Cruise boom sets record for bookings
SYDNEY – A record 30,000 Australians and New Zealanders booked a P&O Cruises’ holiday last month, the largest number to book in a single month in the cruise line’s history.
Jenny Lourey, senior vice president of Carnival Australia which represents P&O Cruises, said the number of bookings was more than double those made in the same month last year, with the majority of travellers booking ahead for their 2010 cruise holidays.
The number of passengers booked to sail from Brisbane doubled in August this year compared with last year, and there was a 62 percent increase in bookings for voyages departing Sydney.
Greater capacity and value-for-money cruise deals meant bookings from Auckland on Pacific Sun increased 213 per cent in August over the same month last year.
Lourey said although P&O Cruises’ bookings had been strong throughout 2009, the colder months between April and August had clearly stimulated sales.
“Travellers have been dreaming of escaping winter with a tropical cruise and are booking their winter holidays now to make sure they don’t miss out,†she said.
In all, August 2009 bookings on Australasian-based cruise ships – sailing from Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Melbourne, Fremantle and Newcastle – eclipsed Carnival Australia’s previous best-selling month of January 2009 by almost 10 per cent.
Ian Jarrett
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