At last: Are these the Royal Caribbean ships that will come to Australia for the 2026/27 season

• While an official announcement hasn’t been made, Royal Caribbean appears to have revealed its Australian ship deployments for 2026/27.
• Anthem of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas will be coming to our shores for 2026/27 season, according to current public deployments
• The explanation as to why Cruise Passenger expects these ships, as well as what you can expect to see on these ships, is below.

There has been much speculation around Royal Caribbean’s 2026/27 season, with Australians guessing which ships will be deployed Down Under.

The first major clue was the confirmation that Voyager of the Seas will sail just the 2025/2026 season in Australia, before moving to Los Angeles for the following season. 

While there has been no official announcement, it appears extremely likely that for the 2026/2027 season, Australia will have Anthem of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas. 

Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to sail out of Sydney, in what will be its second season in Australia. Meanwhile, Navigator of the Seas will likely sail out of Brisbane, marking its first visit to Australia.

This will continue Royal Caribbean’s 25/26 capacity, with one Quantum-class ship and one Voyager-class ship. While this still represents a decrease from 2023/2024, when Australia had two Quantum-class ships and one Radiance-class, and the now-wrapping-up 2024/2025 season, when Australia had two Quantum-class ships, it at least soothes any potential worries that Australia could drop down to having just one Royal Caribbean ship. 

How do we know this?

Since Australia comes last for Royal Caribbean deployments, we have a good idea of what ships are on their way before Royal Caribbean officially releases its next season. 

For the Australian cruise season of 2026/2027, beginning in October 2026, every single Royal Caribbean ship has already been designated, with sailings already bookable, apart from three.

These three ships are Anthem of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Quantum of the Seas.

However, there is one other destination that Royal Caribbean hasn’t allocated a ship to yet, and this is Singapore. It is highly likely that Quantum of the Seas will head to Singapore. 

Royal Caribbean is introducing an extended Singapore season for 25/26, Ovation of the Seas, another Quantum-class ship will sail there from October 2025 until April 2026. 

While Ovation will be deployed to Los Angeles for the 26/27 season, Ovation of the Seas appears primed for a straight swap, as it is highly likely Royal Caribbean wants to continue running a Quantum-class ship out of Singapore.

Ovation currently has cruises scheduled until September 17, 2026, in Los Angeles, leaving it poised to reposition to Singapore from October onwards. 

Meanwhile, Anthem is not only without a deployment yet, but is also already in the Sydney cruise ports forward bookings for the 2026/2027 season. 

It is set to arrive on the 30th of October 2026, with its last sailing on April 5. 

Furthermore, while Voyager of the Seas currently displays on the Brisbane cruise terminal forward bookings, it is already confirmed to be in Los Angeles. Navigator of the Seas is essentially exactly the same size, making it an easy swap-over for Royal Caribbean to make.

The scheduled sailings start on October 22, with the final sailing on April 11. 

Therefore, while nothing can be certain without an official announcement, it appears extremely likely that we’ll be seeing Anthem of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas in Australia for the 2026/2027 season.

What do we know about the ships?

While Anthem of the Seas is still yet to make its Australia debut, Cruise Passenger have covered extensively what to expect on the ship, as well as what it brings that’s different from the other Quantum-class ships we’ve had, Ovation and Quantum.

Many Aussies will be very familiar with Voyager of the Seas from its previous sailings here, and Navigator of the Seas isn’t too different, as it’s also a Voyager-class ship.

It has some restaurants that are different from Voyager, such as El Loco Fresh and Hooked Seafood. Furthermore, it has a Starbucks, which Voyager doesn’t have.

It also has some Latin-flavoured nightlife with Boleros, the Cosmopolitan Club for some cocktails, as well as The Bamboo Room and The Lime & Coconut for some different nightlife. 

It has an Escape Room onboard as well, which can’t be found on Voyager.

Bigger and better Royal Caribbean ships in Australia’s future?

There are two things that could lead to Royal Caribbean sending more ships to Australia, or at least bigger and newer ships. 

The first is that while Sydney currently has a committee searching for a third cruise terminal location, Royal Caribbean has previously thrown its support behind Port Kembla in Wollongong to become this third terminal, stating it would move its ships there “tomorrow” if the port was chosen.

This potential new port could give Royal Caribbean the chance to bring larger ships and design new Australian itineraries. Furthermore, if the port had lower fees than Sydney’s cruise terminal, this could also propel Royal Caribbean to consider larger ships, a longer season, sailing year-round or other possibilities. 

Another key factor is the construction of a private beach club at Lelepa. While this was previously touted to be a new ‘Perfect Day’ experience, Royal Caribbean confirmed it had been downgraded to a beach club destination.

However, this would still be a first-of-its-kind destination in Australia, offering a new attraction for cruisers and more profitable operations for Royal Caribbean, which could also incentivise them to invest more in their cruise ships out of Australia.