26/27 Australia Princess launch - Save the date, 31st Oct

[arxcards]

Some of this discussion has been triggered on the Cruise Addict thread, but it needs its own thread.

The 26/27 Australian season will be announced on 31st October, one week away. To get an idea of the season, I have been trawling through port entries around the country, and piecing that with Princess usually offer for cruises of the lengths between those dates.

 

Crown Princess

The current schedule ends on 7th October 2026. It looks like she will only be adding one more cruise to that schedule, then departs our shores. The 2026 World Cruise on Crown currently remains per schedule, but Princess has two bob each way with port bookings in Brisbane and an in-case one in Fremantle. There is some speculation it could be broken into Circle cruises, but I can't find any port bookings to support that. To be added to Crown's schedule:

 

7th October 2026 - 28 nights, clockwise around Australia (bookings in several Australian ports)

4th November 2026 - A relocation to somewhere else. I would presume across the Pacific, as there are no bookings via Fremantle or Darwin.

 

Grand Princess

The day before Crown Princess departs, Grand Princess arrives into Sydney. This relocation would appear to be across the Pacific, as Sydney is her first port entry. There is a 45-day gap in her schedule between her final Vancouver date and Sydney, so perhaps a drydock in Portland before departing. The port schedules around the country all point to Grand becoming our year-round Princess. Some itineraries could vary, but others have enough port bookings to be confident about them. Tassie & NZ schedules aren't available that far ahead, so I have marked those as being just educated guesses. Some may also be some dual port offerings between Sydney & Brisbane.

 

3rd November 2026, Sydney 15 Nights - NZ or Islands, hard to tell.

18th November, Sydney, 12N - Southern Australia (Melbourne, KI, Adelaide, Port Lincoln, +Tassie?)

30th November, Sydney, 9N - QLD Coastal (Bris, Airlie, Cairns)

9th December, Sydney, 2N relocation to Brisbane

11th December, Brisbane, 12N Tassie? (Newcastle, Sydney, Eden, +Tassie?)

23rd December, Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

6th January 2027. Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

20th January, Brisbane, 12N Tassie? (Newcastle, Sydney, Eden, (+Tassie?)

1st February, Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

15th February, Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

1st March, Brisbane, 7N QLD Coastal (Townsville, Cairns, Airlie)

8th March, Brisbane, 7N QLD Coastal (Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas)

15th March, Brisbane, 4N relocation to Sydney (Newcastle) - likely to be available as an 11N combo with the previous cruise

26th March, Sydney, 13N Fiji (probable)

2nd April, Sydney, 28N Around Australia (clockwise)

30th April, Sydney, 17N to Fremantle (anti - over the top)

17th May, Fremantle, 17N to Sydney (clockwise - over the top)

3rd June, Sydney, 14 nights PNG? (Airlie, Cairns, Port Douglas, (2 x PNG ports?), Brisbane)

** 17th June, Sydney, 79N - everything points to an anticlockwise Pacific Circle, returning via Darwin & Brisbane.

Last date in Port schedules is 2nd September for Brisbane. I am presuming this would continue to Sydney on 4th September, but the schedule doesn't extend that far.

 

Royal Princess

After a season of Discovery Princess, Royal Princess returns for 26/27. The final date of her current schedule is 12th September in Seattle, at the end of her Alaskan season. She first shows in Darwin 65 days later on 16th November. This fits with a similar relocation via Singapore that is being done with Discovery Princess in 2025/26. She then arrives via Cairns & Brisbane to Sydney on 25th November. All departures listed are for Sydney

 

25th November 2026, 10N QLD Coastal (Airlie, Cairns, Port Douglas, Brisbane)

5th December, 13N Islands/Fiji?

18th December, 4N Hobart & back?

22nd December, 13N Islands/Fiji?

4th January 2027, 12N Islands?

16th January, 14N New Zealand

30th January, 8N Tassie? (Hobart?, Melbourne, Eden)

7th February, 13N Islands/Fiji?

20th February, 14N New Zealand

6th March, 13N, Islands/Fiji?

19th March, 6N, Tassie? (Eden, Hobart?)

25th March, 3N Eden (Eden)

28th March, Final Aussie port booking - likely Pacific relocation

 

On your marks, save the date for any that are of interest. It would pay to be ready to jump if you have been waiting years for a Pacific Circle cruise to return.

Edited 9 hours ago by arxcards
Fix a mistake

[Cbtours]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Some of this discussion has been triggered on the Cruise Addict thread, but it needs its own thread.

The 26/27 Australian season will be announced on 31st October, one week away. To get an idea of the season, I have been trawling through port entries around the country, and piecing that with Princess usually offer for cruises of the lengths between those dates.

