Princess Cruises has announced its 2025/26 Australian summer program, set to open for bookings at the end of November 2023. This program includes the Australian debut of Discovery Princess and the launch of the longest world cruise ever to sail roundtrip from Australia on the Crown Princess.
Crown Princess and Discovery Princess will be based out of Sydney, while another Princess Cruises vessel, Grand Princess, will sail out of Brisbane, visiting destinations around the Pacific Ocean on 14-day cruises. Together, all three ships will give guests Down Under a wide variety of cruise options.
Record-Breaking 114-Night Voyage Onboard Crown Princess
Princess Cruises’ 2025-2026 cruise season promises to offer guests every opportunity to explore exciting port destinations in the region, but also to sail on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise around the world.
Crown Princess is set to undertake an epic 114-night world cruise, starting its journey from Sydney. The cruise distinguishes itself as the longest world cruise that has ever set sail from Australia, covering an impressive 35,000 nautical miles, and visiting 48 destinations in 31 countries across six continents.
The itinerary includes exclusive stops at two ports that have never been sailed to on a Princess world cruise – Alexandria in Egypt and Patmos in Greece – and overnight visits in New York, Lima, and Quebec, along with late-night stays in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Papeete, Tahiti, and sailing through the newest Panama Canal locks.
Crown Princess will also sail Australia circumnavigations, visiting ports such as Port Douglas, Broome, Exmouth, and Albany. The ship will also be scenic cruising along the spectacular Kimberley Coast.
Besides Crown Princess, two more Princess Cruises ships will sail in Australian waters in 2025-2026, Grand Princess and Discovery Princess. Together, the three cruise ships offer 75 unique itineraries and 120 sailings, ranging from two to 37 days.
Guests will be able to embark on a cruise from a record number of ports in Australia and New Zealand, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand.
Also Read: Carnival Cruise Line Opens Australia Cruises for Two Ships
Princess Cruises first began cruising in Australian waters in 1975. This marked the start of a long-standing relationship between the cruise line and the Australian market. The original Pacific Princess was one of the early vessels to offer cruises from Sydney, an event that symbolized the beginning of Australian cruising.
Discovery Princess Makes Her Debut Down Under
The 145,000 gross tons Discovery Princess will make her Sydney debut on December 6, 2025, as the biggest Princess Cruises ship to sail in Australian waters.
The Discovery Princess will sail a variety of 22 different itineraries during its four-month deployment, including 11 departures from Sydney. Guests who wish to arrive in Australia in style can do so during an 18-night cruise from Singapore to Sydney on Discovery Princess.
This cruise departs November 18, 2025, and will sail to Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang in Vietnam and Lombok in Indonesia.
“Cruising has come a long way in half a century, and we’re delighted to now be bringing a ship of the caliber of Discovery Princess to Australia as part of a fantastic line-up of summer cruising,” said Princess Cruises Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific, UK & Europe Stuart Allison.
Grand Princess, at 107,000 gross tons and with a capacity for 2600 guests, will be based in Brisbane, offering 14 roundtrip cruises to diverse destinations like Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand.
One of the highlights of Grand Princess‘s 2025-2026 season is a 37-night cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti, featuring visits to Pago Pago, Maui, Honolulu, Kauai, Kona, Hilo, Papeete, Moorea, Raiatea, Tonga, and Norfolk Island. The cruise sets sail from Sydney on October 16, 2025, or Brisbane two days later.
The new program will be available for booking starting at 9 AM AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on November 29, 2023, for Elite guests and 9 AM AEDT on November 30, 2023, for general sales.
