Calls for cruise industry reform gather momentum as expiration on free port access looms

With a deadline looming for exemptions on free port access, calls for reform in the Australian cruise industry are gathering momentum.

This follows moves by P&O Cruises announcing its cessation of business and Virgin Voyages recent move to pull out of Australia. Carnival announced earlier this month it was scrapping the P&O brand after 90 years of cruising from Australia with Pacific Explorer to be retired in February.

https://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/carnival-scraps-the-po-brand-after-90-years-of-cruising-from-australia/

In February, Virgin Voyages announced it will not return to Australia and New Zealand for the 2024/25 summer season citing conflict in the Middle East as a reason.

In November last year, Cunard also announced it was pulling the pin on homeporting in its Australia- and Asia-based programs.

https://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/breaking-cunard-pulls-pin-on-australia-and-asia-based-programmes-from-2026/

Adrian Tassone, better known as ‘Adrian the Cruise & Travel Guy’ runs a Sydney-based independent content platform and has taken it on himself to bring about change.

Tassone has launched two petitions in recent weeks.

“It all started with the P&O announcement of the shutdown, I think that kind of brought a lot of these issues to the forefront,” he told Travel Weekly.

“Things like the media attention that has been recently placed on port fees and the reduction in the capacity of cruise in our country going forward through the next two years or so of up to 30 per cent. So there are a few factors that kind of jumped out and started to concern me.”

Last year, the Australian Government extended exemptions that enable cruise ships to sail freely between Australian ports. The exemptions are due to expire in December, something that reminded Tassone of the ‘helpless’ feelings in the industry at the mercy of the government during the pandemic.

“With that kind of feeling and emotion inside of me, I suppose I thought, ‘What could I do’,” Tassone continued. “I thought, let’s start a petition through government.

“I actually launched an e-petition, specifically dealing with the exemptions that have been provided to cruise lines under the Coastal Trading Act 2012.”

That petition – calling for a five-year extension to the exemption granted to cruise lines under S11 of the Coastal Trading Act 201 – has now been approved. Last week he also launched a change.org petition which has seen over 2,500 signatures in less than a week.

There will be major blowback for the consumer should cruise lines lose the ability to sail freely between Australian ports. Cruise capacity is currently projected to drop 30 per cent by 2026, meaning a likely hike in cost per cruise for every Australian cruiser of which there are around one million annually.

“Taking a cruise holiday is an easy affordable option and it has historically been and I’m concerned that it won’t be going forward,” Tassone continued.

“We need to make sure that those in power can create a framework that allows the cruise to properly thrive in this country as it should. We do have per capita one of the most saturated cruise market in terms of those of us that take a cruise, so we love cruise and we need the government policy to reflect that.”

To stay up to date on Adrian’s activity, you can follow him on Instagram HERE, or on YouTube.

The government petition can be found HERE and the Change.org petition can be found HERE.