Victorians will soon be able to start a cruise without the flight to Sydney first. Princess Cruises has confirmed it will base a ship in Melbourne again for the 2028/29 summer season, ending a homeport drought for a state that has long punched above its weight in cruise demand. The news broke as Crown Princess sailed into Port Phillip Bay to become the first ship of Victoria's 2026/27 cruise season at Station Pier.
The details are still to come. Princess will reveal its full 2028/29 Australian summer program on 28 October 2026, with itineraries going on sale a fortnight later on 11 November 2026. The line estimates the returning Melbourne season will deliver around $40 million in economic benefit to Victoria — no small figure in a state where cruise visits already generated roughly $219 million in spending during the 2024/25 season. Nationally, cruise is now worth $7.32 billion a year to the Australian economy and supports more than 22,000 jobs.
For the moment, Crown Princess is the story in town. The ship arrived carrying 3,080 guests and 1,200 crew mid-way through a 28-day Round Australia voyage, with calls still to come at Adelaide, Albany, Fremantle, Broome, the Kimberley Coast, Darwin and Brisbane before finishing in Sydney. On shore in Melbourne, passengers were expected to head for familiar favourites like Queen Victoria Market, the Puffing Billy railway and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Princess's broader Australian summer program is already shaping up as its biggest in years: 62 departures across 42 itineraries, from short coastal hops to long voyages across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Crown Princess will be joined by Royal Princess, back in Sydney for a third local season, and Grand Princess, which becomes the line's next year-round Australian ship. Coral Princess adds an international flavour with a World Cruise call from Fort Lauderdale, delivering around 2,000 overseas guests to Australia and New Zealand.
Why does the Melbourne announcement matter to travellers? Because homeporting changes the maths. A drive-to departure at Station Pier removes the pre-cruise flight and hotel night that often pushes first-timers and multi-generational families — who make up a big chunk of the cruise market — out of the decision altogether. With sales not opening until November 2026 and sailing dates two years away, there's plenty of time to plan, but also a reason to put a reminder in the calendar: the best cabins on a homeported ship tend to go early.
The move also signals confidence in the Australian cruise recovery, and Victoria in particular. Princess's Asia Pacific vice president Matthew Rutherford pointed to the line's 50-year history with Australian guests and made it clear Victorian demand drove the decision. If you've been waiting to cruise without the airport run, this is your window to start watching the 2028/29 program.
