Australian holidaymakers are
flocking to Princess Cruises in
droves, with the company
reporting strong growth in the
market, despite the presence of
so much competition.
SPEAKING to media onboard Diamond
Princess in Sydney last Friday, Princess Cruises
Commercial Director Alan Stuart said “it’s a
very exciting time for Australian cruising”.
“The growth has been very strong, and
obviously that has brought in competition, so
we’ve always got to be ahead of our game, not
only in terms of product delivery but in terms
of destinations,” he said.
Currently three Princess vessels homeport in
regional waters, Sun Princess, Sea Princess and
Dawn Princess, plus the popularity of the
cruise line with Aussies has also prompted
regular guest appearance from the cruise line’s
largest ship, Diamond Princess.
“We’re really fortunate to have Diamond
come in and join Sun, Sea and Dawn, and I’ll be
putting my hand up for it to come more often
than not in the future,” he said, adding that
Princess Cruises is determined to build on
Australia’s burgeoning love affair with cruising.
“We’ve now got our own team in Australia,
with its own sales department [which came
into effect yesterday], to take us to that next
step,” he said.
“The challenges in this market, whilst they
are challenging, are also very exciting,” he
added.
Meanwhile in terms of popular cruising
spots, it seems Australians are not only falling
in love with regional cruising around Australia,
NZ and the Pacific, but also with voyages
farther afield, with Stuart confirming that the
company’s 104 night World cruise from Sydney
in 2014 has proved a big hit with locals in
particular.
The landmark voyage is the first world cruise
departing roundtrip from Sydney to visit South
America, and will include maiden calls in Peru,
Ecuador and Easter Island.
Sailing onboard Dawn Princess the cruise will
also include an optional overland excursion to
Machu Pichu as well as a voyage through the
iconic Panama Canal.
MEANWHILE, Stuart also confirmed that
construction of Princess’ 17th ship, Royal
Princess, is coming along to schedule, with
shipyard workers putting the final touches on
the lady before her big debut in June.
The first Princess newbuild in five years,
Royal will begin her life in the Mediterranean
before heading to the Caribbean.
To learn more about Princess Cruises see
your local travel agent, or visit
www.princess.com.
