Guide to summer cruising around Australia

Royal Carribbean "family members" Celebrity Solstice and Azamara Quest will also be in town; Solstice is returning to Sydney for its fourth season Down Under, while the 716-passenger Azamara Quest will visit for the first time, sailing five voyages in the region between December 2015 and February 2016.

Sean Tracy, the commercial director of Royal Caribbean, says, "I am very excited about what this year holds for us as a company and for anyone in Australia who loves cruising. For the first time ever, we will have all three brands sailing in Australasian waters.

"Azamara Club Cruises is our boutique cruise line and has been a quiet achiever in the Australian market. Even though Azamara has never sailed in the region before, Australians are among the top three nationalities that cruise with the line."

Meanwhile Carnival Australia (which operates P&O Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line and Seabourn) is also looking forward to a bumper year; it will have an unprecedented 22 ships from its seven cruise lines sailing in local waters.

Not only is P&O adding Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden to its existing fleet of three, Princess Cruises will have a record five ships operating out of Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle. The 2600-passenger Golden Princess will make its debut in October and will be based in Melbourne until April 2016.

On a smaller scale, UK-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages is sending its 620-passenger Astor on a 54-night voyage from London to Fremantle (departing on October 17) for its third season of cruising in Australia and Asia.

Cruising the Kimberly continues to exert a powerful pull. Silversea Expeditions' Silver Discoverer will operate a series of 10-night voyages between Broome and Darwin from April to May in 2015 and 2016, while APT's Kimberley Coast Cruising program is going from strength to strength. APT's Caledonian Sky operates 11- to 27-day cruises in the Kimberley from May to September in 2015 and 2016.

Where can I go?

Most round-trip cruises departing from Sydney, Melbourne Brisbane and Fremantle go to the Pacific islands, New Zealand and around Australia, on circumnavigations and short coastal hops. Cruise lines are constantly tweaking itineraries and adding new ports of call to keep cruisers keen; and as more ships are being based in Australia it means there will be more choice of round-trip cruises from local ports to a greater variety of destinations at home and overseas.

For example, next year P&O's new ships will be sailing from Adelaide and Cairns for a limited time. Highlights of Pacific Eden's season in Cairns include cruises to exotic Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; P&O also offers longer cruises to PNG from Brisbane and Sydney.

Princess Cruises' Sun Princess will sail 15-night round-trip cruises from Fremantle to Indonesia in November and December 2015; Pacific Eden will make four round trips from Fremantle to Indonesia between April and July 2016.

Regional ports around Australia are popping up on all the major cruise lines' itineraries – see our selection of up-and-coming destinations. Other popular ports around the country include Queensland's Cooktown, Port Douglas, Moreton Island and Gladstone; Esperance and Busselton (for Margaret River) in Western Australia; and Kangaroo Island and Robe in South Australia.

For first-timers and the time poor

Short breaks are proving to be incredibly popular with time-poor and first-time cruisers, so expect to see more on offer next season. Between December 2015 and March 2016, Royal Caribbean has five two- or three-night round-trip cruises from Brisbane and Sydney; Carnival Spirit is doing three three-day sampler cruises from Sydney between November 2015 and October 2016; Carnival Legend is sailing a five-night round-trip to Tasmania in April 2016; and Princess Cruises has a selection of two-nighters from Sydney and Brisbane.

P&O has a huge range of P&O Seabreak mini cruises (two, three and four nights), sailing from every home port in Australia (Cairns and Adelaide in 2016); included in the mix are comedy and food and wine themed cruises. Check out pocruises.au/seabreaks or grab a copy of the new brochure to see what's on offer.

Special event cruises are also in demand. This November, Carnival Spirit, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel will sail from Sydney to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup, and Pacific Dawn will join them from Brisbane. Spending Christmas at sea takes all the stress out of the festive season; Celebrity Solstice, Carnival Legend and Pacific Eden will depart Sydney for New Zealand and Queensland for Christmas, and Pacific Aria will sail to Far North Queensland from Brisbane. Boutique luxury ship True North will operate two four-night cruises in and around Sydney for Christmas and New Year. P&O's special-event cruises will also take in next January's Australian Open in Melbourne and Australia Day in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Ships Calling Australia Home 2015-16

Sydney year round Carnival Legend, Carnival Spirit, Pacific Jewel

Sydney seasonal Diamond Princess, Celebrity Solstice, Explorer of the Seas, Pacific Eden (Nov 2015 to Feb 2016), MS Noordam.

Brisbane year round Sea Princess, Pacific Dawn

Brisbane seasonal Legend of the Seas, Pacific Aria (Nov 2015 for 21 cruises; June 2016 for 13 cruises).

Melbourne seasonal Golden Princess, Pacific Eden (Feb 2016 to April 2016).

Fremantle year round Dawn Princess alternating with Sun Princess

Fremantle seasonal CMV Astor

Cairns seasonal Pacific Eden (Sept 2016 to Nov 2016)

Adelaide seasonal Pacific Eden (Feb 2016 to April 2016)

Six of the Best Upcoming Regional Ports

Newcastle, NSW

The biggest coal-loading port in the world is also a rapidly developing city that offers a fascinating maritime history (take a narrated Nova harbour cruise for expert insight), art galleries and ultra-cool restaurants and bars. It's perfectly placed for day trips to the Hunter Valley wineries and the aquatic playground of Port Stephens. A cannon is fired from Fort Scratchley every time a cruise ship leaves the harbour.

Eden, NSW

Eden's Twofold Bay is the only deep-water harbour between Sydney and Melbourne, making it an ideal port for short break cruises. It hosts a large fishing fleet and was once a major whaling centre (check out the Killer Whale museum). Attractions include an oyster farm tour, guided nature walks in Ben Boyd National Park, and kayaking on the tranquil Kiah River.

Port Lincoln, South Australia

Fancy doing a cage-dive with sharks? Or swimming with sea lions or blue fin tuna? Port Lincoln offers a multitude of marine adventures as well as on-shore activities such as hiking along the stunning coastline of Lincoln National Park. Other attractions include the family-friendly Glen-Forest Tourist Park, wineries and the waterfront Axel Stenross Maritime Museum.

Port Arthur, Tasmania

Explore the grisly history of Australia's most famous penal colony, which dates back to the 1830s. The strangely beautiful site contains some 60 sandstone buildings, ruins and restored period houses set on 40 hectares of landscaped grounds. Take a guided tour and visit the Isle of the Dead and boys' reformatory Point Puer. On a lighter note, see Tassie Devils being hand-fed at the nearby Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park.

Portland, Victoria

This pretty town on Portland Bay was the first in Victoria to be settled by Europeans and heritage buildings line the streets. You can see evidence of its much older indigenous history on guided tours and it's also conveniently close to the famous 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road and the Grampians National Park.

Geraldton, Western Australia

Scenic flights and snorkelling trips to the nearby Houtman Abrolhos Islands are key attractions of a visit to Geraldton, while the town itself has much to offer to the keen maritime historian. Walk around the HMAS Sydney memorial overlooking the town, check out the fascinating WA Museum Geraldton and sail aboard the museum's Batavia Longboat replica.