Australia Cruise Market 2024

[resordanis]

Just completed.

[windsor26]

also completed

[MicCanberra]

Done.

[Mycruiseobsession]

On 6/27/2024 at 1:22 PM, 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

 

 

What is the minimum number of signatures required  for this Aus Gov one? 

[Mycruiseobsession]

On 6/17/2024 at 2:02 AM, Ray4Fun said:

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.

 

 

Does anyone  have details on the smaller ports in Australia?

 

Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Cairns etc?

 

Just thinking out loud, if those said ports were dramatically cheaper perhaps their respective state governments could be marketing to these lines to home port there?

 

P.S. I did try to google but all I got was POA for Brisbane. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28 by Mycruiseobsession
Added the POA

[Jim_P]

Theres not a big enough market to support a ship homeporting in those states. 

Edited June 28 by Jim_P

[Mycruiseobsession]

2 minutes ago, Jim_P said:

Theres not a big enough market to support a ship homeporting in those states. 

 

I understand but even Melbourne with a much larger population has been cut due to increase in port fees.

 

However Brisbane with a smaller population still has regular homeporting.

 

April-November winter season is also great weather wise in QLD and closer for the Vanuatu et al ports and the Cairns / PNG ports.

 

I guess to the international cruise market Sydney is the only city in Australia 😜 so that's  why the ships continue  to have a bigger and much more expensive presence here. 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

38 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

What is the minimum number of signatures required  for this Aus Gov one? 

1 per person 

[Mycruiseobsession]

5 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

1 per person 

 

Sorry I should have asked that better.

 

I mean what is the minimum number of eligible signatories on the petition before it is accepted as a valid submission?

 

Sorry I am not sure how else to word what I mean. Must be nap time for me.

[The Cruise and Travel Guy]

2 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

Sorry I should have asked that better.

 

I mean what is the minimum number of eligible signatories on the petition before it is accepted as a valid submission?

 

Sorry I am not sure how else to word what I mean. Must be nap time for me.

 

50 🙂 very much exceeded!

[JJK2008]

I wish I were eligible to sign it. Keep it going. 

[arxcards]

17 hours ago, The Cruise and Travel Guy said:

 

50 🙂 very much exceeded!

I figure you have already spent enough hours on this, but I also want to make the most of my weekend with other downtime things. As Sydney is the base for so many lines and appears to be the most expensive port in the world, the NSW government should be targeted directly about their per head passenger tax. Their own mantra was that these charges were fair and reasonable and required to “allow a greater investment in cruise infrastructure”. It is only fair that their charges meet that investment, and not be just a revenue stream that makes Sydney the most expensive cruise port in the world.

 

From Cruise Weekly, June 2012:

The introduction of a $20 per passenger fee in Sydney is “fair and reasonable”, says State Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay. A CONTROVERSIAL new head tax for cruise passengers visiting Sydney, set to be introduced next year and increased annually until 2015/16, is quadruple the amount proposed by the cruise industry, according to peak body TTF. But the State Government, which announced the $20pp fee yesterday, said it was required to “allow a greater investment in cruise infrastructure”. State Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay said the current charge of $250 an hour to berth in Sydney was “not economically sustainable” and it was time for the industry to cough up. “The NSW Government had already launched an $87 million program to improve infrastructure to support the State’s booming cruise ship industry and it’s only fair to ask the cruise industry to help meet the costs,” Gay said. “There is no reason to suggest cruise growth in Sydney will be impacted by this new, fair and transparent fee,” he added. But as a TTF spokesperson explained to Cruise Weekly, the increase in Sydney Harbour’s wharfing costs has gone too far. “An average P&O ship would use eight hours at most, leaving it liable for $2000, which divided between 2000 passengers is $1,” he said. “Clearly that was too low and the industry had been talking to the Government to work out a rise, but we feel the $20/pax from 2013, then $25 in 2014 and then $30 in 2015 is unjustifiable.” The cruise industry had proposed a passenger charge of around $5 per head, he said. TTF chief executive John Lee also condemned the fee as “a tax on success”. “The cruise industry recognises that it should pay its fair share but this new charge goes beyond cost recovery and is designed to give Sydney Ports a new profit stream,” Lee said. “Overnight, Sydney Harbour will become one of the world’s most expensive for cruise ships.” Lee said TTF was particularly concerned that other states may follow NSW’s lead, leading to massive increases for passengers visiting multiple Australian ports. “TTF urges the NSW Government to undertake genuine consultations with the industry before the tax commences in 2013 to devise a system that more fairly recovers costs,” Lee said.

 

I understand this needs to be supported by a state MLA. From your advocacy to date, is there such a member that would support an e-petition to the NSW government? 

[Mycruiseobsession]

On 6/29/2024 at 10:44 AM, arxcards said:

not be just a revenue stream that makes Sydney the most expensive cruise port in the world.

 

A revenue stream they are losing if less passengers are arriving. They clearly didn't think it through. Short term gains for long-term pain. 

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

A revenue stream they are losing if less passengers are arriving. They clearly didn't think it through. Short term gains for long-term pain. 

The switch to the per head passenger tax happened over 10 years ago, and thought through as an easy target. Most passengers are unaware that this is built into their fare, let alone scare them away. Revenue is only precious to the cruise lines if it comes with a worthwhile profit.

[Chiliburn]

https://cruiseweekly.com.au/news/coastal-trading-act-exemption-extended/79601

[arxcards]

Surprise surprise.

