Princess to return to three ships in Australia – with sailings out of six cities

• 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.

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. It will come as a big relief to Aussies 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.

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. 

The Asia link

As Australians keep calling for more diversity in itineraries and different destinations to visit, with the inclusion of a 94-day Circle Pacific voyage and the addition of Sapphire Princess to the Aussie West Coast, it looks like Princess will step up the number of sailings between Australia and Asia.

Full season details will confirm further, but there are hopes that there will be at least two repositioning cruises for Sapphire Princess, in between Asia and the Aussie West Coast, as well as smaller segments of the 94-day Circle Pacific voyage to book, hopefully also with options between Australia and Asia. 

Rotating ships between Australia and Asia, rather than Australia and the USA, can mean more exciting itineraries, with journeys between Australia and Singapore, Indonesia, Tokyo or more.