It’s been a remarkable mystery for months. But why, as our love of cruising is soaring, has the industry cut back on Australia’s cruise ships?
Now, after analysing the routes of five major cruise ships leaving our shores in the coming seasons, Cruise Passenger can reveal four vessels are heading to the same destination. And looking at the cruise fares charged there, it isn’t hard to figure out why.
Four of the five ships will be sailing in the Caribbean, which offers better access and higher fares for major cruise lines than sailing out of Australia.
An examination of prices gives some insight into why this trend is taking place and why Australia’s cruise ships are leaving.
- An eight-night roundtrip from Singapore to Bali starts from $2022
- A seven-night sailing in Japan from Beijing starts at $2256.
Both these prices are much higher than you’d expect to pay for a week of sailing with Royal Caribbean in Australia, which would generally be closer to the $1100-$1400 mark.
| Ship | New Destination |
| Ovation of the Seas | Asia |
| Queen Elizabeth | The Caribbean |
| Resilient Lady | The Caribbean |
| Grand Princess | The Caribbean |
| Brilliance of the Seas | The Caribbean |
While the industry is reluctant to talk openly about this move, Cruise Lines International Association Australasia MD Joel Katz has spoken in the past about high port fees, regulations and the inability to expand access to Sydney as deterring cruise lines from putting their best ships here.
Line bosses like Norwegian Cruise Lines Harry Sommer has been particularly vocal, speaking out about how difficult it has been to get access to the Overseas Passenger Terminal. And this is a major factor in why Australia’s cruise ships are heading to the Caribbean.
Attempts by Australia’s cruise ships to gain access to Garden Island, the naval base less than a couple of kilometres from Sydney’s CBD, have been blocked by governments for decades, making sailings from Sydney difficult. Only mid-sized vessels can reach White Bay Cruise Terminal, which involves passing under the harbour bridge.
The list of Australia’s cruise ships that are leaving
Royal Caribbean is going from three ships in Australia to two, and slashing the class of ships. Just one Quantum vessel replacing two.
Anthem of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas arrive in 2025/2026. Brilliance of the Seas makes way next season and won’t return to Australia. Instead, it is set to sail in the Caribbean next season.
Ovation of the Seas is also leaving. She will pivot to Asia for 2025/2026 sailings.
Another big loss to Australia’s cruise ships was the confirmation that Resilient Lady will not return for a second season. Come next year during the 2024/2025 Australian cruise season, she’ll be sailing roundtrips out of San Juan and Miami, on a range of Caribbean itineraries.
A favourite to Australian shores since 2013/2014 has been the Queen Elizabeth, from the Cunard fleet. However, she’ll cease homeporting in Australia from 2025/2026, instead sailing itineraries in the Caribbean. She’ll sail a range of roundtrips out of Miami, ranging from nine to 21 nights.
Aussie cruise faithful were shaken last week by the news that Grand Princess wouldn’t be returning to Australia in 2025/2026 as scheduled.
Princess Cruises won’t the ship. But rather opting to homeport only two ships in Australia. Once again, Grand Princess is heading to the Caribbean, set to the homeport of San Juan from October 2025.
Princess Chief Commercial Officer Terry Thornton had the following to say: “Puerto Rico remains one of the fastest-growing destinations in the Caribbean and continues to attract new airlift from source markets across the US as well as markets in Europe and South America, which makes it a great fit for Princess. Plus, there are many outstanding options to choose from for a great pre-or post-cruise stay.”
Why are Australia’s cruise ships going to the Caribbean?
The numbers
- Around 55% of Royal Caribbean’s deployment is currently in the Caribbean
- In 2023, 63% of Carnival Corp revenue came from North America, versus 55% of revenue from North America, 56% in 2018 and 53% in 2017
- In 2023, Australian cruises represented 5% of revenue for Carnival Corp, versus 13% in 2019. Going back to 2017, the percentage of revenue coming from Australia was as high as 15%.
- The Asia Pacific market represented around 8% of all revenue in 2019, however, in 2023, the Asia Pacific market represented just 6% of all revenue.