 

Crown Princess

The current schedule ends on 7th October 2026. It looks like she will only be adding one more cruise to that schedule, then departs our shores. The 2026 World Cruise on Crown currently remains per schedule, but Princess has two bob each way with port bookings in Brisbane and an in-case one in Fremantle. There is some speculation it could be broken into Circle cruises, but I can't find any port bookings to support that. To be added to Crown's schedule:

 

7th October 2026 - 28 nights, clockwise around Australia (bookings in several Australian ports)

4th November 2026 - A relocation to somewhere else. I would presume across the Pacific, as there are no bookings via Fremantle or Darwin.

 

Grand Princess

The day before Crown Princess departs, Grand Princess arrives into Sydney. This relocation would appear to be across the Pacific, as Sydney is her first port entry. There is a 45-day gap in her schedule between her final Vancouver date and Sydney, so perhaps a drydock in Portland before departing. The port schedules around the country all point to Grand becoming our year-round Princess. Some itineraries could vary, but others have enough port bookings to be confident about them. Tassie & NZ schedules aren't available that far ahead, so I have marked those as being just educated guesses. Some may also be some dual port offerings between Sydney & Brisbane.

 

3rd November 2026, Sydney 15 Nights - NZ or Islands, hard to tell.

18th November, Sydney, 12N - Southern Australia (Melbourne, KI, Adelaide, Port Lincoln, +Tassie?)

30th November, Sydney, 9N - QLD Coastal (Bris, Airlie, Cairns)

9th December, Sydney, 2N relocation to Brisbane

11th December, Brisbane, 12N Tassie? (Newcastle, Sydney, Eden, +Tassie?)

23rd December, Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

6th January 2027. Brisbane, 14N NZ (probable)

20th January, Brisbane, 12N Tassie? (Newcastle, Sydney, Eden, (+Tassie?)

1st February, Brisbane, 14N Islands (probable)

15th February, Brisbane, 14N Islands (probable)

1st March, Brisbane, 7N QLD Coastal (Townsville, Cairns, Airlie)

8th March, Brisbane, 7N QLD Coastal (Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas)

15th March, Brisbane, 4N relocation to Sydney (Newcastle) - likely to be available as an 11N combo with the previous cruise

26th March, Sydney, 13N Fiji (probable)

2nd April, Sydney, 28N Around Australia (clockwise)

30th April, Sydney, 17N to Fremantle (anti - over the top)

17th May, Fremantle, 17N to Sydney (clockwise - over the top)

3rd June, Sydney, 14 nights PNG? (Airlie, Cairns, Port Douglas, (2 x PNG ports?), Brisbane)

** 17th June, Sydney, 79N - everything points to an anticlockwise Pacific Circle, returning via Darwin & Brisbane.

Last date in Port schedules is 2nd September for Brisbane. I am presuming this would continue to Sydney on 4th September, but the schedule doesn't extend that far.

 

Royal Princess

After a season of Discovery Princess, Royal Princess returns for 26/27. The final date of her current schedule is 12th September in Seattle, at the end of her Alaskan season. She first shows in Darwin 65 days later on 16th November. This fits with a similar relocation via Singapore that is being done with Discovery Princess in 2025/26. She then arrives via Cairns & Brisbane to Sydney on 25th November. All departures listed are for Sydney

 

25th November 2026, 10N QLD Coastal (Airlie, Cairns, Port Douglas, Brisbane)

5th December, 13N Islands/Fiji?

18th December, 4N Hobart & back?

22nd December, 13N Islands/Fiji?

4th January 2027, 12N Islands?

16th January, 14N New Zealand

30th January, 8N Tassie? (Hobart?, Melbourne, Eden)

7th February, 13N Islands/Fiji?

20th February, 14N New Zealand

6th March, 13N, Islands/Fiji?

19th March, 6N, Tassie? (Eden, Hobart?)

25th March, 3N Eden (Eden)

28th March, Final Aussie port booking - likely Pacific relocation

 

On your marks, save the date for any that are of interest. It would pay to be ready to jump if you have been waiting years for a Pacific Circle cruise to return.

Wow that’s an enormous amount of work! Thank you. Looking into them 🥰 and of course will be watching if anything is sailing back from capetown to Australia 😁

[Bubbeh]

46 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Wow that’s an enormous amount of work! Thank you. Looking into them 🥰 and of course will be watching if anything is sailing back from capetown to Australia 😁

Ditto thanks for taking the time to do that Geoff.  

[ekka49]

Just an enormous amount of detective work. Thank you.

[pacificlover]

There is a Pacific Circle being offered 2 September to 7 October 2026 on Crown.  I have booked.

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

There is a Pacific Circle being offered 2 September to 7 October 2026 on Crown.  I have booked.

