Australia's busy cruise season officially commenced on October 19 with the arrival of the first overseas ship in Sydney Harbour NSW.
The 2800-passenger ship Celebrity Solstice made her way into the harbor after a Pacific crossing from Hawaii.
This summer, approximately 70 ships from 27 different cruise companies will be deployed in Australia, including three new brands: Virgin Voyages, DCL-Disney Cruise Line, and Scenic, all looking to tap into the lucrative $5 billion industry.
While Sydney serves as Australia's largest cruise hub, Brisbane and Melbourne also serve as homeports during the summer season.
Joel Katz, the managing director of Cruise Lines International Association Australasia, noted that ship numbers for this season are poised to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
In total, these vessels will spend 1848 port days in Australia, marking an 18% increase over 2019-2020 season.
The long-awaited Disney Wonder ship is en route from Hawaii and is expected to arrive on Friday. With Wonder, DCL will offer both short and longer voyages within Australia and to New Zealand.
Virgin's Resilient Lady ship will set sail from Greece via Singapore, ultimately reaching Sydney, before embarking from Melbourne in December.
Additionally, Grand Princess, one of four ships from Princess Cruises, is currently journeying from Vancouver via New Zealand, stationed in Sydney for the summer.
Cruise enthusiasts will also anticipate the arrival of the Celebrity Edge on December 9.
Among the largest ships departing from Sydney for the summer is the Ovation of the Seas, which carries just under 5000 passengers. In January, ocean liners such as the Queen Elizabeth will also set sail from Sydney.
The 230-passenger Scenic Eclipse II ship, dubbed a "luxury discovery yacht," will offer small group voyages around Australia, beginning in April.
Other smaller ultra-luxe ships like Star Breeze (Windstar) and Silver Muse (Silversea) are slated to visit Sydney Harbour during the summer season.
Brisbane will serve as the home port for Carnival Luminosa, which recently arrived after a summer season in the United States.
While a few cruise ships, including those from CCL-Carnival and P&O AU, are stationed in Australia year-round, others choose Australia as their summer homeport.
The main cruise season extends until the end of April, with at least one ship docked in Sydney Harbour, and sometimes two, at any given time.
In addition to the well-known Sydney Cruise Terminal, the White Bay Cruise Terminal in Balmain frequently hosts ships small enough to pass under the Harbour Bridge. A third cruise terminal is under consideration for Wollongong, following the rejection of Yarra Bay near Port Botany in Sydney's south.
Cruising continues to be immensely popular in Australia, with over a million Australians embarking on cruises from the country each year, and Sydney ranks as one of the most sought-after cruise ports in the world.