Royal Caribbean Cruises will have five ships in the Australia and New Zealand markets during the 2019-2020 season, according to Susan Bonner, vice president and managing director.

The Royal Caribbean brand will return with the Ovation, Voyager and Radiance of the Seas; Celebrity with the Solstice; and Azamara with the Quest.

“Sailing from October to April 2019-2020, we will have approximately 250,000 lower beds in the market, up 8 percent from 230,000 beds this coming season,” Bonner said.

“Over the holiday period, we carry more families with children, and consequently our actual guest numbers will be higher than our double occupancy estimate.”

Bonner added: “For Royal Caribbean, about 85 percent of our guests are sourced in Australia and New Zealand.

“When it comes to Celebrity it is more mixed with a roughly 50-50 split between what we get locally and internationally.

“Azamara sources about 25 percent of its passengers here and 75 percent of the guests who are sailing locally are coming from international markets.”

Despite having the largest penetration of any market, Bonner is convinced there is more potential that can be tapped in Australia and New Zealand.

“I look upon this like we (all the cruise lines) are in this together,” she said. “It is about us working together with all the stakeholders to develop the new-to-cruise market. There is a lot of potential here so the pie can really grow larger for everyone.

“Australians love to travel, they love the water, and the Ovation and Solstice are giving guests another reason to choose a cruise for their holiday option.”

Having had some infrastructure restraints, Bonner said she was delighted with the New South Wales government releasing its Cruise Development Plan in July. It is addressing the capacity and infrastructure restraints in Sydney and seeks to develop a regional cruise infrastructure, including new destinations along the New South Wales coast.

“The plan provides a greater degree of certainty for the industry,” Bonner said. “We need an additional terminal (in Sydney) when you consider all the capacity coming on line and the opportunity we have to grow the market.”

She continued: “We are making deployment decisions today for 2020 and 2021 and even further out and everybody needs to understand the infrastructure that has to be in place to deliver the right experience.

“Some of the islands can accommodate big ships, but there are opportunities for more collaboration, understanding of what the potential for cruise tourism is, and coming up with solutions that work for everyone.”

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Fall 2018