Royal Caribbean announces ships for 2026/27 season – big win for Australia

• Royal Caribbean has confirmed which ships are coming to Australia for the 26/27 cruise season.
• We’ll be receiving Anthem of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas.
• Itineraries go across Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

In a surprising but extremely welcome turn of events, Royal Caribbean has confirmed that Australia will once host two Quantum-class ships, with Quantum of the Seas coming back to Australian shores to sail out of Brisbane., and Anthem of the Seas set to sail its second consecutive season out of Sydney.

This is a strong show of faith from Royal Caribbean, to restore Australia to having two Quantum-class ships, as for upcoming cruise season Australia will have Anthem of the Seas out of Sydney, and Voyager of the Seas out of Brisbane, a less modern vessel with less capacity than Quantum-class ships.

This is also a good sign for the health of the industry in Australia, which has been seeing a decline in cruise capacity, and will receive a boost from a larger ship coming back to Australia.

Itineraries can already be found and booked on the Royal Caribbean website. It appears that some itineraries are still yet to be added.

Where are they sailing to

As far as itineraries go, it’s more of what we’ve come to expect from Royal Caribbean.

Quantum of the Seas will sail a range of shorter three-day cruises to nowhere, as well as four-night cruises to Airlie Beach. There are also a few options for week-long sailings out into other parts of Queensland.

Quantum will also have plenty of South Pacific sailings on offer, with options ranging from seven to eight nights.

Don’t expect any longer sailings out of Brisbane, with the longest sailings being eight-night options out to the South Pacific.

As far as Anthem, which will sail out of Sydney, it has also some short cruises on offer, either to nowhere or to Eden.

There are two cruises to Hobart on offer which span four-nights and plenty of nine-night sailings out to the South Pacific. There are also a good number of New Zealand cruises, with one 11-nights long and the rest nine-nights.

So far no new ports or itineraries have been added, but Cruise Passenger will keep you updated as more sailings come in.

What are prices looking like?

Keen Royal Caribbean cruisers will notice prices have continue to creep up, however, initial prices aren’t looking too different to 25/26 sailings.

An important thing to keep in mind is that cruise prices generally go up as more cabins are booked, and with Royal Caribbean generally being in high demand for Aussies, the prices you see now might be the best you get. Therefore booking early is never a bad decision.

On Anthem of the Seas – sailing from Sydney

• Three-night sampler cruises starts from $779, coming out to $260 a night.
• A four-night cruise to Hobart starts from $939, or $234 a night.
• The South Pacific cruises are offering the best bang for your buck, starting at $1659 for nine-nights, or $184 a night.
• New Zealand itineraries vary in price according to dates, nine-night itineraries can start from $1699, meaning $188 a night, but a Christmas nine-night sailing starts from $2499, coming out to $278 a night.

On Quantum of the seas – sailing from Brisbane

• On Quantum a three-night sampler starts from just $559, coming out to a reasonable $186 per day.
• A four-night Airlie Beach Cruise starts from $739, or $185 per day.
• A seven-night South Pacific sailing comes out to $1299, or $185 per night.
• Whereas a seven-night Queensland sailing is a bit cheaper, at $1199 or $171 per night.
• Longer eight-night South Pacific generally start from $1509, or $188 per day, with some price bumps on certain dates, such as Christmas and New Years.

Some takeaways

• Quantum will sail a longer season than Voyager will sail in the upcoming 25/26 season. Voyager will only arrive in December, but Quantum will arrive in October.
• While shorter getaways have been a strong feature of the 24/25 and 25/26 seasons, Royal Caribbean has cut back on these for the 26/27 season. There are just two three-night options out of Sydney, and five out of Brisbane.
• Longer sailings are also out, with the longest sailing out of Sydney being 11 nights, and the longest out of Brisbane being nine-nights. Most sailings are in the range of seven to nine nights.
• No new ports or countries will be visited, despite calls from Aussies wanting new destinations, and Royal Caribbean surveying cruisers on which ports they’d like to visit.
• Overall, those expecting new itineraries and more variations in sailings may be disappointed, but it’s a win for Australia to see Quantum returning and a longer Brisbane season.