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Australia is set for inaugural
seasons and maiden visits by
ships in the Princess, Cunard,
Seabourn, Holland America and
P&O World Cruising fleets.
CABINS are still available on several cruises
throughout Carnival Australia’s record season,
which will see 19 ships carrying more than
310,000 passengers between 21 September
and mid-April 2012.
The most departures are scheduled from
Sydney, including two new home-ported ships,
Zaandam and Sea Princess, but other states
are also preparing for a big six or seven months.
Leading the charge is Sun Princess, which
arrives in Brisbane on Wednesday to begin
Princess Cruises’ first season in the state, also
marking the first time an international ship has
been based in Queensland.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly, Jenny Lourey,
Carnival Australia’s senior vice president, said:
“Queensland is getting everything – the Queen
Mary 2 is making maiden visits in Brisbane and
Cairns, and the Queen Elizabeth is visiting
Brisbane for the first time too.
“There is something happening every day on
Sydney Harbour, and people in other states
will have the opportunity to see ships they’ve
never seen before, such as the QM2, which is
circumnavigating Australia.”
Carnival ships will make more than 300 calls
to 24 different Australian ports.
Lourey said an unprecedented 11 Carnival
ships are offering roundtrip voyages from
Australian cities, with five more ships deployed
for the season alongside the six ships already
based here full-time.
Another eight ships will visit as part of their
world cruising itineraries, including Pacific
Princess and Ocean Princess; P&O’s Oriana,
Aurora and Arcadia, HAL’s Amsterdam and
Seabourn’s Odyssey.
Dawn Princess is also offering cruises from
Melbourne between 14 December 2011 and 8
April 2012.
“310,000 passengers is huge growth
compared to our first season in 2004-05, when
we had seven ships carrying a total of 103,000
passengers,” said Lourey.
“It means there has never been a better time
to select a cruise – we’ve got something for
everyone.”
Lourey confirmed that many cruises still had
availability, especially on P&O and Princess
around Christmas, New Year, February and March.
“Close to departure, we also expect to have
some cancellations,” she said.
