Princess adds new pricing policy and predicts record sales of 114-night cruise from Australia

Princess Cruises is rolling out a new pricing policy that means special deals will only occur when the itineraries go on sale.

The global move means guests can be assured they won’t miss out on fare cuts later in the sales cycle if they book up early.

The policy comes as the line unveiled details around its 2025/26 season in Australia, with a new 114-night sailing aboard the Crown Princess.

The season will also see a new ship – the Discovery Princess.  

The Crown Princess sailing will be record-breaking and goes on sale at the end of the month. Elite guests can buy from November 29th and other guests on November 30.

Offering roundtrip departures from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland, Crown Princess’ will visit 48 destinations in 31 countries across six continents.

The voyage will be the longest world cruise ever undertaken from Australia.

Guests on the cruise will be treated to two new world cruise ports – Alexandria in Egypt and Patmos in Greece. There will be overnight visits to New York, Lima and Quebec and late-night stays in a range of exotic destinations. They include Reykjavik in Iceland and Papeete in Tahiti.   

The Discovery Princess, Crown Princess and Grand Princess will offer 75 itineraries and 120 departures. Cruises from 2 to 37 days and sailings available from seven port. Guests can sail from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand     

“Cruising has come a long way in half a century. And we’re delighted to now be bringing a ship of the calibre of Discovery Princess to Australia as part of a fantastic line-up of summer cruising,” Mr Stuart Allison, Vice President in charge of Asia Pacific, UK and Europe said. 

The Princess 2025/26 fleet

Measuring 330 metres in length and carrying 3660 guests, the Discovery Princess will be the biggest Princess Cruises’ ship to ever sail in Australian waters. She will offer 22 itineraries during her four-month deployment. This includes 11 departures from Sydney. 

The Discovery Princess and Crown Princess would be deployed in around Australia voyages as well as a Tahiti and Hawaii cruise in addition to roundtrip sailings to New Zealand, Queensland and Fiji.   

The 2600-passenger Grand Princess will be based in Brisbane. She will carry a record number of Princess guests from the city on 14 roundtrip cruises. The Grand Princess will visit Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.  

Highlights of the program include: 

·       Crown Princess’ 2026 world voyage sails from Australia to South East Asia. She will then pass through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. She will then cruise to North America and transit through the Panama Canal return Down Under via the Pacific. Departing Sydney on May 10, 2026, the voyage will visit 48 destinations and visit more than 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  

·       An 18-night cruise from Singapore to Sydney on Discovery Princess departing November 18, 2025. There will be maiden visits to Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang in Vietnam and Lombok in Indonesia. 

·       Round Australia cruises departing from Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, Adelaide and Brisbane on Crown Princess in November 2025 and March 2026. The cruises will include visits to regional ports like Port Douglas, the Whitsundays, Broome, Exmouth and Albany as well as scenic cruising along the Kimberley Coast. 

·       The return of cruises to Hawaii and Tahiti. The Grand Princess will sail on a 37-night cruise visiting Pago Pago, Maui, Honolulu, Kauai, Kona, Hilo, Papeete, Moorea, Raiatea, Tonga and Norfolk Island. The cruise departs Sydney on October 16, 2025, and Brisbane on October 18, 2025. 

·       A 12-night Southern Explorer cruise on Discovery Princess sailing round trip from Sydney on February 28, 2026. She will visit Melbourne, Kangaroo Island, Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Port Arthur and Hobart.  

·       An 11-night cruise to Papua New Guinea on Grand Princess departing Brisbane on March 24, 2026. She visits Alotau, Rabaul, Kiriwina Island and the Conflict Islands. 

·       Sailings across the Pacific between North America and Australia and New Zealand on Discovery Princess and Grand Princess. There are visits to ports in Tahiti and Hawaii. 

The program will go on sale at 9am AEDT on 29 November 2023 for Elite guests only and 9am AEDT 30 November 2023 for general sale.