“The Port of Newcastle has seen significant growth in the cruise sector, including a doubling in the number of visits over the past two years,” said Port of Newcastle Chief Commercial Officer Simon Byrnes.

While the total number of cruise ship visits in 2019-2020 will be stable, year-over-year, the size of vessels and number of passengers visiting Newcastle continues to grow for the Australian port, which is coming off a 16 call 2018-2019 season that saw 29,000 guests.

Projections for this coming season, 2019-2020, are for 15 calls and over 30,000 passengers, which would mark a new record. Maiden visits include the Explorer Dream from Dream Cruises with six scheduled calls and two Princess vessels, the Sea and Golden Princesses.

Helping drive this growth was a significant investment the port made in 2017 when it upgraded its mooring bollards, enabling bigger ships to access Newcastle, Byrnes said.

“Newcastle is an ideal destination port for cruise passengers, with its close proximity to the Newcastle coastline and world class beaches, the rolling vineyards of the Hunter Valley wine region and natural beauty of Port Stephens,” Byrnes continued. “These attractions make Newcastle an incredibly popular port of call among Australian and international guests.”