The Port of Brisbane has said it will welcome the arrival of the world’s largest ships, after a Royal Caribbean executive indicated earlier this week that the arrival of Oasis-class ships to Australia is imminent.
RCCL’s Associate Vice President of Marine & Safety, Captain Nik Antalis, said “it’s only a matter of time”, as he urged the Australian cruise industry to develop some of the country’s major ports.
Oasis-class vessels, which include Symphony and Harmony of the Seas, have the capacity of up to 5,400 lower berths.
At the moment, most Australian ports can’t meet the demand of these mega ships. The biggest ship sailing Australia’s waters at present is Ovation of the Seas, which has a maximum passenger capacity of 4,905.
Brisbane is building a new cruise terminal, which will come on stream next year and has the capability of handling Oasis class. It already has 190 bookings.
Mr Antalis highlighted that the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal is currently the only port that can handle giant cruise ships.
RCCL is not the only line that have these giants in their fleet – MSC, over the last two years have floated out ships like the MSC Meraviglia which has the capacity for up to 5,600 passengers. And Dream Cruises is also currently constructing their own mega ships – Global Class vessels, the line claims, will have the capacity for up to 9,000 passengers.
Mr Antalis, in his address to the Australian Cruise Association conference, also compared Australia’s deficiency of Oasis-class ports with Asia, saying that next year, the region has 40 destinations that will be able to handle the world’s largest ships.
But he also heeded some advice, pointing out ports like Hobart, Darwin and Fremantle require very little investment to get these destinations ready for megaships.
The downside though, is that Sydney and Auckland, two of the most popular destinations in Australia and New Zealand, remain problematic to handle giant ships.
I would like to see all of Australia have ports that could accommodate the these mega liners it would create thousands of full time jobs and it would be ideal for all those who love cruising as much as i do it’s truly great
Can’t wait to see an Oasis class boat here downunder. Did my first cruise on Oasis of the Seas on a Western Carribean route…….Set the bar really high I’m afraid the cruises sonce have been anticlimactic. Imagine the Oasis of the Seas in Sydney Harbour!!! WOW!!!!
Melbourne should smarten there act up and build a big international terminal to improve international tourism
I fail to see the advantage of having such a large passenger capacity on a ship. I have cruised on Ovation of the Seas and was utterly disappointed with the larger capacity and that is because of the number passengers on board. Personally, I prefer fewer passengers and look forward to my future cruise on Pacific Princess with 670 passengers.
Name of the largest cruise ship please.
All very well for the eastern states, but Perth badly needs major upgrading at Fremantle. It puts the west to shame to have such a poor “cruise terminal” if you can call it that! Apparently there was $3m upgrade done a couple of years ago but it certainly wasn’t enough by a long shot. Compared with o/s cruise terminals, Perth looks shamefully bad. With so many more people wanting to cruise these days, why do we have to go to Sydney or Melbourne when we have a perfectly good Harbour here? Shame on the WA Govt for not planning ahead! If the west is growing so much we need to keep up with all forms of transport – nice new airport but come on! Let’s have a nice new cruise terminal too – not just for us but for those visiting our state from overseas. Currently it’s a very bad impression using out-dated sheds/warehouses – even if they are so-called “heritage-listed”. Use them for markets – to go alongside with a new terminal.
Endorse everything Bob Dove said have done a lot of cruising and will be on the ovation this year really looking forward to the mega ships coming here no more having to fly to the USA keep the money in Australia, floating resorts wake up pollies think infrastructure.
Bring every large ship you can think of into Sydney that might give the NSW government a kick up the bum to do something about the lack of ship berth space. The government is just sitting on it thumbs.
We went on a Caribbean cruise on Symphony of the Seas in June 2019 and it was fantastic. We enjoyed it so much we booked for this year as soon as we got home to Oz. The ship is so big it doesn’t feel crowded, because it isn’t. The plan this cruise is to see all of the areas and restaurants we didn’t see the last time. We had 7 nights / 8days and it wasn’t enough time to see and experience everything by a long shot. Definitely would do a Pacific cruise on this ship regardless of ports of call. The ship is a destination in itself and the places visited are a bonus.
I usually like to meet as many passengers as I can, but 9000 I might be struggling
My partner and I have cruised many times in Australia ,New Zealand , Pacific Islands ,we have been on Oasis, Allure & Ovation. We have already booked for our third Ovation cruise for February 2020 ⚓️ So excited to hear this fantastic news. No more flights to the states just for Cruising. Look forward to experiencing these magnificent beauties down under. ⚓️
Been on Oasis (2010), Symphony (2019) and Ovation (2016). Loved them all!
I remember back in 2010 that people could not believe we’d been on a ship with 6,000 others on board. 2,500 was the ‘norm’ for most people we knew. And Oasis felt less crowed that the old Dawn princess (2,000 pax?). They had so much going on in so many different places at so many different times. I believe that’s why we felt less crowed. All spread out over different things in different places and times! Plus anytime dining made things so much easier. No set dining / theater swap over crowds clogging the pathways like on traditional ships.
Please, oh please, Australia, make it happen for the Oasis class ships!
9,000? Why not!
9000 passengers……….you have to be joking!