New age of cruising for Royal Caribbean: 60% of Aussie sailings go to Lelepa from just $125 a day

• Royal Caribbean has released its itineraries for the 2027/28 season with Anthem of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas coming to Australia. Sailings can be booked now.
• These itineraries mark a new era of sailings for Royal Caribbean, with over 60% set to visit their new private destination in the South Pacific.
• The changes seem to mean cheaper prices, but a significant focus on sailings either to Lelepa or short cruises to nowhere.

A new age of cruising has dawned in Australia, with Royal Caribbean releasing its first itineraries that feature the Royal Beach Club at Lelepa, completing changing the way that Royal Caribbean sails in Australia.

As previously predicted by Cruise Passenger, it will be Anthem of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas sailing in Australia for the 2027/28 season, and the grand majority of their sailings will head straight to Lelepa.

But the news is glum for ports like Tasmania and Eden – the numbers of Royal Caribbean sailings to those destinations has been slashed, costing tourism dollars and visitation.

Across a total of 51 sailings, 31 of these will visit Lelepa, a total of 61%. Then there will be four sailings to New Zealand, three to Queensland, and 13 shorter getaway cruises to nowhere. There are no cruises to Tasmania or Eden or other domestic destinations.

In total, 86% of Royal Caribbean cruises for the season will either go to Lelepa, or be cruises to nowhere. Domestic itineraries are largely off the menu.

What will certainly catch the eye of cruisers are the prices for Lelepa sailings. While Royal Caribbean prices have been creeping up in recent years, the starting prices for Lelepa are very reasonable, staying well below $200 per night, and often less than $150 per night.

For a quick summary of Lelepa itineraries, here’s what’s on offer. Or click here to see a full list of sailings, ready to book now.

Lelepa sailings from Brisbane

• Seven-night itineraries that visit Port Vila and Lelepa start from $998
• Seven-night itineraries that visit Mystery Island and Lelepa start from $998
• Seven-night itineraries that visit Lelepa and Lifou start from $999
• Seven-night itineraries that visit Luganville and Lelepa start from $999
• Eight-night itineraries that visit Luganville, Port Vila and Lelepa start from $1259
• Nine-night itineraries that visit Noumea, Port Vila and Lelepa start from $1569

Lelepa sailings from Sydney

• Nine-night sailings that visit Noumea, Port Vila and Lelepa start from $1569
• Nine-night sailings that visit Port Vila, Mystery Island and Lelepa start from $1569
• A Christmas sailing to Lelepa that also visits Noumea and Mystery Island starts from $2519

What non-Lelepa sailings are on offer?

• There are four cruises to New Zealand, each leaving from Sydney on Anthem of the Seas. A nine-night cruise starts from $1919 and an 11-night cruise starts from $2469.
• Voyager will offer three Queensland sailings, two Whitsunday four-night cruises which start from $699, and one six-night cruises to Cairns, Willis Island and Airlie Beach, starting from $1149.
• You can find getaway cruises to nowhere from both Sydney and Brisbane. Brisbane has two-night cruises starting from $399 and three-nights from $579. Sydney has three-night cruises starting from $719.

What to expect from the new destination at Lelepa?

Read here for a full breakdown of the new destination, but essentially Lelepa will be a private Royal Caribbean beach club on an island in Vanuatu. It will be free to enter, and have included dining, beach games, amenities and more.

Check out the video below for more visuals and descriptions!

A new era of cruising for Royal Caribbean

These radical changes mark a new era of cruising for Royal Caribbean. Domestic sailings to Queensland are just about finished, Eden and Tasmania are no longer being visited and New Zealand cruises have been slightly cut back.

If you’re sailing with Royal Caribbean out of Australia from the 2027/28 season onwards, you’ll likely be sailing to Lelepa or sailing to nowhere on a shorter cruise.

This will be a huge switch up for Royal Caribbean and for the Aussie industry. It looks like it’ll mean cheaper cruises on offer for Aussies, and in the future it could mean year-round cruising, but it also means less variety in destinations.

What do you think? Is this the right move from Royal Caribbean? Let us know in the comments below.

The full-sailing guide

A full guide to the season of sailings, shared by Sharon Summarhayes from Deluxe Cruise and Travel.

