Golden Princess: To be largest cruise ship based in Melbourne, Australia

[Jason]

KATE, Wills and baby George are dodging Victoria this time around - but Melbourne is expecting a Princess nevertheless.

Golden Princess, the biggest cruise ship ever to be based in Melbourne, is bound for the Victorian capital.

With Australia’s love affair with cruising holidays at an all-time high, Princess Cruises has announced it will base a record five ships in Australia next year.

The 108,000-tonne ship accommodates 2600 passengers.

“Golden Princess’ larger size means she has a host of wonderful features,” Princess Cruises Vice President Australia & New Zealand Stuart Allison said.

“More than half her staterooms have private balconies, while she also offers a beautiful spa, four swimming pools and 10 restaurants and cafes, so we think she’ll be very popular with Victorians.”

Golden Princess will make her maiden visit to Australia in October 2015, arriving in Sydney before moving to Melbourne.

Her five-month season will include holidays to New Zealand, the South Pacific and Tasmania, with fares starting from $1849 per person for a 13-night New Zealand cruise.

As part of Princess Cruises’ record five-ship program, Golden Princess will join Diamond Princess in Australian waters for the 2015-16 summer, while Sun Princess will remain in Australia next winter, joining sister ships Dawn and Sea Princess in providing cruises year round.

Princess Cruises is launching its first summer season of cruises from Fremantle, doubling the cruise line’s Western Australian offering to give the state its first year-round cruise program, as well as Princess Cruises’ biggest ever presence in Brisbane, with Queenslanders set to enjoy nine months of sailings in 2015-16.

Mr Allison said the record fleet would increase the cruise line’s local capacity by 35 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014.

He said Australians now spend more nights on Princess Cruises’ ships than on any other line, with Australia its second biggest market after the US.

For the first time, all ships will offer onboard pricing using Australian dollars as they deliver a program of more than 80 cruises from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Fremantle and Auckland.

By Herald Sun

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