Australian Port Opens up to Cruise Ships

As the demand for cruise holidays around Australia continues to grow, the country has opened up another port to large passenger vessels. The Western Australia port of Busselton has welcomed its first ever cruise ship this week – Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess.

The port benefits from its historic jetty, the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere. A city of 15,000 people, it has long welcomed smaller vessels and cargo ships. The 2,580 passengers who disembarked from the ship represented the largest tourist footfall the area has ever received.

The Diamond Princess’ guests enjoyed an action-packed excursion, sea kayaking around the local Geographe Bay, exploring Ngili Cave and visiting the wineries of nearly Margaret River.

The visit came as part of the recently refurbished ship’s 28 day circumnavigation of Australia.

A slow opening for Busselton will see only a handful of visits from cruise ships over the coming year with the Diamond Princess due to make nine stops in the city throughout 2015 and 2016. P&O Australia have also announced plans to stop in the city with the Pacific Jewel set to visit during cruises in April and May 2015.

Princess Cruises’ Australia and New Zealand vice president, Stuart Allison, enthused: “Busselton is a great city in a fantastic location so we’re thrilled to be taking thousands of holidaymakers there over the coming months.”

Images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons. Credits: rainy city, Tracey Croke