Regal Princess to Sydney
PRINCESS Cruises has today announced plans to expand its capacity in Sydney by 40% in 2021, compared with the current 2018/19 season, with the deployment of its royal-class ship, Regal Princess.
The 3,560-passenger vessel will join sister ship Majestic Princess in Sydney for Princess Cruises’ biggest ever local season, where she will homeport from Dec 2020 until Apr 2021.
Princess Cruises Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Stuart Allison made the announcement onboard Majestic Princess at the 2018 Carnival Australia Partnership Summit this morning.
“Further to the incredible response to Majestic Princess’ maiden season in Australia, I’m delighted to now share that Regal
Princess will also call Sydney home in the Summer of 2020,” Allison said.
“Not only will this be the first time in history that Princess Cruises has deployed two Royal-Class ships from the same homeport outside the Caribbean, but it will be the biggest deployment we’ve ever had in Sydney,” he added.
Regal Princess will offer Australian travellers a range of features similar to those on board Majestic, including 13 dining venues, atrium, an over-the-ocean glass walkway, poolside cabanas, Princess Live! television studio, dedicated pastry shop plus a Chef’s Table Lumiere private dining experience.
It will also offer 1,780 staterooms, with balconies included on every outside room.
Regal Princess will make her inaugural journey to Sydney from Rome in late 2020, crossing four continents on the way.
A detailed itinerary will be announced in late Mar 2019, with bookings for her maiden voyage on sale from 20 Nov.
Princess Cruises currently ranks Australia as its biggest market outside of the United States, with five of its 18 ships cruising local waters throughout 2019.
Majestic Princess began homeporting from Sydney in Sep (TD 17 Sep)
CARNIVAL chief Sture Myrmell has called for a united voice as the industry attempts to tackle capacity constraints in Australia’s cruise sector - and dismissed reports that Sydney’s Garden Island might be back on the table as a future berthing option.
At the World’s Leading Cruise Lines (WLCL) New Wave Summit aboard Majestic Princess today, the President of Carnival Australia & New Zealand and P&O Cruises Australia said renewed speculation that a new berth could be negotiated in Sydney Harbour was untrue.
“The new Prime Minister is not interested (in Garden Island) and Scott Morrison has made that clear,” Myrmell said.
“We don’t think we should rely on any particular options - we are not wedded to any one solution,” he said.
Instead, Myrmell said the WLCL and the wider industry were continuing to engage with the NSW Government on developing its Port Botany plan.
“We are now at a point where growth will be limited if we don’t find a solution,” he said.
“We all have a role to play in advocacy - this has to be a shared responsibility.
“One voice is much stronger if we all come together with a shared message.”
In his keynote address at the summit, Myrmell highlighted several issues facing the wider cruise industry, including the its need to confront environmental concerns.
He said the industry was on track to achieve new International Maritime Organisation standards on emissions due to be implemented by 2020.
The measures will be achieved through new LNG ships, the use of low sulphur fuel and introduction of advanced exhaust cleaning systems.
“Carnival Corporation has already implemented these on 70% of its ships,” Myrmell said.
“The cruise industry is well advanced in meeting or exceeding the new emissions standards,” he said.