CARNIVAL Australia is gearing up for a record season, revealing it will generate an estimated $500 million in economic activity and make 696 calls across 38 Australian ports.
Carnival’s peak cruise season officially kicks off 15 Sep when Princess Cruises’ flagship Majestic Princess arrives in Sydney for her maiden Australian season.
“In 2008-09, our ships made fewer than 200 calls to local ports over the cruise season…that number has more than tripled over the past decade,” said Carnival Australia president Sture Myrmell.
“We’re very excited to be adding even more Australian destinations to the cruise map this summer,” he added.
The Queensland market will see the biggest upswing, attracting 247 calls to 11 different state ports — a 30% bump on last year.
Other notable milestones for Carnival this season include P&O Cruises’ first three-ship deployment in Brisbane, Cunard’s maiden call to Burnie, Tasmania, in Feb, P&O’s biggest ever Adelaide program, and a record nine cruises from Melbourne.
MEANWHILE travel agents from all over Australia recently took part in a three-day roundtrip cruise from Sydney to experience what life was like on board Carnival Spirit.
The group of agents, nicknamed the “Fun Squad” (pictured), took to the sea last weekend for the fun-filled adventure.
