Australia Cruise Market 2024

[mr walker]

On 6/13/2024 at 11:57 AM, Mycruiseobsession said:

Yes my opinion is that we are currently  experiencing an advertising technique that is based on FOMO

 

(Fear of missing out)

 

"Everyone's booking and it's so popular!!"

 

OR

 

"Closing down, last chance!"

 

Either way it's catering to the impulsive urge to either be in with the crowd or not wanting to miss out on that last opportunity.

Yes, but where are the "60-80% OFF" signs normally associated with closing down sales?? 🙂

 

[Mycruiseobsession]

20 minutes ago, mr walker said:

Yes, but where are the "60-80% OFF" signs normally associated with closing down sales?? 🙂

 

Oh I am sure it will come!

 

Watch this space...

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, woodscruise said:

I agree with you, and I was not aware of it also. That maybe the reason in the 24/25 season I have not seen many Princess cruises short cruises (e.g. Discovery Princess from BNE to SYD on its maiden voyage into Sydney).

They are still planning short cruises on domestic relocations. A month or so ago, Princess canned the Brisbane season for Grand, and is relocating Crown to Brisbane for most of the Sumner. That includes newly available 3 night relocations in each direction.

 

Multi-porting from an overseas arrival, as with Discovery,  looks to be more problematic. Princess has taken multi-porting away from NZ cruises, so they have dropped the option of 5 night Auckland to Sydney/Brisbane legs from their NZ loop cruises.

 

At the time, I thought it was because it complicated customs  requirements (arriving as a local departure vs an overseas departure). It may be that the exemption has been altered and having an effect. There are still plenty of sector options on around Oz cruises.

 

P&Os structure is a bit different, and it is possible that as an "Australian" brand, they would be unable to operate under any new restrictions. They could well be part of their demise, but you would think Carnival Corp would be vocal in saying it our governments fault.

 

I had read the CW article, but can only presume the exemption has been extended, for now.

[arxcards]

According to a recent story in Cruise Passenger mag, the NSW (Sydney) passenger tax is now $44.72 per passenger.

 

Yes, it is over the top, but it is built into your fare and not an extra expense born by the cruise lines. It has been in place since 2012, was $30 in 2015 and has been indexed since then, so is well and truly established as part of the overall problem. The follow-on is that if we have less money to spend, a cruise becomes less attractive when the hidden taxes/charges are putting the prices up. The cruise lines are trying to resist those pressures, so lose in their profit margins.

 

The basis of the taxes was to fund new terminals. They upgraded OPT and built White Bay terminal, but they can't find a place to put the next one which is sorely needed. Offset from that, they also demolished a perfectly OK terminal so that they could develop Barangaroo. The governments' cash cow is being over-milked.

 

Carnival Australia's 2016 submission to the NSW government about fees & charges for Sydney

https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/online_submission_-_carnival_australia_-_s._olsen_-_6_may_2016_000000000.pdf

[arxcards]

Current charges for Sydney, including some quirky ones.

https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/media/jl2c3nis/z_port-authority-schedule-of-port-charges-fy2324_final_v3-0_6nov23.pdf

 

It also confirms why sailaway party doesn't start close to White Bay terminal - a $12,100 "good neighbour" charge that is rebated if they comply with noise restrictions.

[arxcards]

If you depart Australia for a foreign destination, including on a cruise, there is also a federal $60 tax for anyone 12 and over - passenger movement charge. This goes up to $70 on 1st July. I wonder how many passengers are aware their governments have charged them more than $100 before they can even board the ship.

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/crossing-the-border/passenger-movement/passenger-movement-charge-(pmc)

That is also part of the issue, where cruise lines and or passengers can be levied with a combination of Federal, State & local council charges.

Edited June 16 by arxcards

[mr walker]

30 minutes ago, arxcards said:

It also confirms why sailaway party doesn't start close to White Bay terminal - a $12,100 "good neighbour" charge that is rebated if they comply with noise restrictions.

Amazing!!!

