In a major development for the local cruise industry, Princess Cruises has announced that its latest ship, the Majestic Princess, will be based in Sydney over the 2018-19 southern hemisphere summer season.

Carrying 3560 guests, the 143,000 gross ton Majestic Princess will be the largest Princess ship ever to sail in Australian waters, with her deployment confirming the cruise line’s popularity amongst Australian and New Zealand cruisers.

The newest ship of Princess Cruises’ 18-ship fleet, the newly-launched Majestic Princess sailed on her maiden voyage in Italy last week (April 4). She will offer cruises in Europe and China before heading south to Sydney where she will be homeported from September 2018 through to March 2019, when she will return to China. Originally Majestic Princess was earmarked for year-round operation in China market.

During her inaugural Australian season, Majestic Princess will sail on 16 cruises to destinations including Fiji, New Zealand and Tasmania as well as two Asia voyages between Shanghai and Sydney, and Sydney and Hong Kong. Fares start from $1499* per person twin share for a balcony room on a six-night roundtrip cruise to Tasmania departing November 18, 2018.

Majestic Princess features 13 dining options including two restaurants with menus designed by Michelin star chefs – Harmony by Chef Richard Chen and La Merby Chef Emmanuel Renaut – as well as more than 1000 square metres of designer shopping, the cruise line’s largest ever thermal suite and a dramatic over-the-ocean glass walkway, the SeaWalk.

Guests can enjoy a wide range of high-end accommodation including suites, Club Class mini-suites and new deluxe balcony rooms, with more than 80 per cent of the ship’s 1780 staterooms offering private balconies.

Majestic Princess’ deployment is a highlight of Princess Cruises’ new 2018-19 Australia and New Zealand program which will go on sale at 9am on Thursday April 27, 2017. The program features four Princess ships – Majestic Princess, Golden Princess, Sun Princess and Sea Princess – which will together offer almost 100 cruises from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle and Auckland over a seven-month period.

Unveiling the program, Princess Cruises Vice President Australia & New Zealand Stuart Allison said the deployment of Majestic Princess was testament to Australians’ love of cruising and the popularity of Princess Cruises in the region.

“From her gourmet restaurants to her stunning onboard features, Majestic Princess is nothing short of magnificent. We’re thrilled to be welcoming our newest, most stylish and most luxurious flagshipto our shores – having just experienced her preview voyage I know Australian cruisers will love all that she has to offer,” Allison said.

Majestic Princess has already attracted enthusiastic reviews from media and travel agents. Cruise Critic Editor in Chief Carolyn Spencer Brown said: “It's as if Majestic has pulled together the best of cruise worlds, old and new.” Meanwhile Australian travel agent Janette Wall from Cruiseabout said: “Majestic Princess has certainly raised the bar for the 21st century cruiser.”

Princess’ latest program also reinforces the cruise line’s role as the destination experts, revealing two new ports of call for the cruise line – the stunning and remote Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea and Queensland’s exciting Moreton Island, famous for its great marine life and fun adventure activities. In total the program covers cruises to 72 different ports in 18 countries.

Meanwhile, the 2018-19 summer will see Princess deliver its biggest ever New Zealand season, with a record 39 cruises to Australia’s transTasman neighbour. Majestic Princess alone will sail on 14 New Zealand cruises, including six one-way cruises between Sydney and Auckland.