Princess Cruises Announces First Global Circumnavigation

Princess Cruises has announced details of the first ever cruise departing from Australia to circumnavigate the globe – a magnificent 104-night odyssey on its premium superliner Dawn Princess, visiting more than 35 ports.

The epic voyage spearheads Princess Cruises’ new Sun Princess and Dawn Princess 2009 program, which features 13 diverse cruises on the two superliners, sailing from Sydney and Fremantle.

Departing July 2009, Dawn Princess’ world cruise will be the longest roundtrip voyage undertaken from Australia and this remarkable cruise will feature a memorable visit to Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The adventure begins when Dawn Princess sets sail from Sydney bound for Auckland, Samoa, Tahiti and Hawaii before crossing the Pacific to discover the delights of Mexico, the Caribbean and East and West Coast USA.

After visiting America’s most Irish city, Boston, passengers will sail straight across the Atlantic to Ireland to call at Cork, and then enjoy a leisurely exploration of Europe from Spain and Italy through to Greece.  From Anzac Cove, Dawn Princess will travel on through the Middle East to India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore before returning to Sydney via Darwin.

Fares on Australia’s first world voyage are priced from $19,109 per person twin-share for the full cruise.  A 53-night line voyage from Sydney to the UK via the Pacific and the US, is priced from $9329 per person twin-share, while the return 51-night cruise from the UK to Sydney is available from $9945 per person twin-share.  Fares include a special discount of up to 40 per cent available for early bird bookings received by February 29, 2008.

Announcing the historic voyage, Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia which operates Princess Cruises in Australia, said the recent decision to base Dawn Princess in Australia full-time, alongside her sister ship Sun Princess, had paved the way for a range of new and exciting itineraries.

The 77,000-tonne premium superliners both feature more than 400 cabins with private balconies and are tailored for the Australian market, with onboard currency in Australian dollars.

“Unprecedented interest in this year’s 75-day Circle Pacific cruise confirmed that Australians want to experience these types of long-term, worldwide voyages of discovery – and with two Princess ships now cruising from our shores, we were able to respond by scheduling our longest cruise ever,” Ms Sherry said.

Other highlights of the 2009 program detailed in a new Sun Princess/Dawn Princess brochure include:

The longest ever roundtrip cruise from Western Australia – a 46-night voyage exploring Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India before visiting the idyllic islands of the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles and five South Africa ports, including scenic Cape Town and bustling Durban. The cruise departs Fremantle May 2, 2009 and is priced from $8535 per person twin share*.

Two 35-night cruises to Tahiti and Hawaii departing Sydney April 18, 2009 and September 12, 2009, visiting Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Hawaii, American Samoa, Western Samoa and Tonga, priced from $6399 per person twin share*

A new 18-night voyage visiting Papua New Guinea and sailing by the Solomon Islands before calling in Vanuatu, the Loyalty Islands and New Caledonia. The cruise departs Sydney on October 16, 2009  and is priced from $3440 per person twin share*.

* Including early booking discount for bookings by Feb 29, 2008. Subject to availability, conditions apply.

For more information call Princess Cruises on 13 24 88 or visit www.dawnsunprincess.com.au

A Report by The Mole