Princess Cruises Homeporting Again From Fremantle for 2027/28 Sailings

Sapphire Princess to make Freo home in 27/28. See the dates! And other cruise news.

Princess Cruises have homeported four Princess ships in Freo in the last 15 years. They started with the second-generation Sun Princess in Fremantle back in 2008, with the last homeport season being the sell-out 46-night Indian Ocean voyages across the 2019-20 summer season.

And now there’s the news Princess Cruises will be homeporting from Fremantle once again in 2027-28, with the return of Sapphire Princess.

Sapphire Princess will be the chosen ship for Princess Cruises return to homeporting out of Fremantle. Photo credit Princess Cruises.

Princess Cruises will reveal the number of regional Western Australian ports the cruise line plans to visit as part of its 2027-28 season later this year.

Sapphire Princess’ planned deployment in Western Australia is expected to generate over $140 million into the Western Australian local economy, supporting tourism and jobs in key locations for small businesses, tourist operators, and for the wider community.

Princess’ return to Western Australia for the 2027-28 summer season has been made possible with the support of the Western Australian Government and Tourism WA.

The Princess Cruises’ 2027-28 Australian Summer Program should go on sale around November this year.

Here are the dates for sailings in 27/28 as they currently appear on Fremantle Ports’ published schedules –

She is set to sail nine turnaround cruises as part of the homeporting season out of Fremantle. These itineraries will range in length from three-nights, right up to two weeks.

Sapphire Princess is a slightly older Princess ship, entering service in 2004, and hosting up to 2670 passengers at a time.

Before making it to Australia she’ll sail all around the world, running itineraries across Europe, South America and Japan.

She has sailed out of Fremantle before and avid cruisers will be familiar with her.

Sapphire Princess is technically part of the Gem subclass of the broader Grand-class family. Her true twin is the Diamond Princess, built alongside her in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In fact, due to a fire during construction, the two ships swapped names mid-build – a rare maritime twist!

She’s also a sister ship to the Crown Princess who we see a fair bit of in Freo, and who will be visiting again on 13 October.

So, get ready to book on Sapphire Princess!

Other cruise news

And if you want to get ahead of what other cruise ships are arriving in Freo in the here and now over the next 6 months, here you are!

Story by Jean Hudson @jeansodyssey.

Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.

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