QVM have given us a briefing on the 2014/15 cruise ship season and the arrangements to bring cruise ship tourists to our market. The first QVM tour will occur tomorrow, Saturday 6th December.
Here is the detail of their briefing -
The main Inbound Tour Operator for Port of Melbourne "..........manage shore excursion programs for major brands along with a number of independent and smaller operators including:
- P&O (Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel, Pacific Pearl)
- Princess Cruises (Dawn Princess, Diamond Princess)
- Royal Caribbean (Radiance of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas)
- Carnival Cruises (Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend)
Queen Victoria Market is featured on two of the shore excursions, which include direct coach transfers from Port Melbourne to QVM.
1) Melbourne Shopping Tour
- 4 hour tour
- Includes return bus transfers ex Port Melbourne
- Stops include Queen Victoria Market, DFO South Wharf and Harbour Town Shopping Centre
2) Queen Victoria Market Tour
- 4 hour drop off at Queen Victoria Market
- Includes return bus transfers ex Port Melbourne
On Saturday 6 December we are expecting 100 passengers from the Pacific Dawn to be dropped off at the Market as part of the Melbourne Shopping Tour. For the tour we provide a shopping bag and market brochure, participants are free to shop at their own leisure. “
We would be very interested in receiving feedback from traders on their experience with this group.
Have Your Say - click here.
COMMENTS:
06/12/2014 19:11:32 cruise tours "Would tourist be required to pay for this tours? If so it will not encourage them to spend additional money at the market. With the money allocated to promote the market why not have free shuttle buses to and from the pier. "
We understand these are paid tours which is a common facility on cruise ships. The cost of free shuttle buses has to be met by someone and traders have considered financing free buses with contributions something like what we are doing with the current cash giveaway. We will ask marketing to explain how the current "paid tours" arrangement works, whether there is a cost for QVM and how that compares with actually hiring a dedicated bus. - Ed
07/12/2014 22:25:58 cruise ship passengers "I didn't see any of them on Saturday." Leah
08/12/2014 22:19:37 Cruise Tours "The way that cruise tours work is that each port has a selection of pre arranged tour packages to choose from, you select and you pay. For Melbourne, in the case of the recent visit of Celebrity Century, Tour ML80 is Queen Victoria Market on your own. Adult 43.75 USD, Child 43.75 USD. Duration four hours departing 9am. Many passengers opt to do their own thing. There is little promotional information on board the cruise ships. If you wish to look over a report I prepared re the cruise ships and view the Melbourne tour options listing I will leave a copy at the American Doughnut Kitchen from Tuesday 8/12." Karl, ADK