CELEBRITY Solstice’s arrival in Sydney this weekend marks the start of the 2016/17 cruise season for Australia and New Zealand, with capacity rising about 15% on the year prior across RCL Cruise Ltd operated ships.
The season sees Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara offer seven ships in Australasian waters, offering 101 itineraries and carrying over 300,000 guests this season – injecting $208 million in passenger spend into Australian ports alone.
RCL Australia/NZ managing director Adam Armstrong said the period includes “undoubtedly our biggest and most exciting season to date”, with the debut of Royal Caribbean’s brand new Ovation of the Seas, arriving in Fremantle on 06 Dec before homeporting in Sydney on 15 Dec and heralding the start of ‘supercruising’ here.
“This is truly going to blow Australia away,” Armstrong said.
