Princess Cruises Announces 2025-26 Australia & New Zealand Season Featuring the Debut of Discovery Princess & the Longest World Cruise Ever to Sail from Down Under

Princess Cruises announces details of its much-anticipated 2025-2026 Australia and New Zealand season, featuring the Down Under debut of the impressive flagship Discovery Princess. The season will also feature the longest-ever World Cruise to sail roundtrip from Australia – a record-breaking 114-night voyage onboard Crown Princess.

All told, the 2025-26 Australia/New Zealand season will encompass three ships – Discovery Princess, Crown Princess, and Grand Princess. These ships will visit 78 destinations in 18 countries on 120 departures featuring 75 unique itineraries.

The 3,660-guest, 145,000-ton Discovery Princess will be the biggest Princess Cruises ship to ever sail in Australia waters. It will offer 22 itineraries during her four-month deployment, which will include 11 departures from Sydney.

Plus, the longest-ever World Cruise to sail from Australia offers roundtrip departures from Sydney, Brisbane, and Auckland onboard Crown Princess’ epic 2026 global odyssey. It’s scheduled to visit 48 destinations in 31 countries, across six continents and cover an impressive 35,000 nautical miles.

“Australia remains one of our most popular and fast-growing markets with access to a seemingly endless array of fascinatingly beautiful and interesting attractions and landmarks, along with several home ports to choose from,” said Terry Thornton, Princess Cruises Chief Commercial Officer. “Our 2025-26 season was crafted to deliver an impressive and robust Australia-based program that appeals to every cruiser from first-timers, to families, to those who seek longer adventures to explore the world.”

Highlights of the upcoming 2025-26 Australia & New Zealand season

• Two- to 37-day departures from seven Australia and New Zealand homeports. These include Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Melbourne, Perth (Fremantle), Adelaide, and Hobart (Tasmania).
• Access to over 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These include the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system from either Yorkeys Knob or Port Douglas, and the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia from Exmouth, home to one of the world’s most important nesting grounds for green and loggerhead sea turtles.
• Late-night stays in eight ports, including Auckland, Melbourne, and Darwin. This gives guests the opportunity for evening exploration where they can roam Darwin’s Waterfront for local food and drinks or stay overnight in electrifying Hong Kong on a Southeast Asia & Japan sailing between Tokyo (Yokohama) and Sydney.
• Holiday sailings that include 14-day Fiji Holiday on Crown Princess and a 14-day New Zealand Holiday on Discovery Princess, both roundtrip from Sydney.
• A wide range of cruise durations and itineraries on Discovery Princess and Crown Princess sailing out of Sydney, joined by Grand Princess sailing out of Brisbane.

Complementing these sailings are two unique cruisetours, Australian Outback and Ultimate Australia. On these tours, guests can learn more about Aboriginal culture and visit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites – the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru National Park with its iconic Ayers Rock, as well as sites such as Darwin and Cairns.

Longest Ever Australia World Cruise

In 2026, 3,080-guest Crown Princess will sail the longest World Cruise ever to depart from Australia. It’s a 114-day cruise calling at 48 destinations in 31 countries across six continents.

Notable features:  

• This global voyage departs in May 2026, sailing to Southeast Asia, across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. From there, explore the Baltic Sea and then journey to Iceland before making way across the Atlantic to the St. Lawrence River on the way to an overnight in Quebec, Canada. Following a Panama Canal transit that includes the new Agua Clara and Cocoli locks, cross the South Pacific back to Australia, sailing by Pitcairn Island, known as the refuge of the HMS Bounty mutineers.
• In addition to stopping briefly by Easter Island for a scenic cruise of Rapa Nui, home to the iconic 800-year-old monolithic statues, Crown Princess’ itinerary will give access to 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This includes two newly designated sites: The Viking-Age Ring Fortresses in Treeleborg and Bogring which were constructed in the 10^th century and are accessible from Copenhagen, Denmark; and the Funeral and Memory sites of the First World War on the Western Front from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
• Two maiden stops for Australian World Cruises — Alexandria (for Cairo & Giza) once home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; and Patmos, Greece, home to the Monastery of St. John and the Cave of the Apocalypse.
• Overnight visits to New York, Lima, and Quebec. The itinerary also features late-night stays in a range of exotic destinations including Reykjavik in Iceland and Papeete in Tahiti. 

These sailings are available to travel advisors in North America beginning Nov. 21. They go on sale to the public at the end of the month.

More on Princess Cruises Offerings

All three ships based Down Under feature the exclusive Princess Medallion experience. Convenient and effortless features include expedited embarkation; keyless stateroom entry; muster anywhere; friends and family locator; and ordering food, drinks, retail items or requesting service from their smart device.

For guests who desire more inclusive options onboard, Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages offer several amenities at tremendous values. These packages include express boarding; alcoholic beverages, mocktails, specialty coffees, and smoothies; unlimited MedallionNet Wi-Fi; casual and specialty dining; boutique fitness classes; complimentary room service; and more.

SOURCE Princess Cruises

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