Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas made her final call to Sydney last Saturday, marking the end of the summer cruise season for the company in Australia.

Azamar Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean carried over 250,000 guests from October 2015 to April 2016. The number of passengers has increased by 27 per from last year.

“With our three brands and their six locally based ships in Australia, this was our biggest and most varied season to date. The substantial growth demonstrates the success of our strategy in delivering the newest, most feature-packed and the most technologically advanced ships to our doorstep,” said Adam Armstrong, managing director, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Australasia.

Australia had seven RCL Cruise ships including the southern hemisphere’s two largest cruise ships Explorer of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.

Azamara Quest made its debut down under calling 46 times at locations around Australia and New Zealand as part of five different itineraries.

Next season will see the southern hemisphere’s largest ship Ovation of the Seas arrive in Sydney. She will be sailing an extra four sailings during her inaugural 2016/17 season.