The luxury cruise sector’s strong upward trajectory continues, with Virtuoso’s ANZ General Manager Greg Treasure highlighting exceptional year-on-year growth in key segments amid surging demand.

Speaking at the Signature Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Luxury Cruise Awards 2025 in Sydney earlier this week, Treasure described cruising as central to the industry’s future.

“The cruise segment is fast becoming, or has become, really the cornerstone of our industry, and I think it will continue to shape our future direction, both economically and culturally, within the industry, as we move forward,” he said.

He detailed significant gains across Virtuoso’s network over the last year. “In 2025, we saw 15% growth in the luxury segment in cruise over 2024 which was really off the back of what was a record year in 24 across the board,” he said.

The standout performers, according to Treasure, were river cruising and small-ship cruising, up a hefty 89% and 29% respectively. “So we continue to see significant growth,” he added.

“As we move forward into 2026, the Australia and New Zealand market continues to outperform globally, where we are over indexing in forward bookings quite dramatically. I think we can all take comfort that our segment in our industry is in great, great condition, great shape, in good hands.”

He outlined the process, saying, “I’ll announce the finalists, and then I will announce the… third and second place getters… before finally inviting the ultimate winners to come up on stage collect their trophy and have a photo in front of the media wall.”

The ceremony’s emphasis on record-breaking growth and strong forward bookings underscored the luxury cruise sector’s role as one of the travel industry’s most dynamic and resilient performers heading into 2026.