At Royal Caribbean’s first-quarter earnings calls, President and CEO Jason Liberty gave insights into why the Caribbean is the place to be for large cruise ships.
Around 55% of Royal Caribbean’s deployment is currently in the Caribbean. Many of these itineraries are based around Royal Caribbean’s private island experience, Perfect Day at CoCoCay.
Liberty says Caribbean itineraries are pulling in a new demographic of younger cruisers, which appears to be financially beneficial for the line in several ways.
“One of the incredible things that we’re seeing out of destinations like Perfect Day — and we’ll see this in the Royal Beach Club in Nassau — is how it’s drawing in new-to-cruise (passengers) and millennials.”
The younger cruiser
Liberty also mentioned that pre-bookings have experienced, with younger cruisers tending to prebook cruises and onboard activities earlier, as well as engaging more with digital methods of booking.
“Our journey to deepen the relationship with the customer continues this year.
“We are removing friction and unlocking travel planning by investing in a modern digital travel platform, making it easier than ever for guests to book their dream vacations while allowing us to expand wallet share.”
The numbers are looking similar for Carnival Cruises Corporation. While their last annual report doesn’t provide exact segmented data for the Caribbean, it does reveal that 61% of profits are coming from North America.
Compared to 2019 Carnival Corp registered 55% of revenue from North America, 56% in 2018 and 53% in 2017. This suggests a post-COVID focus on the North American region.
Furthermore, in 2023, Australian cruises represented 5% of revenue for Carnival Corp, versus 13% in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year of cruise. Going back to 2017, the percentage of revenue coming from Australia was as high as 15%.
The numbers show a clear decline in revenue coming from Australia, and the moves of Carnival Corp such as withdrawing Queen Elizabeth and Grand Princess from Australia seem to suggest their focus is shifting elsewhere.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ annual reports show similar figures. The Asia Pacific market represented around 8% of all revenue in 2019, however, in 2023, the Asia Pacific market represented just 6% of all revenue. This is especially pertinent as NCL sails with just one ship in Australia, meaning a large portion of the Asia Pacific revenue is coming from Asia, rather than Australia.
NCL has seen its biggest revenue increases in Europe, likely due to the success of luxury lines Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas in the region.
Another issue is that NCL insiders have directly communicated to Cruise Passenger that cruise capacity issues in Sydney mean that the cruise line is not sending over its best and biggest ships.
Newer cruise ships represent the best profitability for cruise lines, as they can charge higher fares for the new facilities and there are more onboard activities to be offered.
However, factors like rising port taxes in Melbourne and lack of cruise capacity in Sydney, mean cruise lines aren’t sending their best and biggest ships to Australia.
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No loss Grand Princess it is being replaced be Crown Princess a much newship
Princess has a more probable reason for leaving Australia, that is that Australians are not used to tipping so the cruise lines have to offer better wages to their staff, making profits lower. P & O will continue to take up the cruises the others have given up, and possibly give a better service that they do currently. They know Australia better than anyone else and will provide a better service, including quite possibly, another of the Princess ships that is phased out from the over supplied Carribean market.
Having just returned from a 14 night cruise in the Caribbean on the Enchanted Princess, honestly the Caribbean is such a more interesting cruise destination than anything I’ve experienced in the South Pacific. the Mayan history, Mexican culture, and the pirate Paradise of the Virgin Islands. Comparing Caribbean to South Pacific I would pick the Caribbean in a heartbeat, also provides access to newer and larger ships, and more pre/post cruise options like New York City, DisneyWorld or Yosemite.. It’s just the 22 hour flight to get there is a bi**h.
We’ll be left with shoddy P&O Australia and over-the-top-and-not-always- in-a-good-way Carnival Cruises only ? Its bad enough we only have those limited options in our “off season” already. I suspect my cruising out of Australia days will be over if our options are so limited.
Already I’m doing fly – stay – fly holidays now. I’m a senior with quiet laid back tastes and requirements. Booze cruises and masses of children just don’t appeal.
No mention of the Brisbane cruise terminal option in this Sydney-centric discussion. Brisbane has plenty of capacity to host home ported ships at a lower cost; closer to the pacific islands and Asia saving extra days at sea.
