National Cruise Strategy: Needed Now
Western Australia is further proof that Australia requires a single federal government body dedicated to the ongoing management of our nation’s cruise industry.
It was only in July that the WA Cruise Exchange was held, a state government supported endeavour aimed at celebrating and developing the local cruise industry. More than two dozen global industry leaders were present at the Exchange, including those represented under the Carnival Corporation umbrella like Princess, Holland America, P&O and Seabourn. This is in addition to representation from other lines such as Royal Caribbean, MSC, Coral Expeditions and Ponant.
The Exchange was heralded as a success. Numbers discussed included the $333m generated for the state economy during the FYE 2023 and the 1000 local jobs the industry helped support.
As detailed in an article by Jessica Moroney in the Geraldton Guardian on 3/9/24, Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said, “…it's really exciting to welcome key industry representatives to our State and discuss the amazing experiences our local tourism operators can offer their guests.” Recent upgrades to Fremantle Passenger Terminal, the state’s largest and busiest cruise port were also highlighted.
Despite all of this positivity, this week we learned that Coral Princess cancelled its upcoming call to the West Australian port of Geraldton. Geraldton locals were expecting Coral to sail in on September 4th, with its 2000 passengers and numerous crew members expected to help boost the bottom line.
Just three days before her planned visit, a Princess representative informed the Mid West Port Authority that Coral’s stop was cancelled due to the expected impact of weather on Thursday. The Port Authority confirmed it was monitoring expected surge levels and that the port could still facilitate the ship’s visit.
Geraldton has seen numerous cancellations - so many in fact that between the end of this year and 2027, there are no scheduled cruise ship visits. 12 cruise ship call-ins planned for between 2025 and 2026 have all been cancelled due to a variety of reasons, one being the Australian Border Force’s recent decision to no longer send its personnel overseas to board ships before they arrive in Australia. In the past, this has been a way to process passenger’s immigration arrival information before ships physically arrived in ports such as Geraldton, which don’t possess first point of entry facilities.
While WA state government ministers are advocating for the cruise industry, this whole scenario is reminiscent of problems affecting ports in the east. It’s a constant battle between state, federal and even local stakeholders, with no single voice of reason.
This has contributed greatly to Sydney’s status as an unreliable cruise hub. Despite being Australia’s international tourist gateway and arguably possessing the world’s most famous harbour, the city has languished when it comes to the development of viable alternative cruise port facilities. Heck, it’s one of the main reasons I suspect Virgin Voyages’ Australian foray in late 2023 failed (my word, not theirs). Plus, with the end of P&O Australia and the removal of Pacific Explorer from the Australian Carnival fleet come early next year, there will be no local ship home porting in any city outside of Sydney or Brisbane. Meaning that the majority of the country’s population won’t even have access to a close to home cruise option for the foreseeable future.
At every turn, we’re reminded that Australia’s cruise industry is beleaguered by a battle of the wills. So potent is the media discourse that surrounds cruising in this country, that most politicians seem afraid to really get into it. When pressed though, they happily tell of the economic benefits the industry brings. Just don’t ask about the future.