This was published 7 years ago
Ovation of the Seas, Australia's largest cruise ship provides a boost for the Australian economy
It's probably still possible to order a retro dish like "surf 'n' turf" aboard a cruise ship restaurant somewhere in the world but here at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal it's become more a case of "turf to surf".
One of eight semi-trailers, out of sight to the 4500 or so people waiting to board Ovation of the Seas, the world's fourth largest cruise passenger ship, is disgorging enormous quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables from all over NSW and other states required for a three-day voyage.
The procedure, overseen by Dion Robinson, Royal Caribbean's experienced commodity manager, food and beverage, genuinely is akin to a military exercise. Mr Robinson said this particular delivery was part of the $40 to $50 million that Royal Caribbean, owner of Ovation of the Seas, spends to service its fleet of seven ships, including vessels under the Celebrity and Azamara brands, in Australian waters each summer cruise season.
With a million of so people taking a cruise each year, Australia now boasts the highest cruise market penetration per capita of any country, with the economic benefits of the industry on display in the hundreds of cartons stuffed full of lettuces, celeries and eggplant and a multitude of other items. It's a long way from the surf 'n' turf (typically defined as steak and three prawns) of previous decades.
Royal Caribbean's expenditure is but a drop in the ocean, as it were, compared to the overall impact of the cruise industry on the Australian economy. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia estimated that the contribution of cruising to the national economy in 2015-16 rose to $4.6 billion. The cruise industry now employs 18,700 Australians directly and indirectly.
"This fast-growing sector in the tourism market is having a very positive influence on small to medium business that support the cruise ships with a range of produce and services," says Ian Menzies, national operations manager of the produce wholesaler and Royal Caribbean supplier Simon George & Sons.
A chef preparing food in the kitchens on board Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney Harbour last month. Credit: Anna Kucera
"We see real benefit to the local business community and the flow through to local and interstate growers. This increase in demand for fresh fruit and vegetables to support these huge cruise ships translates into more local employment for pickers and drivers and is a welcome addition."
Mr Menzies said a massive ship such as the Ovation loads more than 50 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables in Sydney each cruise season. Prior to the ship's debut last December in Sydney, the city it now calls a home port for part of each year, "that was 50 tonnes that would not have been sold through the local economy. As Sydney and other ports become more popular with the cruise ships the demand for quality fresh fruit and vegetables will increase which is good for the farmers and stimulates the local economy."
Daniel Ledo Trujillo, Ovation of the Seas' Madrid-born executive chef, is delighted with the quality of Australia's chemical-free produce supplied to the ship, with only potatoes being inferior to what can be sourced overseas. It's because of their starch content which makes them harder to boil – not the fault of the farmers, he stressed, but the unavoidable nature of the soil in which they grow.
Ovation's executive chef Daniel Ledo Trujillo. Credit: Anna Kucera
Anthony Dennis is Fairfax Media's national travel editor.
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