Western Australia prepares for large cruise ships returning in October

Large cruise vessels will soon be returning to Western Australia, following confirmation the Coral Princess will visit Fremantle as part of an Australian circumnavigation in October.

From 1st October, cruise vessels with capacity for more than 350 guests and crew will be permitted to return to WA enabling the return of the Coral Princess, closely followed by five more luxury cruise liners before Christmas.

The Coral Princess will be the first large cruise vessel to visit WA in two and a half years and its arrival to Fremantle on 28th October will flag a bumper few months of cruise travel for WA, with more than 10,000 passengers expected to visit WA between October and December.

• Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, carrying 2,900 passengers and crew, will arrive in Fremantle on 2nd November for a circumnavigation of Australia before returning to Fremantle on 2nd December.

• Oceania Cruises' Regatta, with 1,000 passengers and crew on board, will visit Broome, Fremantle and Busselton between 28th November and 3rd December.

• Holland America Line's Noordam, with a capacity of 2,800 passengers and crew, will depart Fremantle on Saturday, 2nd December.

• Silversea Cruises' Silver Muse, with 1,100 passengers and crew, will visit Fremantle, Busselton and Albany between 10th and 12th December.

• Azamara Cruises' Azamara Quest, with a capacity of 1,100 passengers and crew, will arrive in Fremantle on 20th December.

Over the upcoming cruise season, ships will also visit other regional locations including Broome, Geraldton, Exmouth and Esperance.

Western Australian tourism operators have already witnessed a busy Kimberley cruise season since small ships carrying up to 350 passengers and crew were permitted to return from 17th April.

Some of the Kimberley ships have included Coral Expeditions' Coral Geographer and Coral Adventurer, with Ponant's 32-guest, three-masted Le Ponant about to make her debut in the Kimberley for a six-month season.

Prior to COVID-19, WA welcomed 106 cruise ship visits in the 2019-20 financial year, which generated $261.9 million for WA's economy and employed around 935 people in industry roles.

October will also be a milestone month for cruising in WA, with Perth set to host the sixth WA Cruise Exchange from 5th to 8th October 2022.

Around 22 representatives from Australia's cruise industry will meet with a variety of tourism stakeholders including WA suppliers and destination representatives, and the event will be enhanced with familiarisation visits to the South-West and Kimberley region.

WA Tourism Minister Roger Cook notes "Cruising is critical to the WA tourism sector and before the pandemic, this industry injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the State's economy.

"I'm grateful to cruise operators for their resilience throughout COVID-19 and am looking forward to welcoming back large cruise ships to WA in the coming months.”

WA Ports Minister Rita Saffioti added "Prior to COVID-19, the cruising industry was a significant driver for our economy and tourism sector, both in Fremantle and in regional communities like Albany, Esperance and Broome.

"COVID-19 presented significant challenges for the cruising industry, but I know all of our port authorities have been working hard to prepare for the return of cruise ships later this year.

"We've undertaken significant upgrades in preparation for the return of cruise ships, including the replacement of escalators and lifts at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal."