Carnival ships in Wollongong – is this the surprise solution to Sydney’s capacity issue?

• The committee looking to solve Sydney’s cruise capacity problems meets this month.
• Wollongong has emerged as a front runner in expanding Sydney’s cruise capacity, though few understand how this could work.
• But a clue has emerged in the true ratio of foreign guests on board a Carnival ship.

With the selection committee for a third Sydney cruise terminal set to meet in December, 14 months after it was first convened, cruisers have been debating the various permutations of how we could increase the number of ships that can access Sydney Harbour.

As reported previously by Cruise Passenger, most now agree another berth for big ships in Sydney is not possible. So sources suggest Port Kembla in Wollongong will have to be the solution.

Wollongong has shaped as the clear front runner, with the local council and mayor throwing their weight behind the idea and submitting an official prospectus.

But there are many who still simply don’t believe that international cruisers would be happy sailing into Wollongong, when compared to the famous Sydney Harbour, an iconic cruising location and a draw card in selling Australian cruise overseas.

However, Wollongong could be made to work for a largely domestic cruise line.

Cruise lines like Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean generally sail with a big majority of Aussies onboard, rather than international tourists. So could their ships be based in Wollongong, thus freeing up berthing space for new lines and ships?

Carnival Ambassador John Heald recently shared a breakdown of the 3151 passengers onboard Carnival Encounter. Of those onboard, only 35 passengers are not from either Australia or New Zealand. This equates to only about 1% of passengers onboard. 

This means you have a ship full of 3000 passengers and most of them could be persuaded to sail out of Wollongong instead of Sydney Harbour.  Especially if the price was right.

Domestic tourists aren’t as attached to Sydney Harbour as international ones, given that many have likely been before, and may even be happy to beat the crowds and steep prices and explore other parts of the state instead.

The drive from Port Kembla is only just over an hour, for those who are still keen to explore Sydney. Shellharbour also has an airport with domestic connections to Brisbane and Melbourne. 

If Carnival were to move two of its ships, or at least a large chunk of its sailings down to Wollongong, this would free up plenty of prime spots to attract more international cruise lines to Sydney Harbour that aren’t as established in Australia, such as Cunard, Virgin Voyages, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and more. 

Sydney’s OPT is also a notoriously expensive place to sail. Having Carnival ships sailing out of Wollongong instead could mean reduced port fees and therefore reduced fares for Aussies. 

While that’s the argument for Carnival, it appears that Royal Caribbean are already convinced.

The Managing Director of Royal Caribbean International in Australia Gavin Smith has previously said he would “move the Royal Caribbean fleet there tomorrow” if Port Kembla was the new cruise terminal destination. The motivation for this is likely once again cheaper port fees, which would attract Royal Caribbean to the new project and hopefully keep fares down as well.

If Carnival and Royal Caribbean were to shift down to Wollongong, it’s hard to imagine that either cruise line would have any problem filling its ships. They both have dedicated repeat cruisers across Australia and are attractive to the new to cruise market due to their accessible fares. 

Freeing up so much space at the OPT would be huge for the Australian cruise industry and could lead to cruise lines around the world competing for this space and trying to get new ships into Australia.

A key issue in attracting new ships to Australia is that the prime OPT slots are booked out years in advance, and the port is currently at near capacity, making it difficult for new ships to schedule homeported seasons out of Sydney.

For cruise lines that aren’t as established in Australia, they can initially struggle to fill ships out of other cities. Sydney is the easiest way into the market for other cruise lines and can help establish new cruise lines in Australia and re-establish lines that have left or reduced their presence such as NCL, Cunard and Virgin Voyages.

Then at the same time, the Wollongong port would move the budget lines, hardest hit by port fees, into a cheaper location with its own charm. Short cruises could run down to Eden, just a couple of hours away, bringing tourists to two South Coast hotspots.

While an option in the city centre would be hard to beat, decades of coming up short seems to make it clear that no one is making space for more cruise ships in Sydney. Wollongong have put their hand up, they have a plan and it makes a lot of sense. 

Cruise Passenger will be keenly awaiting any news that comes from the selection committee’s upcoming meeting, and will be ready to share the news with you as it arrives.

What do you think? Can you picture a system where Royal Caribbean and Carnival sail out of Wollongong and leave OPT free for new ships to come in?