The arrival of five superliners gives Australians five more reasons to look forward to summer!
September 2013, Sydney: – Five world-class Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises superliners are making their way Down Under for a sizzling 2013-14 cruise season. The combined fleet will keep adventurous travellers happy with a selection of 73 cruises available throughout Australian, New Zealand, Asian and South Pacific waters; and dock-masters in Sydney busy with a total of 59 turnarounds in Sydney Harbour.
First off the mark is Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas, which departed Vancouver earlier this month and arrives in Sydney on 5 October to start her seventh consecutive Australian season. She will be followed closely by Radiance of the Seas on 11 October. Arriving on 23 October is Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Solstice, Australia's youngest superliner epitomising 'modern-luxury'. The largest and most innovative ship in the region, Voyager of the Seas, returns to her Sydney home port on 7 November. Celebrity Millennium calls on Sydney on 20 November on her way to Asia.
"It is full steam ahead for an even bigger Australasian cruising season this year. We are offering a total of 73 cruises and are looking forward to welcoming over 210,000 guests on our five luxurious superliners – 10% more than last year," says RCL Australia & New Zealand Commercial Director, Adam Armstrong.
"Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises now offer the newest, biggest, most modern and amenity-rich cruise ships sailing from Australia. As Australians have become more 'cruise savvy' we have responded to their evolving demands by bringing a superior fleet to deliver a calibre of cruise holiday that you couldn't previously experience in local waters. We're especially pleased to welcome back Australia's largest ships, Voyager of the Seas and Celebrity Solstice for their second seasons.
"We continually look for ways to improve our guests' experiences. This season we introduce the Barbie Experience At Sea on Royal Caribbean ships and a host of new itineraries; whilst on Celebrity Cruises, we've introduced a new craft cocktail selection, Xbox At Sea and iTake movie workshops for teens."
New itinerary highlights this season include the chance to sail to the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia and Fiji for the first time on Australia's highest rated premium cruise ship, Celebrity Solstice; a shorter 11-night itinerary to New Zealand; additional 2- and 3-night Sampler cruises; and a 15-night New Year cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas which uniquely combines ports in Queensland and the South Pacific islands for the very first time.
"Bookings for this season show the continued popularity of multigenerational cruising –kids, parents and grandparents travelling together. Our South Pacific cruises are particularly popular for travelling families. More people are also turning to cruising as a way of seeing their own country, for instance on a Tasmanian, Queensland or Round Australia cruise, and these itineraries remain ever popular with overseas guests," says Mr. Armstrong.
CLIA Australasia General Manager Brett Jardine, said: "This summer season will see a wide range of ships sailing our waters, so it will really demonstrate the many different styles of cruise holidays now available locally. Cruising is a year round industry for Australia now, but a busy summer season like this will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy."
Royal Caribbean International remains Sydney's largest cruise line this coming summer, offering more cruises and carrying more guests than any other cruise line in the 2013-14 season. Royal Caribbean International was also recently voted 'Best Australian Based Cruise Line' at the National Travel Industry Awards.