Is this the beginning of the end for Australian cruising?

Or is this finally the wake-up call we desperately need?

Watching ship after ship leave our shores breaks my heart. Carnival’s decision to withdraw Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure from Australia is more than another fleet announcement. It is another warning sign for an industry that seems to be losing ground while Australians remain eager to cruise.

The world is cruising. Australians are cruising. So why is Australia losing its ships?

Australian cruising is heading in the wrong direction.

This is no longer just a conversation about two vessels leaving our shores. It is about Australia's ability to compete in a global industry, the economic opportunities we're losing and whether anyone is prepared to do what it takes to turn things around.

The numbers tell a troubling story

In 2025, a record 1.45 million Australians took a cruise holiday, an increase of 9.5% on the previous year. Australia remained the world's fourth-largest cruise source market, behind the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Globally, cruise passenger numbers reached 37.2 million, up 7.5%.

Yet Australia's cruise tourism economic contribution fell from $8.4 billion in 2023–24 to $7.32 billion in 2024–25. The number of ships operating in Australian waters declined from 75 to 68, while supported employment fell from 26,370 to 22,720 full-time equivalent positions.

Let that sink in.

The industry points to reduced ship deployments, higher operating costs, regulatory uncertainty and increasing international competition as contributing factors.

This is the heart of the crisis: Australia isn't failing to attract people to cruising. It is struggling to translate that demand into ships, sailings and spending that stay here.

The world is competing. Australia cannot afford to stand still.

Every ship Australia loses is a ship that could be generating revenue, supporting jobs and building customer loyalty somewhere else.

Australia has some significant advantages, particularly our summer cruise season, which offers opportunities for ships to operate in the Southern Hemisphere while it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

But having beautiful destinations isn't enough.

Carnival has highlighted the importance of long-term certainty and globally competitive operating conditions when explaining its Australian deployment decisions.

And once a cruise line commits its ships to another region, winning that capacity back isn't necessarily easy.

The Federal Government: certainty cannot wait forever

The government cannot dictate where cruise lines deploy their fleets, but it can influence the conditions in which they operate.

The ongoing debate over coastal trading rules illustrates the challenge. Extending the industry's exemption until the end of 2028 provides temporary certainty, but a longer-term framework is still needed.

Australia must establish regulatory arrangements that are practical, predictable and commercially workable.

How can we expect cruise lines to commit ships years in advance when important operating arrangements remain unsettled?

The government needs to move beyond temporary extensions and deliver a lasting solution.

CLIA: the warnings must become action

CLIA has repeatedly highlighted the economic value of cruising and the risks posed by Australia's declining competitiveness.

But after years of warnings, we need to see a clear plan for change.

What reforms are being pursued? Who is responsible for delivering them? How will progress be measured?

I want answers, and I know the Australian cruising public wants transparency.

CLIA cannot change legislation or order cruise lines to stay. But it can bring governments, ports and industry together to push for practical reforms and measurable outcomes.

Cruise lines: commercial decisions have consequences

Cruise lines are businesses. They must protect their investments and deploy their ships where they see the strongest commercial opportunities.

But they also need to offer Australians compelling cruise experiences, communicate clearly and deliver the value passengers expect.

The retirement of P&O Cruises Australia in 2025 and the transition of its remaining ships to the Carnival brand fundamentally changed the local market. Now, further fleet reductions raise fresh concerns about passenger choice and competition.

We cannot blame government policy for every decision a cruise line makes. Nor can we ignore the impact those decisions have on Australian passengers, businesses and communities.

What happens if we get this wrong?

The consequences extend far beyond fewer ships at our ports.

Fewer ships could mean fewer itineraries, less choice and potentially higher fares. Regional destinations could lose visitors, hotels and restaurants could miss out, and Australian suppliers could lose valuable business.

Cruise tourism contributed $7.32 billion to Australia's economy in 2024–25 and supported more than 22,000 full-time equivalent jobs. We cannot afford to watch that contribution continue to shrink.

And here's the real danger: once cruise lines invest elsewhere, Australia may not find it easy to win them back.

We risk losing not just ships, but jobs, tourism dollars and our standing in an increasingly competitive global cruise market.

I'm tired of the same conversation. I want results.

I devoted so much time to advocating for cruising during the pandemic because I believed in this industry and the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on it.

I still do.

But I don't want to spend the next decade writing about another ship leaving, another decline in economic activity and another promise to fix things.

I want to celebrate new ships arriving, exciting itineraries launching and regional communities benefiting from cruise tourism.

So, government, CLIA, ports and cruise lines, it's time to stop passing the responsibility around.

Give the industry certainty. Make Australia competitive. Invest in the experience.

Loving cruising isn't enough to save Australian cruising. It's time to turn the tide before even more ships sail away.

Turning 50 has made me stop and think about just how lucky I am.

It really is a privilege to age. To have another year, another chapter and another chance to make memories, see more of the world and say yes to things I might once have put off.

And what better way to celebrate than with travel?

I’ve decided that during my 50th year, I’m going to try to have 50 travel experiences.

And I’ve already crossed the first one off the list: celebrating my 50th birthday at sea. 

I’ve written more about that adventure here in TravelTalk: Fifty and Forever Young at Sea.

But 50 experiences doesn’t mean 50 big, expensive holidays.

That’s not what I’m looking for.

