The highlights among the 63 cruise ships coming Down Under this summer

During the summer cruise season, which runs between this month and April 2026, 63 ships will grace our waters, and many of them will homeport for a while in Australian cities.

There may be diminishing opportunities to book cabins at such short notice, but the range of ships this summer ought to be celebrated because the number of cruise ships visiting our shores is in decline, and set to fall another 5 per cent next season.

So let’s rejoice while we can, starting with Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Adventure and Carnival Splendor, permanently based in Sydney, and Carnival Encounter in Brisbane, where it will be temporarily joined by Carnival Luminosa this season.

Crown Princess has already arrived in Sydney, where the ship will be based until April 2026, making a series of voyages to New Zealand, the South Pacific and Queensland. On March 21, 2026, it embarks on a 28-day circumnavigation of our continent: a fitting celebration of Princess Cruises’ 50th year of operation in Australia.

Other cruise lines homeporting ships in Sydney over summer include Celebrity Edge, Holland America Line’s Noordam, Norwegian Spirit, Oceania’s Riviera, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas and Seabourn Quest.

Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas will operate from Brisbane, Disney Wonder from Melbourne and Sydney, and Azamara Pursuit and Silversea’s Silver Nova and Silver Moon several of our ports.

Some of these companies will also have ships passing through on world cruises. Other cruise ships making visits include Crystal Serenity, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and Queen Anne, and Regent Seven Seas Cruise’s Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Mariner.

Also interesting, is the arrival of cruise lines perhaps not as well-known to Australians, among them the Italy-founded Costa Cruises, Portuguese company Nicko Cruises, and the Norwegian-owned (but UK-based) Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

Swiss-Italian MSC Cruises, the world’s third-largest cruise company, is sending the refurbished MSC Magnifica here in March as part of its world voyage, during which it will be visiting Sydney, Townsville and Cairns.

And while P&O Cruises Australia might have sailed off into the sunset, the venerable P&O brand will be seen when P&O Cruises UK’s Arcadia arrives here in January 2026 on a leg of its world cruise.

We should also celebrate the continued success of Australia’s cruise lines. Scenic Eclipse II is moving from its winter season in the Kimberley to sail unusual itineraries across Australia’s northern coast and to East Antarctica. Aurora Expeditions will also sail to East Antarctica from Hobart.

Meanwhile, Coral Expeditions has three small ships in Australian waters, with more than 100 expedition departures in places such as Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia. Another prominent Aussie brand, APT, gets going on the Murray River with the new wood-fired luxury paddle steamer Australian Star. All part of the great variety of cruising that will take you to almost every corner of the continent – and even inland.