[Chiliburn]

3 hours ago, woodscruise said:

I agree with you, and I was not aware of it also. That maybe the reason in the 24/25 season I have not seen many Princess cruises short cruises (e.g. Discovery Princess from BNE to SYD on its maiden voyage into Sydney).

I suppose with the last 30 years of globalisation and free trade ,things could be changing back to protectionism.

With the threat of conflict they might try to bring some of our industry back and cruise ships are caught in the crossfire.

 

Edited June 16 by Chiliburn

[Ray4Fun]

If the cruise news I heard last week is true, see below, then Sydney is Number one for charging fees to dock. In the world. I do not have the exact details the person used for this list. Any and all additional information covering this list is appreciated. Reality is the cost model may be a bit steep.

[Chiliburn]

A question I would like to ask is when all these ships pull out of Australia there’s going to be no revenue to pay these  bloated government employees.

 

What happens then ? Big Redundancy payments. Some of the deckhand’s are qualified to master a ship.

They are just killing the golden goose.

[joejoe 59]

On 6/13/2024 at 10:52 AM, reeves35 said:

We would say "polish a turd" but we get the metaphor.

Same same but different 🤣

[Jim_P]

Has anyone heard any updates about RC's South Pacific private island (Perfect Day at Lelepe)? I guess logic says it will be canned, but what a shame.

[reeves35]

25 minutes ago, Jim_P said:

Has anyone heard any updates about RC's South Pacific private island (Perfect Day at Lelepe)? I guess logic says it will be canned, but what a shame.

I don't know that it was ever anything more than vaporware.

 

[arxcards]

In the BC days, it was a bit more than Royal's annual aspirational thought bubble, with more substance than the Oasis class and year round ship bubbles.

 

Since restart, it has all changed. Priorities have been shuffled and it is nowhere near the top of Royal's list. The Aussie office still wheels it out from time to time, but the money needs to come from head office.

 

In short, nothing to update.

[arxcards]

There have been voices concerned about the Coastal Trading Act 2012, specifically about the exemption expiring at the end of the year. The exemption will again be rubber stamped for another year, The intent of the act is to provide for Australian jobs and income on ships and in the case of cruising, to try to prevent all of the profits from Australian domestic cruising disappearing overseas. It can never take effect on foreign cruise ships until we have an Australian crewed ship in our ports, and that is unlikely to ever happen as our red tape would make it so uncompetitive.

 

Broader than that exemption, as Australian cruisers, we are simply being gouged by the governments that over-administer the cruising from our ports. A bunch of government fees, taxes and service charges are being added to our fares, and these are continually indexed. By the time port charges, GST (on domestic), passenger movement charge (on international) is added, our governments are making more money out of a cruise than the cruise lines are. They are the ones making the investment and doing all of the work. In NSW. Most of these charges are not for a specific service but are merely revenue. This is when the added costs switch from being inconvenient to being unreasonable.

 

All this is impacting on our choice of cruises. Cruise lines are less inclined to focus on a market that offers them little return for their efforts. We have fewer ships this coming summer, and even fewer the one after. No more newer ships, and then there is the demise of an historic brand that was seen as being Australia's cruise line. That demise leaves minimal to nil options for cruising from Melbourne, Fremantle, Cairns & Auckland.

 

For those that have yet to add your signature, I would encourage you to read Adrian's @The Cruise and Travel Guy  petition, and consider lending your support.

 

Petition · Lower Port Fees & Extend the Cruise Vessel Exemption Under the Coastal Trading Act 2012 - Australia · Change.org

 

Thank You

Geoff

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

...For those that have yet to add your signature, I would encourage you to read Adrian's @The Cruise and Travel Guy  petition, and consider lending your support.

 

Petition · Lower Port Fees & Extend the Cruise Vessel Exemption Under the Coastal Trading Act 2012 - Australia · Change.org

 

Thank You

Geoff

I’ve found Adrian's YouTube videos to be quite informative. 
 

[Mycruiseobsession]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

For those that have yet to add your signature, I would encourage you to read Adrian's @The Cruise and Travel Guy  petition, and consider lending your support.

