All about Princess Cruises Australia

Intro to Princess Cruises Australia

• Princess Cruises offers luxurious cruises in Australia, focusing on diverse itineraries and unique experiences.

• For 2025/2026, three ships—Discovery Princess, Crown Princess, and Grand Princess—will operate in Australia. Royal Princess will swap with Discovery for 2027/27.

• Popular destinations include the Great Barrier Reef, Hobart, and New Zealand, with cultural and wildlife experiences onboard and ashore.

• Princess is arguably the #1 cruise line in Australia, known for exceptional service and entertainment. It also sells out many of its intineraries.
  
  Exploration of Princess Cruises Australia
  
  Princess Cruises, established in 1965 and based in Los Angeles, has become a household name, partly due to its appearance in the iconic 1970s TV show "The Love Boat," filmed on ships like Pacific Princess and Sun Princess. This show significantly boosted the cruise line's popularity, introducing cruising to millions. In Australia, Princess Cruises has been operating since the 1980s, earning the title of the #1 cruise line, known for its extensive itineraries, luxurious ships, and exceptional service.
  
  For the 2025-2026 season, Princess Cruises plans to deploy three ships in Australian waters: Discovery Princess, Crown Princess, and Grand Princess. This deployment includes 75 itineraries visiting 78 destinations across Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and beyond. The Discovery Princess, making her maiden voyage to the region, is the largest ship to ever sail in Australian waters, with a capacity of 3,660 guests and 145,000 tons, offering 22 itineraries, including 11 departures from Sydney. The Crown Princess is noted for its epic 114-night world cruise roundtrip from Sydney, Brisbane, and Auckland, covering 48 destinations across six continents. The Grand Princess complements the fleet with additional itineraries, ensuring a robust program for various cruiser preferences. Royal Princess returns in 2026-27 replacing Discovery Princess from Sydney.
  
  The cruises are designed to immerse passengers in Australia's vast treasures. Ashore, highlights include snorkeling among technicolor fish at the Great Barrier Reef, accessible from Airlie Beach, and exploring the outback with activities like camel rides along the shore in Broome or learning pearl farming secrets. Cultural experiences include visiting the Rainforestation National Park in Cairns, tasting tours in the Margaret River region for wine, beer, and chocolate, and exploring museums celebrating native and colonial history, such as in Hobart with 19th-century National Trust buildings.
  
  Wildlife encounters are a major draw, with opportunities to see Tasmanian devils, wombats, and kookaburras at locations like Australia Zoo (from Brisbane), meet a Koala at Lone Pine (Brisbane), Healesville Sanctuary (Melbourne), Featherdale Wildlife Park (Sydney), and Perth Zoo. Architectural wonders include the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower (320m tall), and Melbourne's Federation Square, while UNESCO sites like Port Arthur penal colony and the Blue Mountains add historical depth.
  
  Onboard, Princess Cruises excels with a broad variety of food and entertainment options. Dining ranges from international cuisines in main dining rooms with daily rotating menus to gourmet meals in specialty restaurants like Sabatini's Italian Trattoria and Crown Grill, prepared by world-renowned chefs with unbeatable views. Entertainment includes Broadway-style shows in the Princess Theater, live music, and dance performances, with activities like cooking classes and fitness centers. The Sanctuary, an adults-only sun deck above the Lotus Spa, offers a tranquil retreat.
  
  Booking Tips:

• Princess Cruises offers various promotions, when booking early, early booking can secure better rates and cabin choices, Princess often sell out many cruises in Australia.

• Highly recommend the Princess Plus or Princess Premier packages. These include drink packages, Wifi and other dining benefits. Current price is Aus$65 for Plus and $100 for Premier. See my blog post on the differences between Princess Standard v Plus v Premier.

• Excursions - if there is something you really want to see then it is likely other do to, so book that one before you board.

• Speciality dining, as the Premier plus package includes unlimited speciality dining, there will be less availability than other cruise lines on-board so book before you embark.

  
  Why cruise with Princess Cruises Australia?
  Princess Cruises caters for families but is definitely more traditional than the other cruise lines operating from Australia. The food is high quality and has excellent speciality dining boosted by the great value drinks / wifi package of Princess Plus and Princess Premier. The ships from Australia whilst older in the fleet are still high quality and the range of destination around Australia including the world cruises far exceed the other local cruise lines. Perfect for those seeking a more relaxed cruise to see the sights, with or without family.

  Why not to cruise with Princess Cruises Australia?
  The entertainment can be for an older crowd, think 60s to 80s music v 90s to 00's. This isn't exclusively so but it gives you a feel. The ships don't have all the high tech flow riders or dodgem cars or huge slides.

Explore Princess Cruises

Discover stunning ports, exciting destinations, and unforgettable onboard experiences with Princess Cruises Australia.