First look: One of the world's most incredible cruise ships has arrived in Australia

Scenic Tours has kicked off its 2024-2025 cruise season for the newest ship in its fleet, Scenic Eclipse II, with a bang.

The ship arrived in Sydney on Friday, April 19, and sailed into Newcastle Harbour on Monday, April 22, in its first-ever voyage in Australian waters.

Glen Moroney, the chairman and founder of Scenic Group, which owns Scenic Tours, was on hand in his hometown of Newcastle, where Scenic Tours first began, to welcome guests to the ship.

"All I can say, is we started from a kitchen table in Charlestown, Newcastle, doing a very simple job, just filling a hotel and running bus tours," Mr Moroney said.

"And we've ended up being a very unique company, because we came up with a concept, we do the feasibility, we design the ship, we engineer it, we build it, we own it, we operate it, and through all of our sales offices around the world, we distribute that to the consumer."

The Scenic Eclipse II, completed in 2022 by the company's own shipbuilding firm, MKM Yachts, based in Croatia, is beginning its first cruising season in Australia.

Scenic Eclipse II begins its Australian season on May 10 with an 11-day Discover the Kimberley Coastline tour from Darwin to Broome.

From 2024 to 2026 Scenic Eclipse II will offer voyages across Australian, New Zealand, South Pacific, Asia and Antarctica.

The ultra-luxury Scenic Eclipse II has capacity for 228 guests (114 luxury suites).

It carries two helicopters, an electric submersible that can transport eight guests down to 100 metres below the surface, as well as kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, zodiacs and Seabobs.

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The ship has 10 dining venues, eight bars, two swimming pools, a spa, sauna, steam room, salt therapy lounge, yoga and Pilates studio as well as an infrared sauna with colour light therapy.

Scenic Tours has packaged expedition and discovery-style tours on the Scenic Eclipse II, and they are proving popular.

"What we are seeing is Australians have embraced the fact there is no ultra luxury class yachts or ships of this type in Australia," Anthony Laver, Scenic Group manager, sales and marketing, said on Monday.

"We are seeing the majority of first season coming from Australia. And as that goes through, our Canadian office has great response. Our UK market, which has always been strong for Australia. The US is little bit harder, I have to say, they don't know where the Kimberley is. And if the Americans don't know where it is, they are not necessarily going to jump on a flight across the world."

Jason Flesher, director of discovery operations for Scenic Group, said the company had figured out the formula to offer every traveller a unique experience. Mr Laver, noting the small capacity of the vessel compared to traditional cruisers, called it "hyper-personalisation".

"We know how to still deliver for them to take what they want from the experience," Mr Flesher said. "We never want anyone to feel they are limited by mobility issues, or any physical issues, because we know how to do it."

Mr Laver acknowledged the market had changed, and a younger demographic was seeking more adventure through cruising.

"From a marketing point of view, we see that there was a very young cohort that went out, they did the very short cruises. What we are seeing now is a more sophisticated market, where it's not just the 60th anniversary, it's the 20th anniversary," Mr Laver said. "So the demographic is getting younger, they're wanting to go to places where no one else has been. It's not about having 3000 people on board and they are all seeing it from their cabin. They want to be immersed.

"What Jason [Flesher] does, he customises it. Makes a special moment, he takes people out for a engagement, or wedding ceremony or proposal, birthday, takes them on the Zodiac, there's that private experience, which you can't do on a big ship, that's one part of it.

"The other one is, we're finding our 45-year-olds are saying, 'I want to go, I don't want to wait until I'm 65 or 70, because they see those things and say, 'I want to have that experience now'. We cater to that, [and] we cater to people up to 75, 80. The thing the discovery team does well, it doesn't matter what age you are, we'll take you to see these things and we'll customise that experience for that age group. They are getting younger, they are getting more sophisticated, and they know more about what they want."

Mike Cusack, the discovery tour leader for this current Scenic Eclipse II journey, making its way north (the first cruise from Darwin begins on May 20) said the yacht was making stops at K'gari (Fraser Island), Capricorn Reef, Middle Percy Island, Gladstone (for dawn service on Anzac Day), Airlie Beach for the White on White dinner at spectacular Whitehaven Beach, Willis Island (in international waters) and Cairns.