Why new-to-cruise Aussies are flocking to weekend cruises – here’s how you can too

• Weekend cruises continue to rise in popularity across Australia, enticing many Aussies to try cruising for the first time.
• Carnival Cruise Line is capturing most of these cruisers, with their low prices and significant inventory of short cruises likely drawing holidaymakers in.
• Carnival is now running more cruises of four-nights or less than longer cruises of five-nights or more.

While Australia is already filled with cruise fanatics, who are known for their loyalty and repeat cruisers, it appears that plenty of new cruisers are coming to join the party as well. These new cruisers tend to be starting out with short weekend cruisers, and oftentimes are leaning towards Carnival Cruise Line as their line of choice.

New to cruise guests are reportedly flocking over to Carnival, with an industry source reporting that 70% of those sailing on Carnival ships at the moment are new to cruise. 

These shorter cruises that we’ve seen both Carnival and Royal Caribbean turning towards in recent years provide the perfect opportunity for those who want a quick taste of cruising and might not have considered it in the past. For example, younger cruisers who may not have previously considered themselves part of the cruising demographic, or those who are looking for better value holidays as cost of living pressures mount on Aussies.

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Who is offering weekend cruises

Carnival is taking full advantage of this. From now until the end of June, Carnival will run a massive 67 cruises that are four-nights or shorter, with three-night cruises starting from just $404. In this same time period, Carnival will run just 60 cruises of five-nights or more, meaning they’re actually running more shorter cruises than anything else, clearly indicating their preference for shorter itineraries. 

The line’s boss Peter Little told Cruise Passenger in an exclusive interview Carnival’s shorter weekend and three-to-five-night cruises are selling strongly, offering an easy escape for time-poor Australians looking for a quick getaway.

Royal Caribbean will be running 12 shorter sailings of four-nights or less for the season ahead, however, prices are a bit steeper, with three-night cruises starting from $699 out of Brisbane and $899 out of Sydney.

While Royal Caribbean’s short cruises are undoubtedly popular, it’s likely that Carnival’s lower price tag is helping win over the new to cruise market, with the modest prices offering a gentle barrier to entry for those hoping to try cruising for the first time.

With Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises all now positioning themselves as more premium options in the Australian market, Carnival has been left alone as the sole true budget option for Aussies, and this strategy appears to be working as the line rakes in the new-to-cruise market.  

This strategy of shorter cruises could soon spread itself around Australia as well. In 2028, Carnival Adventure is scheduled to go to Melbourne and sail a whole month of shorter cruises, of three and four-nights. 

Since P&O Cruises Australia was absorbed into Carnival, many cruise fans have been waiting to see if Carnival will do something to substitute the old role that Pacific Explorer played, where it sailed around Australia and homeported out of different cities. The combination of Carnival hinting at more regional deployments and the scheduled Adventure sailings in Melbourne could suggest that Carnival’s method of regional sailing could be bringing these shorter weekend getaway cruises around Australia.

This would work to strike a balance between appeasing Aussies from cities that aren’t Brisbane or Sydney who want to cruise from their doorstep, and also attempting to capture the new-to-cruise market in other cities.

While we can only speculate upon Carnival’s future strategy, what we can be sure on is that short cruises will be at the centre of it, as short cruises continue to be the flavour of the month in Australian cruising.

Short cruises are definitely popular, but some cruisers don’t like seeing too much of a tendency towards these cruises, and prefer to see a focus on longer itineraries and more varied destinations.

What do you think?