That's just a standard Hawaii/Tahiti itinerary, not full Circle Pacific.

 

Circle Pacific cruise are usually longer, go up through Asia and Japan, across to Alaska, Canada, and US. I'm not sure if they then stop at some Central American and South American ports ot if they come back via Hawaii and Tahiti.

[Womble99]

Does anyone have any info on the Pacific circle cruise? Even a past one that could provide some info?

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, Womble99 said:

Does anyone have any info on the Pacific circle cruise? Even a past one that could provide some info?

I think the last one was 75 days, on Sea Princess, but I'm not sure which year. I'm sure there was some kind of thread running here about it but it might be hard to find. 

[Womble99]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think the last one was 75 days, on Sea Princess, but I'm not sure which year. I'm sure there was some kind of thread running here about it but it might be hard to find.

I found a site with the 2017 Golden Princess itinerary. Looks interesting.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, Womble99 said:

I found a site with the 2017 Golden Princess itinerary. Looks interesting.

Can you post the link please?

[Womble99]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

Can you post the link please?

I wish I could but it goes against the site rules 😞

All things cruise will set you right though

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 minutes ago, Womble99 said:

I wish I could but it goes against the site rules 😞

All things cruise will set you right though

Thanks but I've found the thread from here which gives the itinerary. Once I knew the year and ship it was fairly easy to find.

 

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

There is a Pacific Circle being offered 2 September to 7 October 2026 on Crown.  I have booked.

As mentioned, that is a 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, which is more than awesome in its own right. What Princess calls a Pacific Circle also includes parts of Asia plus the West Coast of the US, including Alaska. In the past, they have been 75 nights, but this one looks to be a bit longer.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Ditto thanks for taking the time to do that Geoff.  

It has been evolving on a spreadsheet during my coffee breaks over the past few days. I have been hearing so many versions that I couldn't help but go digging. I will give myself a pass mark at 85%, and won't have to wait too long to find out for sure. It might take away a bit of the fanfare for next Thursday, but I have never been one for spin anyway.

Edited 6 hours ago by arxcards

[Relaxing Robbies]

We did part of the 2017 Circle Pacific on Golden Princess. The 75 day cruise was also available in segments. Sydney to Osaka?, Sydney to LA.  We did 50 nights Sydney to LA because that was all the long service leave my husband had available for use.  It was a great cruise and I would love to do another one.

[Womble99]

Is it just me or do the cruise lines seem to be releasing info later and later every year now?

 

It seemed to me that when we first started cruising that the next season would be advertised well in advance of when it became available to book allowing you to plan ahead. Now it seems noting is really available (officially published) until release day and available to book?

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, Womble99 said:

Is it just me or do the cruise lines seem to be releasing info later and later every year now?

 

It seemed to me that when we first started cruising that the next season would be advertised well in advance of when it became available to book allowing you to plan ahead. Now it seems noting is really available (officially published) until release day and available to book?

Maybe covid jumped things around a bit, but Princess is early compared to the past two seasons. 

2023/24 was mid November 2021

2024/25 was in March 2023 (amid a nervous restart)

2025/26 was mid November 2023

 

At the time of release, they are pretty much 24 up to 34 months ahead.

[Womble99]

It isn't so much the time of release Geoff but the time between when it is released and when it goes on sale that seems to be much shorter now.

 

I always remembered there being a few weeks before the cruises went on sale that the timetables were published giving you a chance to have a bit of a think before booking, but now it seems they are published at the time bookings become available.

 

Or my memory is just getting worse 😆

[arxcards]

31 minutes ago, Womble99 said:

It isn't so much the time of release Geoff but the time between when it is released and when it goes on sale that seems to be much shorter now.

 

I always remembered there being a few weeks before the cruises went on sale that the timetables were published giving you a chance to have a bit of a think before booking, but now it seems they are published at the time bookings become available.

 

Or my memory is just getting worse 😆

Oh, I get it.

I think that before it was just meant to be for T/A's eyes, but there was always something circulating out there before the intended launch date. Now they just say taa-daa on a pre-announced day. Even though these will be announced next Thursday, I don't expect they will be available for elites to book until Tuesday the following week, at the earliest. Plus, if these are close to the mark, we also get a bonus week here.

Edited 4 hours ago by arxcards

[Porky55]

5 hours ago, Womble99 said:

I found a site with the 2017 Golden Princess itinerary. Looks interesting.

This is the one they are throwing around on Princess forums, time will tell 😏

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Porky55

[OzKiwiJJ]

52 minutes ago, Porky55 said:

This is the one they are throwing around on Princess forums, time will tell 😏

 

That's the US replacement for their 2026 world cruise on Coral Princess. There might be some sectors offered that start or finish in Australia but it won't be an Australian (AUD) cruise