The 2014-15 cruise season is shaping up to be big for Fremantle with 44 ship calls already booked compared with 31 ship calls (60,592 passengers) in the 2013-14 financial year.

Fremantle is increasingly being used as a turnaround port with Sun Princess, Astor, Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Sea and Celebrity Solstice all undertaking full turnarounds during the 2014-15 season.

P&O Cruises recently announced it would homeport one of its latest ships, Pacific Eden,
in WA for three months in 2016 with 12 turrnaround calls (complete passenger transfer), representing the cruise company’s longest cruise season in the west.

The 1500-passenger Pacific Eden is one of two ships joining P&O Cruises’ existing three-ship fleet next year. The major fleet expansion opens the way for a greater variety of cruise options from Fremantle, including extended 12-night cruises to South East Asia and coastal cruises which will provide a boost to WA’s regional ports (Esperance, Albany, Bunbury, Busselton, Augusta, Geraldton, Exmouth, Port Hedland and Broome).

P&O Cruises CEO Ann Sherry said the company had always viewed Fremantle as a significant cruising hub: “Western Australia is an important source market for Australian cruise passengers and our new program makes more cruise choices available at their doorstep and also opens up more opportunities for the growing fly-cruise passenger market.”

Source: Fremantle Ports