Princess Cruises announced that its current flagship, the Discovery Princess, will call Sydney home for the summer season of 2025/26.

The 145,000-ton ship, which measures 330 metres in length and 19 decks high, completed in 2022, will be the largest ship Princess Cruises has ever homeported in Australia in its 50-year history of sailing down under. The 3,660-guest ship will debut in Sydney in October 2025, offering a variety of voyages from Australia.

Princess Cruises’ President John Padgett, in Sydney yesterday to officially welcome Royal Princess on her debut summer season in Australia, shared the news in an early reveal of the line’s 2025/26 program.

“It has been nearly half a century since Princess Cruises introduced the Pacific Princess ship to Sydney’s shores.” “To commemorate this milestone, we are delighted to unveil the Discovery Princess’s future deployment today, further solidifying our belief in the Australian market,” said Padgett. “We are confident that our international and Australian guests will be excited about the spectacular experience aboard Discovery Princess as she sails from Sydney in late 2025.”

Discovery Princess, the third vessel designed from the ground up with Princess MedallionClass and the sixth Royal-Class ship to be built, shares all of the magnificent flair and luxury of her sister ships, Enchanted Princess, Sky Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, and Royal Princess.

Among the many spectacular features are 270-degree sweeping views from the largest balcony in the Princess fleet with the Sky Suites, unwind in the ultimate comfort at the Sanctuary, and world-class dining options, including new to Australia 360: An Extraordinary Experience is now available to all Discovery Princess guests. The award-winning 360: An Extraordinary Experience takes guests on a sensory journey through world-class cuisine with a blend of master story-telling and visual entertainment and is only available on Discovery Princess and Enchanted Princess.

Furthermore, Discovery Princess enhances the guest experience by providing many amenities, including 14 restaurants, 10 bars, additional lounges, and entertainment options. The Catch by Rudi, Crown Grill, Sabatini’s Trattoria, and Gigi’s Pizzeria are among its dining options. The SeaWalk, a breathtaking glass-bottomed covered promenade that stretches approximately 9 metres beyond the ship’s edge, provides guests with incredible vistas while suspended 39 metres above the sea.

Private poolside cabanas, four main pools, including two top deck pools, Retreat Pool and Wakeview Pool, ten hot tub spas, the Enclave and Lotus Spa with Princess’ largest-ever thermal suite, and an exquisite Chef’s Table Lumiere dining option, where a curtain of light magically surrounds guests, are also unique amenities. Meanwhile, over 82% of the ship’s staterooms include a private balcony.

Apart from the excellent facilities on Discovery Princess, guests also enjoy the Princess unique MedallionClass experience, which provides a degree of service customisation previously only possible on small ships but is now provided on a big ship, amenity-rich platform.

The connected guest experience maximises guests’ time by providing a variety of onboard conveniences such as contactless payment for anything on board, expedited embarkation, keyless stateroom entry, muster anywhere, friends and family locator, and ordering food, drinks, retail items, or requesting service from their smartphone or tablet or a crew member and having their order delivered directly to them even if they move.

Padgett added that the cruise line is thrilled to announce the addition of Discovery Princess to its Australian fleet for the summer season 2025/26. The ship will sail in local waters with the Crown Princess and Grand Princess as part of the summer programme, which will be unveiled in full next month, including the longest World Cruise ever.

“When she sails from Australia in the summer of 2025/26, Discovery Princess will continue to set new standards for premium cruising.”  She’s an extraordinary ship with an array of excellent amenities for our guests to enjoy, from superb dining to world-class entertainment and facilities.”

The programme will be fully revealed on 15 November 2023 and will go on sale on 29 November 2023.