NEWCASTLE'S first cruise ship is not booked to arrive until July, but six stops at least are expected across the second half of the year as the industry returns after two years of the COVID pandemic.
The first vessel to enter Sydney Harbour, the Pacific Explorer, docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay on Monday morning, accompanied by tugs shooting water cannons as the ship tied up with a reported 250 crew to take on passengers.
The Port of Newcastle said the Coral Princess was the first cruise ship booked for Newcastle, in July, and that October to April was Newcastle's peak season.
Online bookings show the 2000-passenger Princess Cruises liner stopping at Newcastle on July 14, August 10 and August 21.
The Grand Princess is advertised as stopping Newcastle on November 29. The Viking Orion is shown as arriving on December 7 and the Viking Mars on Boxing Day, December 26.
An end to two years of rolling bans on cruise ships was announced on March 15, two years to the day after the first 30-day ban was introduced.
The ban was introduced at the height of the controversy over another Princess Cruises vessel, the Ruby Princess, which was credited with sparking an early surge of cases in this country.
Although the focus in Australia was on the Ruby Princess, numerous cruise ships, including the one docking at Newcastle in July, were in COVID controversies or had COVID deaths on board.
US media reported the death of a COVID victim on board the Coral Princess in the US in April 2020, a few weeks after the Sydney debacle with the Ruby Princess, which was the subject of a NSW Special Commission of Inquiry.
The cruise industry was one of many to suffer financially during the pandemic, and had been calling for government assistance.
But strong bookings have been reported since governments all over the world began easing restrictions late last year, with a desire to travel appearing to overwhelm any concerns that passengers may have about the well-known "hothouse" infection conditions on board.
The federal government says Australia welcomed more than 600,000 international passengers from more than 350 cruises in 2019.
Hunter Region representatives had worked hard to promote the Port of Newcastle as a cruise ship destination, with 22 vessel stops in 2019 before COVID stopped arrivals, up from 13 in 2018.
Some of the advertised cruises also stop at a new Eden terminal, finished after two years of work in August 2019, months after the NSW government withdrew an offer of $12.7 million in funding for an upgraded Newcastle cruise terminal after a dispute over rising costs for the project.
The Port of Newcastle confirmed recently it had no current plans to revive the push to upgrade arrivals at Carrington's Channel Berth.
The Eden terminal is in the state electorate of Bega, held at the time by Coalition minister Andrew Constance, now trying to enter federal parliament as the government's candidate in the seat of Gilmore.
Newcastle state MP Tim Crakanthorp clashed in state parliament with Mr Constance over the funding withdrawal, saying it would have "a devastating effect" on Hunter tourism.