 

Petition · Lower Port Fees & Extend the Cruise Vessel Exemption Under the Coastal Trading Act 2012 - Australia · Change.org

 

Thank you for sharing, I have signed.

Would not have known otherwise.

 

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

There have been voices concerned about the Coastal Trading Act 2012, specifically about the exemption expiring at the end of the year. The exemption will again be rubber stamped for another year, The intent of the act is to provide for Australian jobs and income on ships and in the case of cruising, to try to prevent all of the profits from Australian domestic cruising disappearing overseas. It can never take effect on foreign cruise ships until we have an Australian crewed ship in our ports, and that is unlikely to ever happen as our red tape would make it so uncompetitive.

 

Broader than that exemption, as Australian cruisers, we are simply being gouged by the governments that over-administer the cruising from our ports. A bunch of government fees, taxes and service charges are being added to our fares, and these are continually indexed. By the time port charges, GST (on domestic), passenger movement charge (on international) is added, our governments are making more money out of a cruise than the cruise lines are. They are the ones making the investment and doing all of the work. In NSW. Most of these charges are not for a specific service but are merely revenue. This is when the added costs switch from being inconvenient to being unreasonable.

 

All this is impacting on our choice of cruises. Cruise lines are less inclined to focus on a market that offers them little return for their efforts. We have fewer ships this coming summer, and even fewer the one after. No more newer ships, and then there is the demise of an historic brand that was seen as being Australia's cruise line. That demise leaves minimal to nil options for cruising from Melbourne, Fremantle, Cairns & Auckland.

 

For those that have yet to add your signature, I would encourage you to read Adrian's @The Cruise and Travel Guy  petition, and consider lending your support.

 

Petition · Lower Port Fees & Extend the Cruise Vessel Exemption Under the Coastal Trading Act 2012 - Australia · Change.org

 

Thank You

Geoff

It seems it’s in the CC guidelines, I’ll post it on the Royal forum.

Maybe you might like to post it on other forums.

 

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6353?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3VEcoULo0dl1cxljvDsu0gkqzJVYImxFYj35fLPLthPAnVlexvBEXEr2A_aem_1gVPiVw-CFT4stjyI0HspA

Edited Thursday at 02:02 AM by Chiliburn

[The Cruise and Travel Guy]

Thank you @arxcards for sharing the petition. It was also just featured in a Travel Weekly article so hopefully it gets in front of a few more eye balls.

It's certainly not a one-and-done fix, and government may well respond with a, "thanks for your concern, but that's just the way it is" once the petition reaches parliament, but I'm really hoping we can show strength in numbers.

 

Thanks again to everyone for supporting and sharing.

[arxcards]

Maybe we could garner some editorial support from Cruise Critic instead of "spamming" the other forums. If you contribute to that forum, anyone can add it if they want.

 

Here is a clean version of your link, so that people don't earn brownie points from the source. Simply:

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6353

 

[Chiliburn]

45 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Maybe we could garner some editorial support from Cruise Critic instead of "spamming" the other forums. If you contribute to that forum, anyone can add it if they want.

 

Here is a clean version of your link, so that people don't earn brownie points from the source. Simply:

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6353

 

I could be wrong but I think it’s for Australian residents only.

[arxcards]

7 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I could be wrong but I think it’s for Australian residents only.

The Australian government e-petition link, yes, it would be Australia only. 

 

The earlier link to change.org, I believe is available to all. 

[Mycruiseobsession]

9 hours ago, arxcards said:

Here is a clean version of your link, so that people don't earn brownie points from the source. Simply:

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6353

 

 

Thank you! I just signed that one too.

 

N.B. Just make sure everyone remembers to confirm their email or it won't count your signature. 

 

 

 

 

[possum52]

 

18 hours ago, arxcards said:

Here is a clean version of your link, so that people don't earn brownie points from the source. Simply:

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6353

 

 

Thanks Geoff. Done!

[ceeceeDee]

Completed. Thanks Geoff