Princess Cruises has announced plans to extend Sapphire Princess’ season in Australia and New Zealand by six months, in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

The 2,670-guest ship was previously scheduled to sail in Asia from May to October.

She will now arrive in Australia on 1 May 2020 and cruise down under for 12 months, sailing a total of 47 new itineraries from five major Australian cities over the course of the season.

Sapphire Princess will arrive into Perth (Fremantle) following a multi-million dollar refurbishment. The full season comprises 171 port calls, including:

· A 10-night Coral Coast voyage sailing from Perth (Fremantle), visiting West Australia’s coastal destinations such as Broome, Geraldton and Exmouth, departing 4 May 2020.
· A 17-night Northern Explorer between Sydney and Perth (Fremantle) visiting destinations such as Geraldton and Cairns, departing Perth (Fremantle) on 8 June 2020.
· Roundtrip voyages to Fiji from Brisbane and Sydney, including a 12-night Fiji cruise sailing from Sydney visiting Dravuni Island and Lautoka, departing 25 June 2020.
· An Australia circumnavigation voyages from Sydney, Adelaide and Perth (Fremantle) including an inaugural 28-night Round Australia cruise out of Adelaide visiting Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island, Port Arthur, Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, Yorkeys Knob, Alotau, Darwin, Kimberley Coast, Broome, Geraldton, Perth (Fremantle), Margaret River (Busselton) and Adelaide, departing from Perth (Fremantle) 10 August 2020.

The new cruises are on sale from 27 February.

Princess Cruises’ vice president UK & Europe, Tony Roberts, said: “Australia remains one of our most popular destinations for UK guests and we’re offering a variety of new options. If you’re looking to line up your next cruise down under now is a great time to book with Princess.”

Following the outbreak of coronavirus, Princess Cruises has been forced to pull every departure for its ship Diamond Princess, which is currently quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, due to an outbreak on board.

For more information, visit princess.com.