All that could change with yesterday's announcement that P&O Cruises Australia was considering Newcastle as its next home port, berthing a 2000-passenger ship in the harbour for up to a year.

Never was the case for a dedicated cruise terminal in Newcastle stronger, Cruise Hunter project manager David Brown said yesterday.

He said the company would need certainty it could refuel in Newcastle before plans could progress.

Newcastle being considered as a home base for such a large liner would make a good case for long-awaited infrastructure improvements.

Large visiting cruise ships can berth only at Dyke Point and passengers are conveyed to Queens Wharf.

Ann Sherry, chief executive of Carnival Australia, which owns P&O Cruises, said this could be managed for international ships but it was impossible to begin and finish a cruise at the site.

Ms Sherry said the company was interested in using amenities at Throsby in the short term with the view to their being modified.

Cruise Hunter had 12 forward bookings for cruise ships of up to 2500 passengers up to 2012.

The Hunter has attracted visits from P&O Cruises' sister company Princess Cruises for late next year with the Sun Princess and the Dawn Princess to make three stops.

These cruise ships, each 261 metres long, have premium features such as private balconies on almost half their 975 staterooms.

The 294-metre Celebrity Millennium super liner will be the first cruiser to enter the Port of Newcastle this season, booking a berth in January.

Figures released in June showed cruises contributed $734 million to the Australian economy in the 2006-07 financial year.

Forecasts showed that the total economic contribution could exceed $1 billion by 2010.