P O Australia and Princess, for that matter, offer far wider destinations than what RC and Carnival offer…wonder why this is so ? eg Doing a PO PNG cruise in August and the ship is fully booked so no problem selling cabins out of Brisbane. Great time of year to head north. RC need to look closely at this.
As for fares in the US, headline fares may be higher and cruise lines may well get a % of these prices but I constantly have offers as low as US$299 for a 3-5 night Caribbean cruise hit my inbox almost every week to obviously fill RC cabins. Go figure.
In the end the public will decide if they want to cruise on second or third tier ships that the companies serve up. From 2025-26, every ship home porting out of Brisbane will be 20 years old or more and this is just not good enough. Quantum has been a success out of Brisbane but we get Voyager instead with some discussion about year round porting TBC???
The cruise companies are a business NOT a social service. Follow the money.
After 50 + cruises I can see Princess and Holland America chasing the younger crowd who get drunk and spend more money.
As a former secretary manager of a club I know the profit margin in drinks. $30 for a bottle of spirits where you get 32 nips. Mixers cost next to nothing. Charge $14 for the drink with added lime or lemon. 1000% profit! Compare that to the shops where margins are 20-30%, specialty restaurants make 30%, bingo next to nothing, casino 20%.. Everything else is a cost to the line. Hence more bars open longer.
Older Australians are health conscious. They don’t drink, hardly gamble and eat properley.
Such a disappointment. Having now had a cruise on Grand Princess cancelled in 2025, we are looking to flying overseas to boards alternative cruise lines. We have been cruising with Princess in recent years; no more! Go to the Caribbean to get your “wallet share”.
We live in Far North Queensland.
Flying to either Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide or Freemantle is an extra large cost to do any length of cruise. Overseas to New Zealand, Asian ports or further afield is out of the question. Once in a BLUE moon is our motto so therefore we are better cruising in our own country. Just remember FNQ is never considered by the big cities.
Government morons wouldn’t know an opportunity if they fell over it.
Killing the cruise industry down under they are.
Such shortsightedness is mind boggling.
Convert Garden Island immediately and send the Navy to Jervis Bay, it’s a no brainer.
Surely even politicians can see this !!!!
Spot on Cruise Passenger. This decline in cruising in and out of Australia is also reflected in the overall decline in tourism inbound and domestic in Australia. The crippling cost of doing business and providing tourism products in Australia is a key factor along with the added issue of high interest rates and the relatively lower cost of holidaying in other countries. Australia is now a very expensive place to holiday! Finally, there are serious limitations to the range of destinations cruise companies can offer cruisers out of and back to Australia with Australian cruisers now fly cruising to Europe, North America and Asia!
If the cruise companies are not going to homeport their ships in Australia why should people wanting cruise from here bother to make any effort to try to support these companies any more, so by all means have their dummy spit go back to where they’ve come from and we will keep our money in our pockets and not bother anymore, just remember without customers supporting them they have lost support from Australia!.
West Australians are sick of having to fly east to cruise ,we want Fremantle to Fremantle cruises please
After 10 cruises with Princess, our final cruise with Princess will be in June out of Southampton. The price changes with Princess over the past two years out of Sydney and Brisbane have been higher in costs and loss of perks and privileges, unless you want to get drunk seven days a week paying for expensive drinks packages.
Au Reviour Princess!
We will continue flying overseas to link up with other cruise lines! look for another line.
They will be back as there will be too many ships in the caribbean then there will be too much competition resulting in discounted fares, plus how many times do you cruise to the caribbean before you get sick of the same destination.
Yep give it time they’ll be back.
Having cruised around 30/40 odd cruises out of Sydney over the previous 15 years, its gotten boring going to the same old destinations time and again. And the ships to pacific Islands have added a extra day at sea on the return leg,I’m glad to say…I’ve been there,done that.hasta la vista cruising!!!
Not happy with the new deployment of ships, especially Princess!
I will have to find new and hopefully exciting places to holiday in my homeland of Australia. Lots to see and do here though I do love the sea and cruising.