G’Day cobber – 17 times over

In early January a fleet of cruise ships set out on their annual round-the-world voyages. Some went west and through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Others went south and rounded the Cape of Good Hope before entering the Indian Ocean, and the rest sailed through the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal.
Within the next couple of weeks, 17 of them will arrive at the magnificent Sydney Harbour.
P&O’s Oriana was the first to tie up yesterday, and Amadea, run by German line Phoenix Reisen, sailed into port today.
They will be followed by Cunard’s Queen Victoria, Tahitian Princess, P&O’s Arcadia, Fred Olsen’s Black Watch, Diamond Princess, Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, Royal Princess, Saga Rose, Queen Mary 2, Crystal Serenity, Celebrity’s Millennium and P&O’s Aurora.
Not to mention the Dawn Princess, and Pacific Dawn, which are based in Australia year-round.
That’s about 26,000 passengers in total, all anxious to take pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, and to empty their wallets at every Australian retail opportunity.