Many of Australia's famous wine regions are within 1-4 hours drive of a major city. And most of Australia's ports are within close proximity to a major city.
Busselton WA, home to the 1.8km-long Busselton Jetty which is the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, is also the gateway to the Margaret River region.
The town is set to welcome over 14,000 cruise passengers from October 2024 through May 2025.
Busselton's scheduled cruise ships will start arriving from 7.00am, and depart as late as 10.00pm on the same day.
As Busselton is only 40 minutes from the town of Margaret River (and even closer to Dunsborough), a tour for them to visit a number of wineries and local attractions is completely doable, offering a nice boost to the local Margaret River economy over the next nine months.
Cruising offers first-time visitors a taste, or a chance to experience the highlights of your region. Whether they join an organised tour or make their own plans, if they fall in love with what your destination has to offer, they often plan a return trip of a much longer visit.
Here's when you can expect to see boatloads - and busloads - of passengers arriving in Busselton, and by extension, Margaret River:
Sunday 13-Monday 14 October 2024 and Thursday 17-Friday 18 October 2024
Coral Adventurer, 120 passengers
Thursday 5 November 2024, 9.00am-6.00pm
Crown Princess (maiden call), 3,080 passengers
Saturday 21 December 2024, 7.30am-5.30pm
Azamara Princess (maiden call), 702 passengers
Sunday 12 January 2025, 7.00am-4.00pm
Regatta, 656 passengers
Sunday 2 February 2025, 9.00am-6.00pm
Pacific Explorer, 924 passengers
Sunday 9 February 2025, 12.00pm-10.00pm
Viking Venus (maiden call), 930 passengers
Sunday 2 March 2025, 8.00am-5.00pm
Azamara Onward (maiden call), 684 passengers
Tuesday 25 March 2025, 8.00am-6.00pm
MSC Magnifica, 3,223 passengers
Saturday 29 March 2025, 9.00am-6.00pm
Crown Princess, 3,080 passengers
Monday 5 May 2025, 7.00am-6.00pm
Insignia (maiden call), 656 passengers
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