Royal Caribbean’s push for bigger

[woodscruise]

Voyager-class or Oasis-class

ships could be on the way to

Australia – if only we could

handle it.

CRUISE LINES HAVE LONG LAMENTED THAT MORE

modern vessels cannot visit Australia

because it is impossible to fit these larger

ships under the popular gateway of Sydney

Harbour Bridge.

This call for additional berth options in

Sydney was renewed recently at the cruising

industry’s Cruise Down Under conference in

Brisbane.

Craig Milan, RCC’s senior vice president

land operations and president of Royal

Celebrity Tours, emphasised: “We need

another large ship berth east of the Harbour

Bridge!”

Milan also suggested that when Sydney

“becomes saturated”, other cities may be

considered as “turn ports”.

“Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns could be

beneficiaries,” he said.

Twelve out of 23 ships scheduled for

delivery through 2012 will exceed 100,000

gross tons, which increases the requirements

on port infrastructure to adequately support

calls, Milan added.

He said cruise lines were partnering with

overseas ports in the US and the Caribbean

to build piers and infrastructure for larger

ships.

Milan outlined the requirements for a port

to handle a Voyager-class vessel, which he

confirmed the company would like to bring

to Australia.

“Until there’s something done

outside the Harbour Bridge to

accommodate the larger ships

it’s really going to stymie the

ability of this industry to grow

within this region.”

RCC’s 137,000-tonne Voyager-class

vessels include Voyager of the Seas, Explorer

of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas,

Navigator of the Seas and Mariner of the

Seas.

“Until there’s something done outside the

Harbour Bridge to accommodate the larger

ships it’s really going to stymie the ability of

this industry to grow within this region,”

Milan said.

“Eventually we would like to bring an

Oasis-class ship down here,” he added.

Oasis-class includes the world’s biggest

cruise ships, the 5,400-passenger Oasis of the

Seas and soon-to-debut Allure of the Seas.

Source Cruise Weekly 07 September 2010

[DreamTeam]

:p Wohoooooooo lol i asked why we couldn't have bigger cruise ships here in OZ.

Come to Melbourne we have no bridges to go under lol.

[thied]

We have been asking the same thing for yrs here in brisbane why why why cant we have new cruise terminal east of the gate way bridge?

[livingstone]

why not run tender boats from where the ship is parked in the harbour to circular quay, it would only be a five miniute ride

[The_Big_M]

why not run tender boats from where the ship is parked in the harbour to circular quay, it would only be a five miniute ride

 

It's been done a few times, but it's not as convenient for both the ships (start/destination ports need more luggage and supply transfers than usual intermediate stops, which causes much more hassle and time if all of that also has to be done via tender) and it's not as good an experience for the passengers to have to be shuttled on and off.

[Australian family]

It's been done a few times, but it's not as convenient for both the ships (start/destination ports need more luggage and supply transfers than usual intermediate stops, which causes much more hassle and time if all of that also has to be done via tender) and it's not as good an experience for the passengers to have to be shuttled on and off.

 

And added expense.

 

Obviously Australia is seen as the pot of gold. Bring it on.

 

It would be good if they used other ports as the turning ports. It would be good if Brisbane had the opportunity to be a turning port, as they have the new facilities at Fishermans Island. The hotel industry in Brisbane would do very well with more cruise ships, especially in January which is the quiet time in the industry.

 

More cruise ships can only be a good for the tourism industry of Australia, New Zealand and our neighbouring pacific islands. Plus the extra competition in the cruise industry.

 

I was also talking recently to a staff member from Royal Caribbean about them having a ship in Australia all year round, and she suggested that I email the head office about the request, she told me that these requests are better coming from the general public, rather than the staff making note of requests.