February bumper month for Cruise Ships

Councillor Bob Hall receives a plaque from Azamara Journey Captain Magnus Davidson.

A total of five cruise ships will call Geraldton home for a day in February making it a bumper month for the local cruise ship calendar!

With two ships already hitting our shores this year, there are a total of 12 cruise ships scheduled to visit Geraldton in 2018 with the possibility of more.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said Geraldton was becoming an increasingly popular spot for cruise ships to stop.

“We love having the cruise ships come here to Geraldton, the benefits to our community are massive,” he said.

“In February alone there will an estimated quarter of a million dollars injected into our local economy.

“Four of the five ships coming in February have never been to Geraldton before so it’s great that our name is now on their radar.

“With extended trading hours in operation it’s fantastic that ships scheduled to visit on a Sunday will have a lot more variety when it comes to retail.”

The first ship of 2018 was ms Regatta followed by an unscheduled stop by Azamara Journey. Next will be Crystal Symphony on Sunday 4 February.

“We love seeing all the tourists disembarking off the ship and into our community on various tours and sightseeing ventures,” Mayor Van Styn added.

“After spending significant time at the Port during Azamara’s visit, I had several passengers commenting on how clean and attractive our City was and a majority of them carried shopping bags back onto the ship after enjoying their day out which was great to see.

“Big kudos to our cruise ship meet and greet volunteers who are always giving warm welcomes to our guests.”

With the recent acquisition of four shore tension units by Mid West Ports Authority,  Mayor Van Styn said Geraldton is becoming known as a ‘safe port’ for ships that are including Western Australia on their itineraries.  

“We are now able to have ships berth in Port instead of anchoring in Champion Bay, which is definitely a draw card,” Mayor Van Styn said.

“Geraldton is continuing to establish itself as a destination of choice and it’s great that we are being seen by thousands of cruise ship passengers from all over the world!’