Australia has a cruise problem, and it's travellers who are paying for it. The country's cruise sector has shed more than $1 billion in value after several major cruise lines pulled out and, with regulatory costs high, the ships that remain have failed to grow in number. The upshot: demand now comfortably outstrips supply, and bookings are drying up years in advance.
Belle Goldie, founder of The Cruise & Travel Store and a cruise specialist of more than 26 years, says her agency is regularly turning customers away. One recent example: a family of five, including two children with accessibility needs, wanted a 28-day round-Australia sailing with Princess in late 2027. Already sold out. Their only option is to shift to 2028.
For Goldie, the frustration goes beyond capacity. Repeat cruisers keep coming back wanting something new — a fresh ship, different ports, an unfamiliar route — and are instead shown much the same line-up of South Pacific, New Zealand and Australian coast itineraries they've already done, some of them nine or ten times. Rather than book a repeat, many are taking their holiday money overseas: pre- and post-cruise spending is flowing to Singapore, Europe, Japan and the US instead of Australian ports and businesses.
That's the part the industry argues gets overlooked. A cruise ship is highly visible, but the money spreads wide — travel agencies, hotels, transfer operators, tour companies, regional attractions and port workers all depend on it. Goldie believes cruise lacks the political voice that aviation and land-based tourism enjoy, and that decisions are being made without understanding this wider ecosystem.
Industrial tensions add another risk. She was onboard a Carnival ship when Maritime Union of Australia representatives boarded and sought out the captain to push their case. Her view: the concerns may be legitimate, but the tactic is counterproductive. Cruise ships operating in Australia run under international employment arrangements, and if operating here becomes too costly or unpredictable, lines will simply redeploy elsewhere.
Why should a holidaymaker care? Because cruising occupies a niche few other holidays can fill — accommodation, meals and entertainment in one accessible price, ideal for multi-generational groups and travellers with mobility needs. If capacity keeps shrinking, the choices are stark: pay more to fly overseas to cruise, book two years out, or skip the holiday altogether.
There are bright spots. Royal Caribbean's new beach club at Lelepa in Vanuatu has generated genuine excitement, with Goldie's agency booking plenty of group and multi-generational trips to the island over the next year — evidence that new investment, not just more tonnage, can reinvigorate demand. But without action, the warning from agents on the front line is clear: keep ships in Australian waters or lose the travellers, and their spending, with them.
