Princess Cruises is doubling down on South Australia. The line has announced plans to roughly triple the number of ships calling at the state's ports in the 2028/29 season, a move it expects to inject about $22 million into the local economy. Exact call numbers haven't been revealed yet — the full 2028/29 Australia Summer Program drops on 28 October, with bookings opening on 11 November 2026.
The timing matters for cruise fans: three years of lead time means plenty of runway to plan, and demand for far-ahead cruise bookings in Australia keeps growing. Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island are the headline ports getting more visits.
The announcement came as Crown Princess docked at Outer Harbour in Port Adelaide to kick off the 2026/27 summer season, carrying 3,080 passengers and 1,200 crew on a 28-day Round Australia voyage from Melbourne to Sydney. Come March, Coral Princess will add another 2,000-plus international visitors to Adelaide as part of a World Cruise from Fort Lauderdale.
What can passengers actually do ashore? A lot, which is the point. Current excursions stretch from Hahndorf, Mount Lofty and Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills to wine country in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Fleurieu Peninsula. City-side options include the Botanic Gardens and the South Australian Museum. For many cruisers, a port call is a first taste that turns into a longer land-based holiday later — good news for regional operators.
The love goes both ways. Over the Australian summer, Princess expects to load up on roughly 56 tonnes of South Australian potatoes and onions, plus wines from Penfolds and Château Tanunda and Coopers beer brewed in Adelaide. Its wider 2026/27 national season is forecast to be worth an estimated $167 million to the economy.
That season itself is substantial: 62 departures across 42 itineraries, from short coastal hops to long-haul voyages through New Zealand and the South Pacific. Crown Princess will be joined by Royal Princess (back in Sydney for a third season) and Grand Princess, which is set to become the line's next year-round Australian-based ship.
Why care? If you've been meaning to taste your way through the Barossa, meet koalas at Cleland or explore Kangaroo Island's wildlife, a South Australian cruise call is an easy sampler — and from November 2026 you'll have far more dates to choose from. Alternatively, use a port call as the scouting trip and book a proper wine-region stay afterwards.
