Princess’ 2026/27 Australian program includes the homeporting of three ships as well as a 79-night Circle the Pacific cruise – the first time the line has offered this sailing in a decade.
The line has designated the Royal, Grand, and Crown Princess for Australia and New Zealand.
But it appears that Sydney and Brisbane will still be the main homeporting cities. Bookings will open on November 7, 2024, for the Princess Captain’s Club and to the general public on November 14, 2024.
Close-to-home 2026/27 Australian sailings
Royal Princess will be based out of Sydney with home port options including Queensland, Tasmania, New Zealand, and more.
Grand Princess will spend her season sailing from Brisbane and Sydney with a variety of Australian itineraries including the Southern and Northern Explorer as well as the Round Australia voyage.
The Southern Explorer itinerary will have options for guests to sail from Sydney, and Fremantle of Adelaide, which will visit places like Busselton, Exmouth, Yampi Sound, and many more port calls.
This will be a relief for South Australian cruisers after the lack of Adelaide departures over the next two seasons.
The Northern Explorer itinerary will have departure options from Sydney, Brisbane, and Fremantle, visiting Willis Island, Port Douglas, Darwin, Broome, and more.
For the close-to-home sailings, there will be four Queensland voyages from Sydney and Brisbane and four Tasmania cruises with six, eight, and 12-night options available.
The Tasmanian cruises will depart from Sydney or Brisbane and will call at Eden, Hobart, and Port Arthur. These voyages will also sail past Great Oyster Bay & Freycinet Peninsula.
Circle the Pacific
The piece de resistance of the program announcement is the first Circle Pacific in 10 years on the Grand Princess.
This will be the longest Circle the Pacific voyage ever, with a 79-night roundtrip from Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland.
After departing from New Zealand or Australia, the cruise will take guests through Southeast Asia before spending an overnight in Hong Kong.
The itinerary then visits Taipei and several ports in Japan like Kagoshima, Osaka, Shimizu, and Tokyo.
The sailing then crosses the Pacific Ocean to Alaska, visiting Anchorage and Wrangell in Alaska, before heading down to Los Angeles and then to Hawaii.
After Hawaii, the cruise then visits Tahiti and Moorea in French Polynesia before sailing to Apia in American Samoa, Suva, and Dravuni Island in Fiji.
The cruise will depart Brisbane on June 15, 2027, and from Sydney on June 17, 2027.
Asia for 2025/26
The Diamond Princess will also return to Southeast Asia, homeporting from Singapore. The ship will be homeported between December 2025 to February 2026.
There will be special Christmas and New Year sailings as well as Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year voyages.
The ship will visit 10 destinations in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, with a highlight call to Sihanoukville in Cambodia, the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat.
Before her Singapore season, guests can step aboard the Diamond Princess for a 12-day repositioning cruise from Yokohama on November 25 visiting Toba, Osaka, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Ho Chi Minh City before arriving in the Lion City on December 6 to kick off her season.
Highlights of the Singapore season include:
Christmas & New Year – 14-day Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and featuring Sihanouville (Cambodia): December 2023, 2025 to January 6, 2026
Christmas will be celebrated at sea on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with lots of festivities and festive food onboard. The ship will arrive on Boxing Day in Nha Trang, Vietnam and then to Ho Chi Minh City the next day. Guests will be able to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat when the ship docks at Sihanoukville on December 29. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will also be celebrated at sea before sailing to Phuket, Langkawi, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur and arriving in Singapore on January 6.
Southeast Asia Grand Adventures: Double Chinese New Year cruises to usher in the Year of the Earth Snake
10-day Vietnam with Halong Bay sailing roundtrip from Singapore on January 20 and visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, including two days at Halong Bay/Hanoi and then to Da Nang before sailing to Singapore. Chinese New Year falls on January 29 and it will be celebrated onboard at sea.
11-day Malaysia & Thailand from Singapore on January 30 with stops in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Phuket, Penang, Ko Samui and Bangkok. Late Night Ashore in Laem Chabang (for Bangkok & Pattaya) before arriving in Singapore on February 10.
Malaysia, Thailand & Vietnam
16-day Scenic Cruising – December 7 to 23, 2025: For those who love to spend more days at sea, this cruise includes seven days at sea in between visiting Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang, Phuket, Nha Trang, with two days in Halong Bay, before sailing for Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
14-days Malaysia, Thailand & Vietnam – January 6 to 20, 2026: Visiting seven ports including Phuket, Langkawi, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bangkok.
Valentine’s Day 14-day Repositioning Cruise from Singapore to Japan
Diamond Princess will re-position to Japan on February 10 when she sets sail from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hong Kong, Taipei, Osaka, Shimizu (for Mt Fuji), and arriving in Yokohama on February 24.
