Melbourne Tourism News: Victoria Set to Ride the Wave of the Bumper Cruise Ship Season

The start of the 2011–12 cruise ship season has opened and it is expected to be one of the biggest on record

The 2011–12 cruise ship season will see almost 60 visits to Victorian ports and seven inaugural visits, including the Queen Mary 2 in 2012 – the largest cruise liner ever to visit Melbourne. At 345 metres long the Queen Mary 2 will carry 2620 passengers and 1253 crew.

The 2012–13 season is set to be even bigger than the coming season, with more than 70 ships already confirmed.

"The Melbourne Cup Carnival traditionally marks the beginning of the cruise season in Victoria and, like the race that stops the nation, our cruise industry continues to grow," Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Louise Asher said.

"Cruise ship visits contribute significantly to Victoria's $15.2 billion tourism industry and with every ship that arrives, approximately $1million is injected into Victoria's economy."

Ms Asher said the Victorian Coalition Government, through Tourism Victoria, would capitalise on the cruise boom by undertaking quantitative research to profile travel behaviour and visitor satisfaction.

Ms Asher said in the coming season, two ships would also visit Geelong's Cunningham Pier and for the first time a cruise ship will stop at Portland, which has a naturally deep harbour.

"Developing Geelong and Portland as cruise ship destinations will broaden Victoria's appeal to the growing international cruise ship industry, and encourage more visitation to regional Victoria," Ms Asher said.

Victoria Set to Ride the Wave of the Bumper Cruise Ship Season

Princess Mary Charms Sydney Crowds

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary have toured Sydney, viewing clifftop sculptures, eating barbecued prawns, and taking a boat trip on the harbour as adoring crowds waved Danish flags.

The royal couple's trip is geared around strengthening trade and business ties between Australia and Denmark, with a focus on green energy and sustainability.

They kicked off their Sydney visit with a tour of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi.

The couple examined some of the sculptures, including a work by Danish sculptor Keld Moseholm and a work titled Who Left The Tap Running by Simon McGrath.

The exhibition holds a special significance for the pair, who visited it when they were first dating after Mary met the prince at a Sydney nightclub during the 2000 Olympics.

Mary was also living in Bondi when she met her future husband.

The couple's ten-month-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, arrived in Sydney with their mother on a Saturday morning flight, while Prince Frederik arrived on a separate flight later that day.

The older royal children, Prince Christian, 6, and Princess Isabella, 4, did not accompany them, the Danish consulate confirmed.

Crowd-pleasers

The royal couple waved and smiled as they were welcomed by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and his wife Rosemary before visiting the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition.

Mr O'Farrell said he was delighted to have the royal couple back to Sydney.

"Like many Australians, we share in the royal romance and relationship that some have described as a fairytale," Mr O'Farrell said.

They shook hands with several people in the crowd, some of whom cried "welcome to Australia".

Later, Mary and Frederik jumped onto energy-generating bikes to make themselves smoothies after opening an urban sustainability conference at Customs House.

The venue at Circular Quay was just over one kilometre from the Slip Inn, the bar where the couple famously met during the 2000 Olympics.

Later, they mingled with 400 guests, mainly from the Danish business community, at a barbecue at the Garden Island naval base on Sydney Harbour.

The barbecue menu included Tasmanian scallops, lamb and mint sausages, king prawns, Sydney rock oysters, barramundi, marinated Atlantic salmon, King Island beef eye fillet and pavlova with King Island cream.

The couple were spattered with a burst of heavy rainfall as they later boarded a boat to go to Admiralty House.

The couple's six-day visit to Australia includes stops at Canberra, Melbourne, western Victoria and Broken Hill in NSW, and will be followed by a private family visit.

Crown Princess Mary was born Mary Donaldson in Hobart and the couple married in Copenhagen in 2004.

It is the royal family's first visit to Australia since August 2008, although Princess Mary came for a private visit last year.

Aspire Hotel Sydney: Aspire Hotel Sydney Manager Ricky Risal in Attendance to Meet the Prince and Princess of Denmark

Ricky Risal, Manager of Aspire Hotel Sydney wasd in Attendance on Saturday to Meet Pricesss and Princess of Denmark


The invite was from the Lord Mayor of Sydney, our names were given by AHA board

Aspire Hotel Sydney: Aspire Hotel Sydney Manager Ricky Risal in Attendance to Meet the Prince and Princess of Denmark