Best Winter Cruises from Sydney in 2017

CC News has a list of best winter cruises from Sydney in 2017.

Darwin today - 23 - 33c

Sydney today - 16 - 19c

We will know we have arrived as a cruising country, when we can cruise to northern Australia in winter.

CC News has a list of best winter cruises from Sydney in 2017.

 

Darwin today - 23 - 33c

Sydney today - 16 - 19c

 

We will know we have arrived as a cruising country, when we can cruise to northern Australia in winter.

I can't work out why Darwin isn't our Port Everglades.

It's interesting that in the home of cruising - the US - their primary market, which is way bigger than ours is in the warmer, leisure base of Florida. And their equivalent major city port that is also in the cool end, like ours (Sydney) is not busy at all.

So pretty much the opposite of how our sailings are structured.

But then you have to consider that the international ship growth has come from where foreigners want to travel, so they see Sydney as first. Though, given we're up to I believe about 75% Australians on local cruises, maybe that should change? But not showing any sign of that.

I thought Bris-Vegas was the best Winter departure. P&O have lots going out of there at Moment.. 2 days less to go to Islands (van, Fuji, New etc). Could tempt me. Sydney still doesn't lose it luster even after 15 cruises & in Winter..

I think the cruise industry has been slow to understand the potential of the Australian market. Australians are travellers, always have been, whether driving around Australia, flying to South Pacific islands or SE Asia. We have long holidays, unlike the majority of Americans, so we travel further afield.

There has been a growth in short cruises, but where are the longer cruises north in our winter?

I think Brisbane or Cairns to Darwin, in winter, could be a winner.

There has been a growth in short cruises, but where are the longer cruises north in our winter?

 

I think Brisbane or Cairns to Darwin, in winter, could be a winner.

especially as it's outside cyclone season and less likely to have itinerary changes due to weather.

Also...If only the winter school holidays were 3 weeks instead of 2 and make the summer one a week shorter.

This time of the year we need cruises from Sydney/Bris/Cairns and Darwin.

The twits in Miami who plan all the itineraries, especially at Princess havent a clue as far as Australia is concerned.

What is the worst time to go to Northern Australia and Queensland ? Summer stinking hot, humid and cyclones - so when do the cruiselines run the Quuensland, Northern Australia and circumnavigations - in Summer of course !!! The time to schedule those is in the Australian Winter, when it is pleasantly warm in the North ..

Victorians, South Australians and Tasmanians crave to get away to the warmth of the South Pacific in the months of June & July when the weather is freezing cold in Southern Australia .. So when do the cruise lines schedule ex Melbourne to South Pacific in Summer of course when it is the WET season in the South Pacific . Just bloody hopeless, and they will NOT listen The first cruise line to run South Pacific itineraries ex Melbourne in June and July will make a killing . Cruise lines should stop BITCHING about the lack of capacity in Sydney and extend the season ex Melbourne , by 1. a circumnavigation of Australia ex Melbourne mid April, then back to back itineraries to 1. New Caledonia / Vanuatu, 2. a round trip South Pacifi & Hawaii round trip 3. Round trip Cairns then start the NZ, South Australia, Tasmania season October as now . Its not ROCKET science . Its called BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT and cruise lines need more decision makes downunder and less more of the same from Miami HQ.

The twits in Miami who plan all the itineraries, especially at Princess havent a clue as far as Australia is concerned.

You've got to remember that apart from the few old local ships here, Australia has been an adjunct of the Alaskan cruise scene and is now becoming an adjunct of the China cruise scene.

So we get the good ships from Alaska and China only when they're out of season. Which is our summer.

The only way to change that is to base some of the more modern ships, not just old clunkers, all year round in Australia.

I don't think that will happen until after the cruise lines have figured out the China market, and maybe not even then.

Get your facts right. Princess rarely/never schedules Top End cruises in the peak summer months - December, January, February.

Unfortunately to get to the South Pacific from Melbourne ships have to go through Bass Strait, and conditions can be nasty there in winter. It can be bad enough departing from Sydney with heavy seas up the East Coast at times. Yes, I'd love to see more winter cruising but we have to be realistic. I don't think Melbourne is a viable departure port in winter.

The other factor to take into consideration is that summer is peak tourist season in Australia. That's when the overseas tourists visit and that's where the non-resident lines blow through for a few months. That's where the most money is.

What is really annoying is that there will be very few cruises in the 2018 winter, other than P&O:

The summer blow-ins head back to where they came from, and that includes Carnival Legend although Carnival Spirit stays over as usual.

Golden Princess disappears up to Asia in March, as does Diamond Princess.

Sea Princess starts the usual World Cruise in June, arriving back in September.

Sun Princess also disappears up to Asia in June.

That means there are no Princess cruises from anywhere in Australia until Majestic arrives mid-September. :eek:

Let's hope this isn't going to be a pattern for future years. :mad:

especially as it's outside cyclone season and less likely to have itinerary changes due to weather.

 

Also...If only the winter school holidays were 3 weeks instead of 2 and make the summer one a week shorter.

That is where fly cruises come in, for those with less time to travel - one way cruise to Darwin, land content, fly back (like a lot of people do to Hawaii).