Latest cruise trend all about short, event-focused journeys
Short, event-focused journeys are serving as gateway cruises for Australasians, many of whom go on to book longer trips.
P&O Cruises president Sture Myrmell said two- to three-day cruises have "been growing tremendously" over the past few years, attracting a different clientele to more traditional, longer trips.
The cruise liner plans to almost double the number of cruises sailing from Auckland in 2018 to 22 round trips, basing its 2000-guest Pacific Jewel liner in the city for an unprecedented six months.
Of these, eight will be cruises of between two and three days. Twelve will be longer Pacific Island voyages.
P&O is launching its first Melbourne Cup cruise from New Zealand next spring: A 10-night voyage on the Pacific Jewel beginning in Auckland and ending in Sydney, with tickets to the event included.
The trip, which starts from $1342 per person, will have a racing theme, with jockeys and other pros taking part in Q&A sessions and leading activities.
Those more interested in the fashion than the racing track will be able to attend fashion parades and take part in hat-making sessions led by professional milliners and get themselves race ready at the spa.
On cup day itself, guests can enjoy a champagne breakfast before being shuttled to Flemington Racecourse, where P&O has its own enclosed area.
Victoria Racing Club CEO Simon Love said the number of New Zealanders attending the Melbourne Cup has risen 40 per cent since 2013.
"Each year about 10,000 New Zealanders go to the Melbourne Cup and we hope we can add to that," Myrmell said.
Other event-focussed cruises in Australasia centre around the Australian Open tennis tournament, Australia Day, the State of Origin rugby league series and the NRL Auckland Nines.
The cruise liner expects 45,000 Kiwis to travel on its trips from Auckland next year, up from 36,000 this year.
It predicts that the expanded range of cruises from the City of Sails to inject about $26 million into the local economy.
While cruises are becoming more popular with Kiwis, Myrmell said we're not nearly as cruise-mad as some other nationalities, such as North Americans and the Brits.
Just 1.5 per cent of the New Zealand population takes a cruise in a year, which is "significantly lower than many other countries", he noted, adding that the cruise line sees opportunities for further growth here.
Written by Lorna Thornber. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.