A total of 101 voyages are scheduled for South Australia for the 2022-2023 season, the state government says.
The season starts in September 2022.
That is more than the last full season before the COVID crisis.
The upcoming season is on track to top the 82 ship calls made in what was a bumper season in 2018-2019, when the sector contributed US$145 million to the state's visitor economy.
South Australia is due to welcome the world's only ocean liner - Cunard's Queen Mary 2, as well as one of the world's largest cruise ships - Royal Caribbean's Ovation OTS, which combined carry ~9000 passengers and crew.
Also scheduled (between October 2022-April 2023) is P&O's Pacific Explorer.
Princess Cruises' ship Coral Princess is the first scheduled for South Australia (on September 17th) and will visit Adelaide, Port Lincoln, and Penneshaw (Kangaroo Island) on itineraries through mid-April 2023.
The 101 sailings scheduled for the state in 2022-2023 also include 20 expedition ships. In preparation for the restart of cruising, the SATC- South Australian Tourism Commission has worked with SA Health, industry, and regional stakeholders.
Between February 2021-January 2022, a series of expedition voyages sailed around SA with domestic guests, helping provide a blueprint for a broader return of cruising.
According to tourism minister Zoe Bettison, the return of cruising signaled a major step forward for the recovery of South Australia's visitor economy.
It was due to the excellent cruise infrastructure of South Australia which included recent upgrades to the terminal at Outer Harbor to offer a warmer welcome to cruisers as they disembark and a widening/deepening of the channel that some of the largest cruise ships in the world are heading to the state.