Fremantle welcomes royal visitor

The City of Fremantle will welcome a royal visitor on Monday with the arrival of the luxury ocean liner Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to come alongside at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal at 5.30am and will spend the day in port before departing for Adelaide at 10pm.

There will be 1053 disembarking passengers, with 1025 embarking and 677 passengers in transit, as well as more than 1000 crew.

It’s the second large liner to visit Fremantle since the resumption of international cruising after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus because of Covid.

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the ship will receive a warm welcome from Fremantle’s volunteer tourism ambassadors, who will be on hand to provide helpful advice to passengers on how they can make the most of their visit to Fremantle.

“We’re delighted to see the return of cruise ships to Fremantle after a wait of more than two years,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

“Before cruise operations were suspended in March 2020 there were 106 cruise ship visits to WA in 2019-20, employing 935 people in industry roles and providing a $260 million boost to the economy.

“In Fremantle our local businesses benefit not only from the extra trade from cruise passengers and crew but also through the opportunity to resupply the ship, while our hotels also fill up with people either getting on or off cruise ships.

“Our Visitor Centre will have a small army of volunteer tourism ambassadors around town on Monday to point cruise ship passengers in the right direction and provide handy tips and information.

“Our ambassadors are more than happy share their local knowledge to ensure passengers enjoy a memorable experience in Fremantle.”

The Fremantle Visitor Centre’s tourism ambassadors will be stationed at a service desk at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal to greet passengers as they disembark, as well as at the Fremantle Visitor Centre in Walyalup Koort and roaming in key locations across the city.

The City of Fremantle will also be providing a free shuttle bus to transfer visitors from the Passenger Terminal to Walyalup Koort.

In addition to free brochures, maps and information on tours, attractions and events, the Fremantle Visitor Centre also offers free Wi-Fi, bike hire, luggage storage lockers and a range of locally made souvenirs.  

The City of Fremantle has also partnered with a host of local businesses to offer discounts and special offers to cruise ship crew.

From October to December more than 10,000 passengers will make their way to Fremantle on board cruise ships, including the Regatta on December 1 and Noordam on December 2.