Nice to see it get rubber stamped a little bit earlier and for a bit longer.

 

Not much has changed though, and it has just kicked the can down the road for two more years.

[Sparky74]

Yes, I just listened to Adrian’s YouTube video update. 

[mr walker]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Surprise surprise.

Nice to see it get rubber stamped a little bit earlier and for a bit longer.

 

Not much has changed though, and it has just kicked the can down the road for two more years.

Yes, you’d think that the industry would be seeking some surety over a longer timeframe. It’s not like an Australian cruise line is going to spontaneously appear to fill the market. Governments, of all persuasions, continue to amaze me.

[arxcards]

23 minutes ago, mr walker said:

Yes, you’d think that the industry would be seeking some surety over a longer timeframe. It’s not like an Australian cruise line is going to spontaneously appear to fill the market. Governments, of all persuasions, continue to amaze me.

Surety fullstop. 

These exemptions are not a win or loss, just a deferment. 

Yes, Australia will not be building a merchant fleet anytime soon, and that includes an Aussie operated cruise line. The irony with all today's self-congratulation is that until a cruise line with an Aussie payroll materialises, all foreign cruise ships will have their Aussie licences granted anyway. It is written in the legislation.

 

It is as if the proposed legislation was in hope that one of the US lines would spin-off an Australian crewed ship, but Carnival Corp have certainly quashed any possibility by dismantling the only cruise line that even had Australia in the brand name. 

[The Cruise and Travel Guy]

Hey guys! Great news today, as I can see has been reflected here in the community forum.

 

Yes, the two year exemption extension is just that - it is not the end of the story.

 

It's important to put this decision in context - one that takes into account that the government is reviewing the Coastal Trading Act (2012) in its entirety. This "promised" review is so overdue, that the extension was basically guaranteed to occur one way or another. The advantage this year, is that the extension was granted in August instead of late December as was the case in 2023.

 

It's a small, albeit still positive, step for local cruisers.

 

I've been promised a response from Minister King herself, and while I anticipate it will merely be confirmation that the exemptions have been extended for 2 years in light of an ongoing review, I'm quite happy with the fact that the voices of almost 1,300 cruisers (!) has landed on the desk of the Minister in charge.

Well done all, and of course I will continue to follow this up. I truly believe Australia requires one unified body to oversee much of this, something the country currently lacks.

Thanks again!

[possum52]

I received an email this morning from a cruise TA with the news about the extension of the exemptions. It was good to read this news as I hadn't been on here since yesterday morning.This is what the email included - 

'Earlier this week we were pleased to learn the Australian Government extended the exemption for cruise ships under the Coastal Trading Act until 31 Dec 2026. The industry had been seeking a 3-5 year extension, however the shorter period still provides a level of certainty the cruise industry needs. It comes at a time when cruising in Australia is being held back, in part due to the unpredictable regulatory environment and higher costs.'

 

[arxcards]

We really have no organised local lobbying body. CLIA is largely about supporting the TA network, and perhaps explains the fear in their announcements. There are many more TA jobs at stake than those in any other part of the cruise industry. It is encouraging that TTF and CLIA are looking to connect over these issues.

 

We are left as a bunch of rational (and a few irrational) cruisers as a voice of reason from a US cruise forum. Then we have fragmented cruise groups all over social media, competing for referral clicks and free cruises. It would be nice to think we could cobble together a powerful voice for cruising in Australia, but we are just an opinion. Royal Caribbean and Carnival corp are multi-billion dollar entities who generate significant profit as well as tax revenue for various Australian governments. You would think they are more than capable of selling their own cases to the federal & NSW transport ministers. It couldn't happen on Ann Sherry's watch, and it has me beat why Carnival Australia no longer has a local figurehead.

 

Let's set a date to revisit in 2026. Till then, we can at least agitate.

[Chiliburn]

24 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We really have no organised local lobbying body. CLIA is largely about supporting the TA network, and perhaps explains the fear in their announcements. There are many more TA jobs at stake than those in any other part of the cruise industry. It is encouraging that TTF and CLIA are looking to connect over these issues.

 

We are left as a bunch of rational (and a few irrational) cruisers as a voice of reason from a US cruise forum. Then we have fragmented cruise groups all over social media, competing for referral clicks and free cruises. It would be nice to think we could cobble together a powerful voice for cruising in Australia, but we are just an opinion. Royal Caribbean and Carnival corp are multi-billion dollar entities who generate significant profit as well as tax revenue for various Australian governments. You would think they are more than capable of selling their own cases to the federal & NSW transport ministers. It couldn't happen on Ann Sherry's watch, and it has me beat why Carnival Australia no longer has a local figurehead.

 

Let's set a date to revisit in 2026. Till then, we can at least agitate.

Why would a cruise line want to invest or send more ships here, with a uncertainty of that exemption not being renewed.

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Why would a cruise line want to invest or send more ships here, with a uncertainty of that exemption not being renewed.

Where is the uncertainty? If the exemption doesn't get renewed, they just apply to get licenses rubber stamped. Take some time to read how the new legislation would work. There is no uncertainty, just a lack of understanding from those who assume this is the reason that cruise lines are pulling ships. Seriously, take the time to read how & when permits and licenses apply. It is in B&W.

 

To take the opposite view, now they have "certainty" till the end of 2026, wouldn't we have another 1/2 dozen ships coming back next summer?