Crown Princess Opens Western Australia Season; Sapphire Princess to Homeport in Fremantle in 2027/28

October 18, 2026 — Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess arrived in Fremantle on Sunday, October 18, opening Western Australia’s 2026/27 summer cruise season. Her arrival also starts the countdown to Sapphire Princess basing herself in Fremantle for the 2027/28 season.

Crown Princess this season

The 3,080-passenger ship is on a 28-day circumnavigation of Australia.
Next stops: Broome, the Kimberley coast, Darwin and Brisbane, then back to Sydney.
After that she crosses the Pacific, transits the Panama Canal and cruises the Caribbean.
Exact dates for each stop and the number of Western Australia calls this season were not published: TBA.

Sapphire Princess to homeport in Fremantle in 2027/28

Sapphire Princess is expected to make 41 port calls across Western Australia, worth an estimated A$142 million to the local economy.
Her full itinerary will be in Princess’s 2027/28 Australian summer program, which goes on sale in mid-November 2026 (exact date TBA).
Princess has based four ships in Western Australia in the past 15 years. The last was Sun Princess in 2019/20.

What it means for airline travelers

A west-coast Australia option is coming back. A Fremantle homeport means flying into Perth Airport (PER) rather than Sydney or Brisbane. Perth has fewer long-haul options, so if you are flying standby, plan to arrive at least a day early and watch connecting loads closely.
Mark mid-November. That is when the Sapphire Princess sailings go on sale. Popular dates around Christmas and New Year tend to sell quickly.
Thinking of a one-way segment? Crown Princess’s route from Sydney across the Pacific to the Caribbean via the Panama Canal could suit travelers who can fly home from the far end; sailing dates are TBA in the source.
No change to travel-industry or interline rates was reported.