By PAUL MILLAR
CASHED-UP tourists from America and Europe will cruise into Corio Bay next month on one of the most-highly rated liners in the world.
Oceania Cruises confirmed to the Independent that the five-star rated Marina would arrive in the Bay on 15 February and that the cruiser was sold out.
The push to bring more cruise ships into the port is gaining momentum with the Seaborn Odyssey listed for a return visit on Tuesday and again a month later.
The Marina, on its maiden voyage to Geelong, is a major coup for tourism operators as the fully-booked ship will be only two days into a 32 night cruise when it sails into Corio Bay.
The luxury cruise ship will carry 1250 passengers and 800 crew to Geelong while the Seaborn Odyssey has 450 passengers and 330 crew members.
Communications director Craig Owens said Oceania was always considering alternative destinations.
“Our port operations area is very keen to try new ports and Geelong was an easy decision for us to make and the officers and the crew are excited to be going there,” he said.
The ship will anchor in the bay and passengers will be taken by tender to the Royal Geelong Yacht Club with tours arranged along the coast and in the city.
Passengers will be ferried to winery tours on the Bellarine Peninsula with the visitors encouraged to buy locally and sample the produce with their meals when back aboard the liner, described as one of the most sophisticated and elegant ships to debut in the past 50 years.
“We offer luxury cruising without the pretention,” Mr Owens said.
There was no pretention from Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons about the economic impact the visit would have on the region.
“The average annual income of Americans that travel on boutique cruise ships is just under $1million,” he said.
“This is a growth industry, more ships are being built every year and more people are going on cruises, it’s the biggest growth area in tourism and I am working very hard to get more cruise lines coming here.”
Securing the visit by the Marina added weight to his push for a dedicated cruise ship pier, he said.
Regional tourism boss Roger Grant echoed the mayor’s sentiments.
“Clearly these sorts of ships bring in high-spending visitors,” he said.
However, he said, a dedicated cruise terminal would see ships commit to more than an overnight stay and that is where the big money came into play.
Fuelling ships, loading supplies and having visitors stay longer had to be the target, he said.
“You cannot achieve that unless you have a dedicated cruise pier here. We have a great opportunity here, let’s take a deep breath, forget about the politics and let’s do it,” he said.
