Australian and NZ Cruise chiefs travel to Miami to present the case for more ships

• New Zealand cruise port calls have dropped 40% over just two seasons over government regulation and high costs.
• Australia also faces drop in capacity in 2025/26 for the same reasons.
• Now CLIA and the NZ Cruise Association is sending its biggest ever delegation to Miami to try and persuade cruise lines to send more ships down under.

Australian and NZ cruise chiefs will form the biggest ever delegation of industry representatives at this year’s Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami after New Zealand reported a massive drop in cruise calls in 2025/26.

More than 30 organisations from both sides of the Tasman will take part including Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the Australian Cruise Association (ACA), and the New Zealand Cruise Association.

The Australasian delegation will involve members of all three associations including ports, destinations and industry stakeholders, as well as tourism authorities representing each Australian state and New Zealand.

The Miami conference is the world’s biggest and takes place next month.

The delegation will join events and discussions throughout the Seatrade event. As well as the conference and exhibition, delegates will join business meetings with global cruise industry counterparts and an Australasia panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities in our region.

The news comes after the NZ Cruise Association reported figures showing the country was facing a massive plunge in cruise calls at the end of this year.

CLIA Australasia MD Joel Katz said: “With a very united and collaborative cruise industry, we will be sending a message that Australia and New Zealand are committed to cruising and have a great deal of optimism for cruising’s future.”

Earlier this week the New Zealand Cruise Association laid bare all the issues that are currently plaguing its industry, and revealed that forecast port bookings are set to drop 40% from the 2023/2024 season.

NZCA Chair Tansy Tompkins writes of how while cruise is enjoying growth across the globe, New Zealand appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

The organisation is so concerned they are sending a big delegation to the Miami cruise conference to tackle the cruise lines in their home town to try and persuade them to return.

“The 2025/26 forecast reinforces the very real concerns NZCA has been raising since the post-covid restart.  Bucking the global trend of dynamic cruise tourism growth, New Zealand’s booking momentum has slowed significantly, and while final itineraries are still being confirmed, current projections indicate a major downturn.

“The sharp drop in forecast bookings – over 40% lower than our bumper 2023/24 season – has many in the industry deeply concerned about the future.”

The numbers can be seen below that show how from the 2023/2024 season, through to the 25/26 season, which is about five months away, bookings have fallen off a cliff.

This of course in turn leads to fewer passenger days, fewer vessels and fewer unique guests.

This is especially problematic for the industry as even its successful 2023/2024 season hadn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the current forecasts for the 2025/2026 season show passenger days are set to be lower than in 2017/2018.

Why is New Zealand dropping so rapidly?

The New Zealand Cruise Association offered four reasons for the decline, as well as some other potential factors.

• Biofouling risks: While fewer ships are being turned away, ships are still concerned about being denied entry after previous cruise seasons had many ships turned away for new environmental protection regulations.
• Uncertainty: Given that cruise lines need to organise years in advance, the constant changing of NZ cruise regulations, as well as a looming possibility of a Milford Cruise ban make it difficult for lines to plan ahead.
• Executive-level perception: The association feels that senior cruise like executives have the perception that New Zealand is a difficult place to operate a cruise line.
• Rising costs: Costs across central government agencies, port fees, regional authorities and more are making it more expensive to cruise in New Zealand, with the association stating “New Zealand is now the most expensive place in the world for a cruise ship to visit”.
• Other factors: Geopolitical disruptions to ship positioning and the weak position of the Australia and New Zealand dollars.

Furthermore, another factor appears to be that with cruise capacity declining in Australia, this will obviously have a flow-on effect to New Zealand, as the vast majority of cruise to New Zealand come from Australia.

New Zealand’s used to have Pacific Explorer homeport for at least a few weeks a year, but with the ship has now retired due to the end of P&O Australia. With Carnival focusing their operations around Sydney and Brisbane, New Zealand appears unlikely to have a large ship home porting in the near future.

It would appear clear that coordinated efforts is needed across both the Australian and New Zealand cruise industries, as well as their respective governments, in order to ensure it remains a region of the world that is attractive to cruise lines.

The plan for NZ to get back on top

The New Zealand Cruise Association CEO Jacqui Lloyd says that while NZ is feeling the loss of P&O, as well as many other challenging factors, they’re confident about getting back on top of things.

“Like Australia, New Zealand is certainly feeling the loss of the P&O brand. We continue to engage with Carnival Australia and Carnival Miami on future deployment plans.

“We anticipate that New Zealand could return to, or exceed, 23/24 season levels, which was our largest yet.

“The 23/24 season ran incredibly smoothly, with strong community support, a diverse range of high-quality tourism experiences, and high passenger satisfaction. One of the four key goals in our Cruise Aotearoa New Zealand 2040 strategy is to achieve $1 billion in direct cruise expenditure by 2040.

“With the 23/24 season reaching $637 million, this remains an achievable target, provided the industry remains united and there is stronger recognition and support from both central and local government.”

Lloyd says she believes the New Zealand government sees the potential of cruise tourism.

“There has been a notable shift within government towards recognising tourism’s growth potential, and the new Tourism and Hospitality Minister understands the value of cruise to New Zealand. NZCA maintains active engagement with the Minister, MBIE, key government agencies, and tourism associations to ensure cruise remains a priority.

“Our regular discussions and collaborative efforts are raising awareness at the highest levels, helping to address industry challenges and drive meaningful action.”