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The return of cruising in Queensland continued today with the arrival of Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess into Brisbane this morning to commence her inaugural season.  The ship’s arrival marks the first ever ship to be homeported at the new state-of-the-art Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) and the first of Princess Cruises’ MedallionClass vessels to call Australia home.

Building on the momentum of sister line, P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Explorer’s first sailing from Sydney last week, Coral Princess is set to depart on its first guest cruise on June 16, 2022.

Speaking on Coral Princess’ arrival, Princess Cruises’ Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, UK and Europe, Stuart Allison said the ship’s homeport season in Brisbane was set to inject an estimated $60 million to the Queensland economy in crew and passenger spending, ship supplies and port charges.

“Queensland will feature front and centre in a new winter program of sailings from Australia, which demonstrates Princess Cruises’ commitment to cruising Down Under and to the local travel agent community. Our focus on Brisbane also reflects the demand for cruise holidays among Queenslanders, as well as the growing interest in domestic cruising.”

The 2000-guest ship will offer 11 cruises departing Brisbane ranging from 3-12 nights between June and August before returning for another 10 cruises this summer from November. The MedallionClass ship will make 48 calls to the State’s ports this year, including her first visits to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas.

Director and General Manager of Clean Cruising, Dan Russell said his clients will be very excited to see another cruise ship return to Brisbane today.

“Our clients have been eagerly waiting for a cruise ship to be homeported in Brisbane, and to see Coral Princess here today is another great step forward for the cruise industry. We have a number of clients booked on this MedallionClass ship for this winter season including a couple who have booked over 50 back-to-back cruises including two Round World Cruises in 2023 and 2024. We thank these guests and all the cruise guests far and wide for their patience as we restart cruising in Australia.”

Highlights of Coral Princess’ winter program includes:

  • Six short getaway cruises from Brisbane and Sydney – perfect ‘seacations’ for those with busy schedules needing a short break.
  • Five 7-day Queensland roundtrip cruises from Brisbane, sailing to Cairns, Port Douglas, and Airlie Beach (for the Whitsundays).
  • A new 7-day New South Wales Coast roundtrip from Brisbane, with a maiden call to Eden (Sapphire Coast), Sydney, and Newcastle.
  • A new 12-day Queensland and New South Wales voyage, sailing roundtrip from Brisbane.
  • A new 12-day Queensland and the Conflict Islands voyage (roundtrip from Sydney or Brisbane) crossing the Coral Sea to visit the stunning and remote Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea.