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November 7, 2025 — 3:49pm
What’s not to like about South Australia? Adelaide is on the up and up. Kangaroo Island has bounced back from bushfires. Big peninsulas poke into the ocean, and wild islands and wildlife tempt the expedition-minded.
Cruise passengers like it, to judge from statistics. Over the 2023-24 cruise season 208,000 passengers disembarked in South Australia, according to the South Australia Tourism Commission.
The most-visited port was Adelaide with 45 ship visits. From there 27,228 shore excursions were undertaken to destinations such as Adelaide Hills, the Barossa and Clare valleys, and the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island saw 25 ship visits and Port Lincoln 10. A further 42 were scattered across expedition destinations such as Flinders Island, Cape Donnington on the Eyre Peninsula, American River on Kangaroo Island, and Port MacDonnell and Robe on the Limestone Coast.
Meanwhile an expedition ship returned to Victor Harbour on the Fleurieu Peninsula for the first time in 15 years. Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula will see a cruise ship arrive in March 2027 for the first time in seven years.
And after a two-year hiatus, Coral Expeditions will also be returning with several voyages in 2027 whose short durations are designed to attract younger expedition travellers.
The 2024-25 season saw another uptick. Passenger numbers rose to 241,000 and South Australia attracted 20 first-time voyages from cruise lines such as MSC and Hapag Lloyd.
South Australia’s cruise sector has increased by an impressive 48 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels. Yet alarm bells have been ringing, with overall ship visits expected to drop by 20 per cent in the forthcoming 2025-26 season, and big ships in particular are heading for the horizon.
Last season Adelaide was visited by 27 ships that carry over 2000 passengers each, but next season that number looks to be just 12.
Among the challenges are homeport competition from Sydney and Brisbane – former stalwart Princess Cruises has reduced its sailings out of Adelaide – and the recent absorption of P&O Cruises into Carnival Cruise Line, which scrapped South Australian visits.
Other companies are reducing ship visits, and overall cruise capacity in Australia generally is declining, with cruise lines citing onerous regulations and high port costs.
In more bad news, an unsightly algae bloom is being experienced along South Australia’s coastlines, which has been killing fish and other marine creatures and deterring beachgoers. While it hasn’t affected ship visits yet, it may put off anyone thinking of booking a cruise in the state.
But despite the gloom, nobody is declaring doom. Earlier this year the South Australian government partnered with Cruise Lines International Association to bring together cruise lines, travel agents, ports and operators in search of solutions.
The plan is to develop South Australia’s cruise business by expanding the number and variety of cruise ships sailing into its waters, and increasing the range of itineraries they offer. More pre- and post-cruise package holidays are also being developed.
Will it succeed? We can only hope so. South Australia has many attractions, vast stretches of near-unspoiled coast, and great wine and wildlife. Not a bad place to cruise.
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