The NRMA has bought Fantasea Cruising, operators of the Palm Beach to Patonga, Ettalong and Wagstaffe ferry service.
NRMA Group chief Mr Rohan Lund announced the acquisition on Thursday, October 25, as part of the NRMA’s aim to become Australia’s largest provider of transport and tourism services. “Today’s announcement of NRMA’s acquisition of Fantasea Cruising, 12 months after we bought Manly Fast Ferry, sees our fleet of vessels grow to 31 and boosts our capacity to unlock the potential of Sydney’s waterways, offer fantastic experiences to people wanting to enjoy our city and connect the Central Coast with Palm Beach,” Mr Lund said.
“When Sydney was born the majority of its transport needs were met by our sprawling harbour and network of waterways; 200 years later and the NRMA wants the city to again realise the potential of its waterways,” he said. Fantasea provides a range of transport and tourism services, harbour cruises, ferry services and yellow water taxis across Sydney Harbour in addition to the Palm Beach to Central Coast service.. The Fantasea fleet comprises 10 ferries and 10 water taxis.
“Fantasea has a diverse and modern fleet of vessels and their operational approach to customer service aligns with the NRMA,” Mr Lund said. “We welcome their staff to the NRMA family and look forward to working to deliver unique experiences to our customers in Sydney and the Central Coast,” he said. “As the NRMA group of businesses grows so too does our capacity to provide much-needed transport solutions to a community keen to get around faster and provide membership value to our 2.6 million members.” NRMA members currently get 20 per cent discounts on selected Fantasea services and the organisation will look to provide further member-exclusive offers and specials, Mr Lund said.
SOURCE: Media release, 25 Oct 2018 Peter Khoury, NRMA
This article appeared first in The Peninsula News print edition November 5, 2018.