Forget dreaming of a white Christmas. Princess Cruises says more Australians than ever are spending the season to be jolly at sea.

With four ships sailing around Australia and New Zealand during the 2019/20 season, the line anticipates over 51,000 passengers – a 30 per cent increase over last year – will set sail on Santa cruises.

And Princess will be bringing plenty of joy to the world with an amazing array of food and wine, including 450 kilograms of ham, 1,000 kilograms of turkey, 144 gingerbread houses, 8,000 puddings, 3,000 bottles of Champagne and more than 120 litres of eggnog.

A fleetwide installation of Christmas decorations will be complete ahead of holiday departures. Onboard Majestic Princess more than 1780 Christmas stockings will deck guest areas.

Princess ships will also host a series of special events throughout the holiday period, including gingerbread house decorating contests and Christmas card making for the kids, as well as turkey carving demonstrations and kids’ carols shows for the adults.

Children onboard will enjoy a surprise visit from the ship’s resident Santa Claus – and on Christmas Eve they can leave out cookies and carrots for the big man in red and his reindeer.

“Cruising over the December holidays is fast becoming one of the most popular times to sail,” said Princess Cruises Sales and Marketing Director, Nick Ferguson.

“Looking at the traditional booking window for Princess guests, we are encouraging people who are thinking about taking a cruise over the Christmas period to book now to avoid missing out.

“Cruising is a fantastic way to bring the family together for the holidays – being at sea allows guests time to rest and recharge and spend quality time with loved ones. Best of all no one needs to worry about the grocery shopping or washing up.”

Ships sailing Australia and New Zealand in December include the 3,080 guest Ruby Princess, the 3,560 guest Majestic Princess, Golden Princess, and Sea Princess which will collectively make 14 voyages on itineraries from Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. Highlights include:

• 12-night Australia and New Zealand cruise on Majestic Princess sailing Sydney to Auckland departing 15 December 2019. Fares start from $2,019 per person.
• 14-night Australia and New Zealand cruise on Ruby Princess sailing Auckland to Sydney departing 30 December 2019. Fares start from $1,799 per person.
• 8-night Tasmania cruise on Majestic Princess sailing roundtrip from Sydney departing 7 December 2019. Fares start from $1,189 per person.
• 13-night New Zealand cruise on Golden Princess sailing roundtrip from Melbourne departing 7 December 2019. Fares start from $1,749 per person.
• 14-night New Zealand cruise on Sea Princess sailing roundtrip from Brisbane departing 29 December 2019. Fares start from $2,409 per person.

In addition, Sea Princess will embark on a 10-night Papua New Guinea cruise roundtrip from Brisbane on 8 December as well as a 9-night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise departing 19 December. Sun Princess will sail on a 14-night Indonesia cruise roundtrip from Perth (Fremantle) departing 23 December.