none in Europe. Carnival expects that its ships there will attract Australians, rather than the Americans and Canadians who fill its cabins in Europe. About 84% of passengers departing a roundtrip cruise from Australia are domestic. Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill said 'We very deliberately picked Australia because Australians have somewhat of a reputation of being fun-loving. They view life optimistically, they like other people, and we’ve always felt that’s a good fit for our brand.' "

Among the other details and specifics in the story are: "There will be no lack of competition for Carnival's two ships. Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas has been in Australia for the winter season for seven years. It will be joined by the Radiance of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas this winter. The number of passengers cruising from Australia has doubled in the past four years, to 694,000. Last year alone it grew 11%, putting it in a tie with Germany as the fastest-growing major cruise market. The appetite for cruising is being fed by the growing number of ships available, price competition and Australia’s ties to Asian countries. Ten years ago there was one ship permanently operating out of Sydney. Now there are seven throughout Australia, plus the same number again on a seasonal basis. The most popular destination for Australians is the South Pacific islands, which account for a third of all cruises, followed by intra-Australian cruises and voyages to New Zealand. With multiple lines basing multiple ships in Australia, pricing has become more competitive, another fuel for growth. Australia is a desirable destination for Americans because it is safe, friendly and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Cruise lines say a constraint on their growth in Australia has been Sydney’s berthing capacity, which is limited to three ships at a time. That is especially tricky in January and February, the peak months. A record 265 cruise ships called at Sydney last year, up from the previous season’s record of 199. There are 302 calls booked so far for 2013."

Good interesting article with lots of details and background for what is happening with cruising in this part of the world. We are looking forward to our first “down under” visit, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Celebrity Solstice sailing, departing Sydney, going from Australia to Auckland/NZ doing 14 days on this ship we loved in the Med in June 2011. Plus, doing some pre-cruise options for Cairns/Port Douglas, the Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, then Kangaroo Island near Adelaide before departing from Sidney’s scenic harbor. And, doing the mid-cruise ship over-night trip to and in Queenstown and then stopping in Hawaii on the way home to break up that long, long flight back.

Full story at:

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Australia-cruising-makes-big-gains/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Celebrity Solstice Visual Highlights? From our June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in France, Italy, Kotor and Dubrovnik, I have pull together a number of wonderful visuals of the Solstice, its features, food, entertainment, options, etc. We are now at 5,994 views for this shorter version of my larger full review of that cruise and all of the port pictures/details. Check these postings and added info at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

Greater competition, newer ships with more activities on board, competitive prices for school holidays and peak periods where resorts and hotels tend to charge a lot more. I think cruises have always been popular with dinks, retirees and young singles. What has exploded is the family market where carnival and RCI frequently have 500 to 1000 kids per trip. Waterslides, climbing walls, ice rinks, kids clubs and South Pacific beaches are what attracts my family to cruising. Growing Asian market is also helping as ships can spend summer in Australia and then summer in Asia.

And the simple fact that at the moment Australians have more money to spend and cruise lines are trying to get a piece of that for themselves. With Europe and the US in the grips of the GFC and high unemployment, your average Joe isn't holidaying anymore. Makes sense to move the ship to somewhere more people can afford to go on a cruise.

On a side note Terry, do you copy and paste the last paragraph of your post into all your australian posts? I think I've got it just about memorized now ;) I think your holiday is the most eagerly anticipated one on here, we can't wait to hear your thoughts once you finally hit our shores :)

I believe Australian is booming because we weren't hit badly by the GFC. This started in USA and from what I have seen a lot of people lost their jobs and their houses. That didn't happen here. Self-funded retirees who make up a fair proportion of the cruising market lost some of our savings, but (for us anyway) our investments bounced back. I don't think a great number of people here lost their jobs because of the GFC. I won't go into politics. :)

Appreciate the follow-ups and good added background provided. Very interesting and helpful.

From the Sidney Morning Herald on May 19, they have this headline: "Never too young" with these highlights: "The average age of cruisers is heading downwards. Stats released by the cruise industry organisation CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) Australasia show that the hoary old image of cruise ships being packed to the gunnels with sedentary geriatrics is being displaced by the reality that last year, nearly half of all Aussie cruisers were under the age of 50 and 25 per cent were under 40. So why is cruising becoming increasingly popular, particularly with younger generations? One of the main reasons is the sheer diversity of cruise lines and what they offer. You can board a sophisticated, adults-only ship in Scandinavia, say, or you might have an extended family and want a holiday not too far from home that will suit everyone from grandparents to grandkids and the generation in between. There are cruise lines that can take you into the world's wilderness areas in five-star luxury, or you can board a hardcore expedition vessel and go places that bigger ships can only dream about. Love golf (or literature, photography, music or cooking)? There's a themed cruise somewhere in the world that tailors destinations, on-board events and shore excursions to suit these and almost any other interest. Is it any wonder that the experts are predicting 1 million Australians will be taking a cruise holiday by 2020?"

