The Emerald City has put on a dramatic welcome for its first maiden cruise ship visit of the season, with Princess Cruises’ spectacular Emerald Princess greeted by a row of shooting green flames as she sailed into Sydney early this morning.
The 290-metre long Emerald Princess is the first ship to make an inaugural call to Australia this summer, with her visit heralding a record cruise season for Sydney and the nation.
Carrying 3082 guests, Emerald Princess is the largest of five Princess ships which will be based in Australian waters over the summer. She will be homeported in Sydney until April 2017, making 13 roundtrip cruises to New Zealand, the South Pacific and Tasmania.
Princess Cruises Vice President Australia & New Zealand Stuart Allison said the Sydney arrival of Emerald Princess was a highlight in a bumper cruise season.
“As the first maiden ship of the season, Emerald Princess heads up a parade of more than 40 cruise ships which will be cruising into Sydney and other ports around Australia this summer,” Mr Allison said.
In total, Princess Cruises’ ships will make 39 calls to Sydney over the extended summer season, injecting close to $40 million into the State economy in passenger and crew spending, provedoring and port charges.
Mr Allison said Emerald Princess was an exciting addition to the local Princess fleet.
“Emerald Princess is home to some wonderful features that we know Australians will love, especially our second locally-based SHARE by Curtis Stone restaurant which offers million dollar views over the ship’s wake and out to sea,” Mr Allison said.
Emerald Princess’ visit today is expected to inject close to one million dollars into the local economy, with more than 3000 guests disembarking this morning at the end of a 48-night cruise from Southampton, and a further 3000 guests embarking later today for the ship’s maiden 13-night roundtrip cruise to New Zealand.
The ship’s debut takes Princess Cruises’ Australasian capacity to a record 11,800 berths across five ships during the 2016-17 cruise season. With five of Princess’ 18 ships cruising local waters this summer, Australia ranks as the cruise line’s biggest market outside the United States.
Emerald Princess’ features include its speciality restaurant SHARE by Curtis Stone, Princess’ new Salty Dog pub serving up the Ernesto Burger – rated the best burger at sea – and gourmet small dishes developed with renowned US chef Ernesto Uchimura, combined with whisky flights. The ship’s arrival will also set the stage for the debut of the much-anticipated onboard musical Magic to Do from Oscar and Tony award-winning Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz. Guests can also enjoy the Voice of the Ocean competition, exclusive to Princess, which brings the spectacle of TV’s wildly popular international singing competition to the high seas.
The 113,000-tonne superliner features more than 1500 guest rooms, including nearly 900 balcony staterooms, with every room offering the Princess Luxury Bed designed to deliver the ultimate night of sleep at sea. Also on board are eight showrooms and lounges, two nightclubs and four swimming pools as well as signature Princess offerings such as the child-free Sanctuary, poolside Movies Under the Stars and the luxurious Lotus Spa. Guests can enjoy fantastic shopping, with options including a stunning EFFY jewellery outlet, a first in the local market.
Emerald Princess will sail at 6.45pm this evening on a 13-night roundtrip cruise to New Zealand.
Fares for an 11-night roundtrip cruise on Emerald Princess to New Caledonia and Vanuatu departing Sydney on January 21, 2017, start from $1199* per person twin share with a $75 onboard credit per person.
For more information visit www.princess.com, call 13 24 88 or see a travel agent.
SOURCE: Princess Cruises