Freo welcomes back Crown Princess after Cyclone Narelle

She’s back in one piece for yet another visit, as Jean Hudson reports!

Crown Princess made her approach into Fremantle harbour this morning at 6.00 am, in the pitch black, riding the morning swell with the quiet authority of a ship that has done this before – indeed it’s her fifth arrival in Freo since her maiden call in November 2024.

Built in 2006 and stretching over 290 metres, Crown Princess displaces the kind of tonnage that commands respect. She arrived safely a day earlier than expected from Busselton, and will spend the night in port, giving her passengers two full days to explore Freo, get their land legs and wake to the smell of salt air off the Indian Ocean.

Cruising during Cyclone Narelle must have been a challenging experience for both crew and passengers, with rough seas and unpredictable weather making the journey far from relaxing. Many on board would have felt the effects of the cyclone, from strong winds to the rolling motion of the ship, making the Crown Princess’s safe arrival even more impressive.

Onboard today she carries: 1140 crew and 2570 transit passengers. 439 passengers will disembark and 452 will join the ship in Fremantle.

Here’s a gallery of more arrival shots from this morning.

She is in from Busselton and now leaves tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1 at 5pm, her bow swinging north towards Geraldton and then Broome and the Kimberley coast. We wish her safe passage and no repeat of the recent unpredictable cyclonic weather.

Please also note changed schedule for Odyssey, now arriving Sat 4 April and leaving Mon 6 April, instead of 1-3 April.

Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer, reviewer 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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