SHORT SAMPLER CRUISES

24–27 Oct 2027 (3 nights) – Sydney return (cruise only)
5–8 Nov 2027 (3 nights) – Sydney return
26–29 Nov 2027 (3 nights) – Sydney return
17–20 Dec 2027 (3 nights) – Sydney return
7–10 Jan 2028 (3 nights) – Sydney return
18–21 Feb 2028 (3 nights) – Sydney return
10–13 Mar 2028 (3 nights) – Sydney return

 SOUTH PACIFIC (LELEPA / VANUATU/ NEW CALEDONIA)

27 Oct – 5 Nov 2027 (9 nights) FIRST VISIT TO LELEPA
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

8–17 Nov 2027 (9 nights)
Noumea → Vila → Lelepa

17–26 Nov 2027 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

8–17 Dec 2027 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

20–29 Dec 2027 (9 nights – Christmas)
Noumea → Mystery Island → Lelepa

10–19 Jan 2028 (9 nights)
Noumea → Vila → Lelepa

19–28 Jan 2028 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

9–18 Feb 2028 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

21 Feb – 1 Mar 2028 (9 nights)
Noumea → Vila → Lelepa

1–10 Mar 2028 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

13–22 Mar 2028 (9 nights)
Lelepa → Vila → Mystery Island

2–11 Apr 2028 (9 nights)
Noumea → Vila → Lelepa

 NEW ZEALAND CRUISING

29 Nov – 8 Dec 2027 (9 nights)
Picton → Christchurch → Dunedin → Milford/Doubtful/Dusky Sounds

29 Dec 2027 – 7 Jan 2028 (9 nights – New Year)
Milford/Doubtful/Dusky → Dunedin → Christchurch → Wellington

28 Jan – 9 Feb 2028 (12 nights)
Milford/Doubtful/Dusky → Dunedin → Christchurch → Napier → Wellington → Picton

22 Mar – 2 Apr 2028 (11 nights)
Milford/Doubtful/Dusky → Dunedin → Christchurch → Tauranga → Bay of Islands

 VOYAGER OF THE SEAS (BRISBANE)

 REPOSITIONING (USA → HAWAII → TAHITI → AUSTRALIA)

1 Oct – 27 Oct 2027 (26 nights)
Seattle → Honolulu → Moorea → Papeete → Raiatea → Vila → Mystery Island → Brisbane

 SHORT GETAWAYS (3–4 nights)

27–29 Oct 2027 (2 nights)
10–13 Dec 2027 (3 nights)
4–7 Jan 2028 (3 nights)
21–24 Jan 2028 (3 nights)
3–6 Mar 2028 (3 nights)

 SOUTH PACIFIC (LELEPA / VANUATU)

29 Oct – 5 Nov 2027 (7 nights)
Luganville → Lelepa

5–12 Nov 2027 (7 nights)
Mystery Island → Lelepa

12–19 Nov 2027 (7 nights)
Luganville → Lelepa

25 Nov – 2 Dec 2027 (7 nights)
Lelepa → Lifou

2–10 Dec 2027 (8 nights)
Luganville → Vila → Lelepa

13–21 Dec 2027 (8 nights)
Luganville → Vila → Lelepa

21–28 Dec 2027 (7 nights – Christmas)
Lelepa → Vila

28 Dec 2027 – 4 Jan 2028 (7 nights – New Year)
Mystery Island → Lelepa

7–14 Jan 2028 (7 nights)
Luganville → Lelepa

14–21 Jan 2028 (7 nights)
Lifou → Lelepa

28 Jan – 4 Feb 2028 (7 nights)
Vila → Lelepa

4–11 Feb 2028 (7 nights)
Luganville → Lelepa

11–18 Feb 2028 (7 nights)
Lelepa → Lifou

18–25 Feb 2028 (7 nights)
Mystery Island → Lelepa

25 Feb – 3 Mar 2028 (7 nights)
Vila → Lelepa

10–17 Mar 2028 (7 nights)
Mystery Island → Lelepa

17–24 Mar 2028 (7 nights)
Luganville → Lelepa

24–31 Mar 2028 (7 nights)
Lelepa → Lifou

31 Mar – 7 Apr 2028 (7 nights)
Vila → Lelepa

 QUEENSLAND COAST (REEF & WHITSUNDAYS)

19–25 Nov 2027 (6 nights)
Willis Island → Cairns → Airlie Beach

24–28 Jan 2028 (4 nights)
Airlie Beach

6–10 Mar 2028 (4 nights)
Airlie Beach