Will Princess’s new 2027/28 sailings usher in a new era for Australia cruising?

• Princess has announced the ships it will be bringing to Australia for the 2027/28 season.
• Aussies will be glad to hear that Princess is returning to three ships overall – though Sapphire Princess will only homeport for two months.
• Royal and Grand Princess will offer sailings out of Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Adelaide and Melbourne.

In a huge win for Australia’s cruise industry, Princess Cruises has confirmed it is bringing three ships to Australia for the 2027/28 season. 

Royal Princess, Grand Princess and Sapphire Princess will all homeport out of Australia for the 2027/28 cruise season.

But the good news doesn’t stop there. There will be sailings out of interstate ports, and a strong linkage to the ships sailings in Asia once the Aussie season is over. Princess has recommitted to Australia – and produced a plan that means a big proportion of its fleet will be based in the Australasian region.

The 2025/26 is the first year for the line to have just two ships. But as one of Australia’s favourite cruise lines, sailings on the Crown Princess are nearly sold out for the season.

So it will come as a big relief that Princess is returning to three ships out of Australia, which will mean diversity in itineraries, more cabins available, and hopefully keep fares stable.

These three homeported ships will include the return of Sapphire Princess to Fremantle – a huge win for Western Australian cruisers who have been begging to have cruises available from their doorstep once again.

In fact, at a time when the cruise industry has been struggling, with many ships leaving Australia, and cruise passengers have been becoming fed up with streamlined itineraries and inflated prices, Princess’s new announcement really brings some fantastic news.

Not only is the cruise line bringing back an extra ship to Australia at a time where the industry needs it, but it’s refreshed its itineraries to give more options to Aussies. In recent years we’ve seen cruise lines moving towards basing more and more sailings around the South Pacific, specifically New Caledonia and Vanuatu, and filling out most other sailings with Great Barrier Reef journey’s and shortened New Zealand itineraries.

Princess will now offer more diversity of Aussie sailings, with more sailings from and to Western Australia, ‘Northern Explorer’ itineraries that visit the Kimberley Coast, as well as the Northern Territory, ‘Southern Explorer’ itineraries that visit Adelaide, Albany, Margaret River and more.

New Zealand sailings have also been expanded on, with more longer 15-night options, which either offer more New Zealand exploration, or complimentary Tasmania visits.

South Pacific sailings have been given extra dimensions to what many Aussies are used to, with most South Pacific itineraries at least two weeks long and including three Fiji ports, not just New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Finally, Princess has taking big steps towards improving Asia and Australia cruise connectivity, with creates much more interesting itineraries for Aussies.

Grand Princess will sail inbetween Sydney and Singapore. It appears these sailings are built around a drydock, but nonetheless they offer Aussies a chance to sail from Sydney or Brisbane to places like Darwin Bali, Penang, and to end up in Singapore.

Sapphire Princess will also offer a sailing from Asia to Sydney when it leaves Singapore for Sydney in September, visiting Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phuket and Bali on the way to Perth, then this same sailing will run in reverse in February.

Excitingly, Sapphire Princess will also run two round-trips to Indonesia, visiting Exmouth, Broome, the Kimberley, Lombok and Bali.

Grand Princess will also come between Asia and Australia, but as part of a much longer Circle Pacifica Cruise of 93-nights.

Through rotating Australia’s ships with Asia, rather than the USA, Princess has created much more exciting sailings for Aussies, with the Aussies getting the chance to hop on these ships as they move between the continents.

Princess’s refresh definitely makes a statement and sets the standard for Aussie cruise itineraries. It also complements Carnival’s move towards more regional homeports out of Auckland, Adelaide and Melbourne.

Bringing in a new ship also appears to have helped keep pricing down, with plenty of options under $200 a night, even for longer cruises.

Check out a full-breakdown of the itineraries below. All prices include Princess Plus! For those who don’t want Princess Plus (which comes with a drinks package and wifi), you can subtract $79 per day to find the real starting price!

Western Australia itineraries

Sapphire Princess will make a much awaited return to Fremantle.

She’ll sail a series of sailings from four-nights to 14 nights, including …

• 13 and 15 night sailings from Perth to Brisbane, that visit the Kimberely Coast, Broome, Darwin, Cairns and Willis Island, starting from $3916 per person
• ‘Seacations’ to Margate River on four-night sailings, starting from $1115 per person.
• Nine and ten night Coral Coast sailings, that visit Exmouth, Broome and the Kimberley Coast, starting from $2669 per person.
• Two 14-night roundtrips to Bali, that visit Exmouth, Broome, The Kimberley, Lombok and Bali, starting from $3585.
• 12-night sailings from Perth to Singapore and vice verse, that visit Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Phuket and Penang, starting from $2927.

Cruises from Brisbane

• New Zealand itineraries range from 13 to 14-night nights, starting from $3646 and $3295 respectively.
• Great Barrier Reef seven-night sailings start from $1702.
• There’s a sailing from Brisbane to Singapore, of 15 and 16-nights each, that visit Airlie Beach, Darwin, have an extended stay in Bali and visit Penang as well. These start from $3384.
• A three-night seacation to the Hunter Coast starts from $766.
• There’s one Fiji and South Pacific sailing that’s 14-nights, starting from $3435.

Cruises from Sydney

• There are two Fiji and South Pacific sailings available, at 14-nights each they start from $4355.
• You can hop on an extended version of the same Singapore itinerary, starting from $4051 for 18-nights.
• Take a massive 36-day cruise around New Zealand, Tasmania and Fiji, starting from $8883.
• Enjoy shorter sailings to Eden, with three-nights starting from $786.
• There are plenty of New Zealand options, from 13 to 15 nights, starting from $3475.
• Also on offer is a 35-night South Pacific exploration, visiting Tahiti, Moorea, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji and much more.

Cruises from Adelaide and Melbourne

• Both cities have one roundtrip sailing respectively, which are part of the same larger sailing.
• Out of Melbourne there’s a 13-night Southern Australian Explorer sailing that visits Kangaroo Island, Adelaide, Hobart, Port Arthur, Sydney and Eden, starting from $3686pp.
• Out of Adelaide, it’ll be 12-nights, visiting Hobart, Port Arthur, Sydney, Eden and Melbourne, starting from $3407pp.

Cruises from Auckland

• There are two one-way Auckland to Sydney cruises, one on Sapphire Princess and one on Royal Princess.
• The first visits Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Fiordland, Hobart and Melbourne, starting from $3635.
• The other visits of Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Fiordland, Hobart, Port Arthur and Great Oyster Bay, starting from $3765.

Princess Cruises Vice President, Asia Pacific Matthew Rutherford said: “With 80 total departures across 63 unique itineraries, ranging from quick three-day getaways to epic 43-day explorations, there will be something for everyone – from the seasoned cruise traveller to the family experiencing their first cruise getaway.”

Bookings will open for the season on November 26, and up until February 28, 2026, past guests can receive savings of up to $2000 per stateroom. 

Check them out here.