Full story at:

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/activity/cruises/never-too-young-20130516-2jor4.html

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Celebrity Solstice Visual Highlights? From our June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in France, Italy, Kotor and Dubrovnik, I have pull together a number of wonderful visuals of the Solstice, its features, food, entertainment, options, etc. We are now at 6.013 views for this shorter version of my larger full review of that cruise and all of the port pictures/details. Check these postings and added info at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

I think part of the answer is the high costs of land holidays in Australia.

Despite my sister ( a dedicated cruiser for some years) telling us many times "you should go on a cruise", DW and I had never really considered doing a cruise. That changed in 2011 when I was looking at a fly/stay holiday on a Great Barrier Reef Island for our 30th anniversary, as we had done a GBR island for our honeymoon. I was gobsmacked at what the costs were going to be.

I then thought, if we can't stay on the GBR island, what about a cruise that takes in the GBR. Google was my friend and I dicovered a little ship called Rhapsody OTS, picked for the itinerary and timing as co-inciding with the annivesrary was vital. A call to our, now, local cruise TA who arranged it all and all that was left was 'all aboard' and DW and I had discovered the delighst of Rhapsody and RC.

4 RC cruises in less than 2 years and another this Oct - we are hooked.

I think this has been building up for years and Australia has been ignored in the past and now finally it is booming thanks to all the major cruise lines sending newer ships here. Cruising in Australia was never going to take off with the hand-me-downs that P&O Australia operate. All of a sudden when Princess started sending their brand new ships here and other cruise lines followed it quickly took off.

• 1990's - We have P&O sending Canberra, and Oriana and and earlier Arcadia doing World Cruises only in February as well as QE2. A few random ships like Crystal, Asuka, HAL all doing random world cruises.
  
• 2003/04 - Princess sends the almost brand new Star Princess here for a season
  
• 2004/05 - Princess sends the even newer Sapphire Princess here.
  
• 2005/06 - Princess has the Diamond Princess here with an even longer season.
  
• 2007 - QM2 makes first visit to Australia and Rhapsody of the Seas is making a mark on the local market.
  
• 2008 - Sun Princess is based here permanently to be soon followed by the Dawn and Sea Princess. Even with onboard Australian $$. Celebrity is making a bigger mark with the Millennium and previously the Mercury here just the year before.
  
• 2009 - Arcadia makes its first visit and Queen Victoria and QM2 are making more notable arrivals soon to be followed by the new Queen Elizabeth.
  
• 2011 - By this time Radiance of the Seas has arrived operating with Rhapsody of the Seas. We have the Sun, Dawn and Sea Princess operating here, HAL is making regular calls
  
• 2013 - We get Voyager of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Solstice, Oosterdam, Diamond, Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean, and Pacific Princess all visit.
  

Some healthy competition has weakend the monopoly (supply and Demand) situation which provided both the occupancy and cost reductions.

This coinciding with the Aussie economy (weakening of other countries economies and aussies travelling more ($AUD being strong) encouraged even more people to cruise, which brought even more ships to our waters for the season (not just a visit). :D

I think this has been building up for years and Australia has been ignored in the past and now finally it is booming thanks to all the major cruise lines sending newer ships here. Cruising in Australia was never going to take off with the hand-me-downs that P&O Australia operate. All of a sudden when Princess started sending their brand new ships here and other cruise lines followed it quickly took off.

• 1990's - We have P&O sending Canberra, and Oriana and and earlier Arcadia doing World Cruises only in February as well as QE2. A few random ships like Crystal, Asuka, HAL all doing random world cruises.
  
• 2003/04 - Princess sends the almost brand new Star Princess here for a season
  
• 2004/05 - Princess sends the even newer Sapphire Princess here.
  
• 2005/06 - Princess has the Diamond Princess here with an even longer season.
  
• 2007 - QM2 makes first visit to Australia and Rhapsody of the Seas is making a mark on the local market.
  
• 2008 - Sun Princess is based here permanently to be soon followed by the Dawn and Sea Princess. Even with onboard Australian $$. Celebrity is making a bigger mark with the Millennium and previously the Mercury here just the year before.
  
• 2009 - Arcadia makes its first visit and Queen Victoria and QM2 are making more notable arrivals soon to be followed by the new Queen Elizabeth.
  
• 2011 - By this time Radiance of the Seas has arrived operating with Rhapsody of the Seas. We have the Sun, Dawn and Sea Princess operating here, HAL is making regular calls
  
• 2013 - We get Voyager of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Solstice, Oosterdam, Diamond, Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean, and Pacific Princess all visit.
  

Plus Carnival Spirit was based here permanently in 2012

It's a combination of all the above.

We had our first cruise in 2009 and really, there were not many ships back then to choose from. From memory, a couple of P&O ships or else the 2 princess ships.

So if it is booming now, it is because it had such a small base even just a few years ago.

Then of course, we haven't been as hard hit by recession.

Plus, as someone said, land holidays are expensive here. To give you an example, a friend recently invited me up to her holiday house in Hervey Bay (Queensland). I live in Melbourne and return flights, and this is not holiday season, mind you, would have cost over $500 return. That's just the flights and not any extras-taxis, food, travelling.

So in comparison, a week on a cruise ship comes out comparable.

I suppose the cruise companies know they have a market and are getting in for their chop.:p