Princess Cruises is offering Australians’ a grand way to cruise the South Pacific with two of its grand-class ships making their maiden voyages to the Islands in October.
Grand in size and grand in stature, the 116,000-tonne Diamond Princess and the 108,000-tonne Golden Princess will offer 10-night roundtrip South Pacific cruises from Sydney on October 12 and October 18, 2015, respectively, both priced from $1099* per person twin share and $799* per person quad share.
This will be the first chance for holidaymakers to cruise on Golden Princess from Australia, while the October 12 departure will mark Diamond Princess’ first foray into the South Pacific. Both ships will make their maiden calls to Lifou, Noumea and Mare in New Caledonia, and Vila and Mystery Island in Vanuatu during the voyages.
Princess Cruises Vice President Australia and New Zealand Stuart Allison said the timing couldn’t be better, with latest figures from Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) Australasia showing the South Pacific is still Australia’s favourite cruise destination.
“According to the latest industry statistics, more than 390,000 Australians visited the South Pacific on a cruise in 2014, representing a 19 per cent increase from the year before, so it’s just as well we’re sending some of our grandest ships to make sure Australians’ can continue their love affair with these picturesque islands,” Mr Allison said.
The arrival of both grand-class ships will be celebrated alongside another milestone for Princess Cruises in the South Pacific, with the cruise line’s 100th call to both Port Vila and Noumea slated for September.
Princess’ worldwide fleet includes nine grand-class ships ranging from 108,000 tonnes to 116,000 tonnes with features including a beautiful spa, private balconies on more than half the staterooms, Movies Under the Stars and the Sanctuary adults-only area.
Golden Princess’ inaugural summer deployment in Australia is a highlight of the cruise line’s Golden Anniversary this year which sees Princess Cruises’ offer a record five-ship fleet – a 35 per cent increase in local capacity compared to 2014.
The 2600-guest Golden Princess will join Diamond Princess in Australian waters for the 2015-16 summer, while the 77,000-tonne Sun Princess, Dawn Princess and Sea Princess will continue to offer year-round cruising from Australia.
After Golden Princess’ maiden visit to Sydney, the grand-class ship will cruise to Melbourne to become the biggest cruise ship ever to be based outside Sydney.
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