Some might be huge bucket-list adventures. Others could be as simple as finding a beautiful new place for lunch, watching a sunrise somewhere I’ve never seen one before or taking a spontaneous little getaway.

Because after 50 years, I’ve realised that travel memories aren’t necessarily about how much something cost or how far you travelled, but the unexpected moments that stay with you.

Of course, there are still plenty of big dreams on my list.

 - An African safari.

 - Seeing the Northern Lights.

 - France. France. France

 - Cruising the Nile 

 - Uluru

And yes, there will definitely be more cruising. I’d love to cruise somewhere I’ve never been before, try a completely different type of cruise or simply choose an itinerary because it looks fascinating.

After all, cruising has been such a huge part of my life that I can’t imagine celebrating 50 without a ship or two involved.

But I want to leave room for the unexpected.

Maybe I’ll say yes to something I’d normally say no to, or take a trip without planning every minute.

Maybe travel somewhere close to home that I’ve somehow never visited or revisit somewhere that holds a beautiful memory.

The thing is, I don’t want to come up with all 50 experiences myself.

I want you to help me. What should I do?

Give me your big bucket-list ideas.

Give me the little things that cost almost nothing. 

Tell me about the places you think I need to see, the journeys worth taking, the food I have to try and those experiences that have stayed with you long after you came home.

It could be as simple as having coffee somewhere with an incredible view. Near or far, big or small, luxury or completely free.

I want my 50th year to be about collecting stories, experiences and memories, not just stamps in a passport.

So, Cruising With Honey is putting the question out there:

If you could choose ONE travel experience for me to have during my 50th year, what would it be?

I’m listening. And who knows, your suggestion might just become number 50. 

I Wasn’t Invited to CLIA360: What Happened?

I’m going to share an update I genuinely never expected to be sharing after more than a decade covering and supporting the cruise industry.

I wasn’t invited to CLIA360.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve bumped into industry colleagues who have said, “I’ll see you at CLIA,” only to look surprised when I told them I wouldn’t be there.

Naturally, I started wondering what had changed.

A decade supporting the cruise industry

I’ve had a long-standing relationship with CLIA Australasia and have attended and been invited to countless CLIA events over the years.

I’ve also regularly checked in with CLIA when doing media interviews, particularly when discussing cruise industry issues, to make sure I was getting the messaging right and giving CLIA the opportunity to have its say.

I’ve spent more than a decade promoting cruising, sharing cruise news and experiences, interviewing cruise industry leaders and helping Australian cruisers make informed decisions.

I’ve always aimed to keep my coverage balanced, fair and, most importantly, useful to cruisers.

So, when this year’s CLIA360 invitation didn’t arrive, I decided that rather than speculate about why, I would simply ask.

But why wasn’t I invited to CLIA360?

I was reassured that the decision was not personal.

I was told that CLIA has to be selective about the additional industry and media invitations it can accommodate, with the aim of broadening the range of coverage and voices represented at the event.

I appreciate the explanation, but it still left me scratching my head.

After all, I’m only one person. And I don’t take up that much room.

More seriously, from a marketing perspective, it does make me wonder about the value of having established Australian cruise media and cruise content creators in the room.

Wouldn’t you want the most-read and most-followed cruise blogger, with a large and diverse Australian cruising audience, there to experience the event, hear directly from cruise industry leaders and report back to cruisers?

That’s the part I find difficult to understand.

What Australian cruisers will miss

Cruise360 Australasia is described by CLIA as the biggest and most important annual cruise industry event in the Southern Hemisphere.

It brings together cruise industry professionals including travel advisors, agency owners, cruise line representatives, ports and destinations, travel industry suppliers and other CLIA supporters for a broad look at the future of cruising.

It is also an important opportunity for the media to hear what is happening across the Australian and international cruise industry.

And this year, I won’t be there to report back to you.

I won’t be sitting in the sessions hearing directly from cruise line executives and industry leaders.

I won’t be bringing you the latest cruise industry insights.

I won’t be sharing what’s happening behind the scenes at one of the biggest cruise industry events in Australia.

And I won’t be asking the questions that I know many of you want answered.

That’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing.

Because while CLIA360 is an industry event, the information shared there ultimately matters to the people who book cruises, choose cruise lines, plan their holidays and want to know where the cruise industry is heading.

This isn’t about being entitled to an invitation

I want to make one thing very clear.

I have never believed I am entitled to an invitation to CLIA360.

Organisations have every right to decide who attends their events.

But after more than 10 years of covering cruising, and developing an audience of Australian cruisers and consistently supporting the cruise industry, I think it is fair to ask questions about how decisions around media attendance are made.

Especially when the stated objective is to broaden coverage and voices.

I’ve spent years talking to cruisers, interviewing industry leaders, attending cruise events, travelling on ships, visiting destinations and reporting on everything from cruise trends and new ships to the issues affecting Australian cruisers.

I’ve never expected special treatment, but I do believe there is value in having independent cruise media in the room.

So, what happens next?

I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done.

I’ll keep talking to the cruise industry.

I’ll keep asking questions.

I’ll keep reporting on the issues that matter to Australian cruisers.

And I’ll keep bringing you cruise news, cruise reviews, cruise trends and insights from the people shaping the industry.

I just won’t be doing it from inside CLIA360 this year.

And perhaps that’s the most disappointing part.

Because after a decade of supporting the cruise industry, I would have loved to be there.

But don’t worry, cruisers, I’ll still be watching and asking questions.

Because that’s what I do.