PORT MELBOURNE WELCOMES ITS THE FIRST CRUISE SHIP POST-COVID

The first passenger cruise ship in almost three years has arrived in Melbourne, marking a new milestone in Port Melbourne's return to normality after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Princess Cruises Coral Princess berthed at Station Pier in Port Melbourne just after 7.30 am on Thursday morning, with over 2500 passengers on board.

The cruise liner arrived at the pier on a drizzly Port Melbourne morning after sitting dormant in the Caribbean for much of the past two years as the cruise industry was shut down, 

Politicians and tourism chiefs were entertained by samba dancers and champagne while a helicopter hovered overhead.

Minister for Tourism Steve Dimopoulos announced that arrival was “an iconic moment” for the state and that in 2019 Victoria’s cruise industry through Station Pier, Port Melbourne contributed around $353 million to the state’s economy.

“There’s no bigger way to arrive and disembark thousands of people in one shot than a cruise ship. Two thousand people coming to the streets in Melbourne this morning,” he said.

“This is a day when we can say we are turning the page and seeing our city and our lives get back to something like what we knew before COVID came along,” he said.

Reece also spoke of the history of Station Pier, where people arrived for the gold rush, soldiers left for world wars and waves of post-war immigrants disembarked.

“Standing here today I feel like we are at a historic moment as well. When Melbourne turns the page, Victoria turns the page. The borders are open again. The port is open again and Port Melbourne is back in business,” he said.

President of Carnival and P&O Cruises Australia, Marguerite Fitzgerald said isolation protocols for any passengers who tested positive while on board were “the same as what would happen on land around isolation”.

“Onboard it feels almost the same as it would have previously,” she said.

Thirteen cruise ships will be visiting or home porting in Port Melbourne during the upcoming summer cruise season. The Coral Princess will stay in Melbourne for two days before heading to Adelaide.