Spotted: Giant Cruise Ship Docks in Brisbane

Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Ovation of the Seas docked in Brisbane on February 22, becoming the largest cruise ship to ever visit Queensland. 

Delivered in April 2016, Ovation of the Seas is the third Quantum-class vessel built for Royal Caribbean at Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

Spanning the length of three football fields, and being able to carry 4,905 passengers, Ovation of the Seas is said to be the fourth largest cruise ship in the world.

“This is a bumper week for cruising in Brisbane with our city laying out the welcome mat for more than 12,000 visitors arriving on five different cruise ships,” Leanne Enoch, Queensland’s Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business, pointed out. 

“We’ve seen double digit growth in the number of cruise ships calling to Queensland destinations over the past eight years,” Enoch said, adding that a record 329 cruise ships visited Queensland in 2015-2016, more than any other Australian state.

Kate Jones, Queensland’s Tourism Minister, said Brisbane is now the second largest cruise port in Australia after Sydney.

“Our government is continuing to work with the Port of Brisbane as it finalises submission of its detailed proposal for the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, at Luggage Point,” Jones added.

The planned project will enable mega liners such as Ovation of the Seas to visit Brisbane regularly.