The Seven Seas Mariner - the grandiose liner of the Regent fleet - sailed into the Carrington Berths on Saturday morning, March 2, as the weather turned grey and dreary over the city at the weekend.
The Mariner carries as many as 1195 souls aboard, at full capacity, and caters for as many as 700 guests, sailing under a Bahamas flag and was built in 2001.
The Mariner left Wellington in New Zealand on February 26, and sailed for Sydney before making its way up the Australian east coast to planned stops at Townsville, after Newcastle, then on to Cairns, Cooktown and Darwin before sailing for Indonesia on March 12. The vessel is understood to be on a 18-day voyage from Sydney to Singapore, before heading on to Abu Dhabi in a total 38-day tour.
The vessel was expected to depart the port again on Saturday evening, and comes as Newcastle berthed four back-to-back cruise visits from February 24 last week.
The heightened season follows the NSW Port Authority inking a new new 10-year licensing agreement with the Port of Newcastle last October.
Under the agreement the authority takes control of the city's cruise schedule that is already projecting visits through August 2026.
The Port Authority noted the 18 visits to Newcastle in 2024 representing a slight increase on the 14 from the previous period, with projections for 17 in 2025 according to its cruise schedule.
In October, the season was touted as the biggest since the pandemic, with 331 total cruise calls into ports across the state, up 16 per cent on the previous summer, the Port Authority said.
At the height of luxury aboard the Mariner, the 186-square-metre Master Suite boasts rosewood furniture, luxe fabrics and a crystal chandelier. The two-bedroom suite on the ninth deck comes with a person butler and two private balconies.
The Mariner will be followed by the Royal Caribbean liner Serenade of the Seas on March 9. The Serenade was in the Southern Pacific on Saturday sailing from Tahiti toward its expected berth at Aukland on March 4.
A high pressure system in the Bight and a ridge across the southwest was forcing a southerly change across the southern and central coastal districts, bringing cloudy conditions to much of the Hunter.
The Bureau of Meteorology has tipped possible showers and storms over the weekend for Newcastle easing to cloudy conditions on Tuesday, March 5.
