Sapphire Princess adds new itineraries in Western AustraliaSapphire Princess adds new itineraries in Western Australia

Redeploying from Asia

As previously reported, the 2,670-passenger ship’s Asia voyages were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak and she will arrive in Australia in May, six months earlier than planned, for a year-long deployment.

In her new programme she will sail along the Western Australia coast, calling at Albany, Broome, Exmouth, Geraldton, the Kimberley coast including Kuri Bay and offer scenic cruising around Yampi Sound, Busselton and Fremantle. 

New experiences in Kuri Bay

‘This coming (Australian) winter season we are launching new experiences in Kuri Bay,' Michael Mihajlov, destinations director for Princess Cruises, said.

Mihajlov said passengers will be offered a flight aboard a rare 1940s Mallard flying boat. ‘We’ll also be offering guided walking tours,’ he said.

Cruise Broome Chairman Shayne Murray said the new Princess itineraries will give passengers the opportunity to attend some of the region’s most sought-after events.

Murray said these include Broome’s Cup Week, which attracts visitors to the racecourse from all around Australia, and the ‘Staircase to the Moon’ phenomenon, when the moon’s reflection across the mudflats of Roebuck Bay creates a glowing image of a stairway to the moon.

Ready for large ships

Sapphire Princess will visit the Port of Broome, which can now handle large cruise ships 24/7, three times during these events.

‘We’re delighted to welcome the biggest cruise ship to the Kimberley’s Kuri Bay and showcase one of Paspaley’s working pearl farms,’ Tony Thiel, GM Paspaley’s Pearl Production and Operations, said.

‘It is a great opportunity for Paspaley to share our story on how the finest South Sea pearls are cultured in one of the most untouched, remote areas on the planet,’ Thiel said.