The Singapore Tourism Board and Princess Cruises have entered a three-year partnership agreement aimed at expanding the cruise line’s operations in Singapore, in a salient lesson for the Australian cruise market.
Under the deal, three Princess Cruises ships, Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess and Grand Princess, will homeport in Singapore.
The collaboration is expected to bring in more than 150,000 passengers and generate economic benefits for Singapore’s tourism and maritime sectors, from 2027 through to 2030 with the number of sailings is set to double over that period.
Singapore’s role as a seasonal homeport for Princess is anticipated to draw international travellers, particularly from mid- to long-haul markets including Australia, the UK, and US.
Princess is maintaining a multi-ship seasonal homeport strategy in Australia and New Zealand through 2026-2028, with Sydney, Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne and Adelaide continuing to feature as turnaround ports rather than permanent year-round bases.
Regional managing director for CLIA Australasia & Asia Joel Katz said the deal is an important lesson to Australian maritime and government authorities and a reminder that cruise deployment is highly competitive globally.
“What stands out is not just the scale of the deployment, but the role government is playing in actively supporting competitiveness,” Katz posted on LinkedIn. “Singapore continues to use its Cruise Development Fund to help attract deployment, grow fly-cruise traffic, strengthen destination experiences and support long-term cruise growth.
“Ships deploy where there is confidence, partnership, connectivity, infrastructure readiness and a supportive operating environment.
“Singapore clearly understands that attracting cruise capacity requires long-term alignment between tourism strategy, aviation connectivity, infrastructure investment and government support.
“For Australia, there is an important lesson in this. Strong consumer demand alone is not enough to secure cruise deployment in an increasingly competitive global market. Cruise growth doesn’t happen by accident. It requires deliberate strategy, strong collaboration and policies that enhance competitiveness and deployment confidence over the long term.”
Fly-cruise boost
Singapore officials said the deployment will boost the fly-cruise segment and strengthen the country’s status as a preferred homeport in Asia.
The itineraries, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board’s Cruise Development Fund, will range from 10 to 28 days. They will include round-trip sailings to Southeast Asian destinations such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as longer voyages between Singapore and Japan.
“Princess Cruises’ expanded deployment broadens our premium cruise experiences and supports our Tourism 2040 vision to drive quality tourism growth through a strong pipeline of differentiated products,” Singapore Tourism Board assistant chief executive, Experience Development Group, Jean Ng, said.
With Asia Pacific emerging as a key growth region for cruising, Singapore is well-positioned to capture fly-cruise demand and connect the world to the best of Asia. We look forward to Princess Cruises bringing their exciting cruise itineraries to more travellers.”
Princess Cruises vice president Asia Pacific, Matthew Rutherford, said Singapore is a cornerstone of its Asia Pacific strategy and an exceptional homeport from which to expand its regional footprint.
“This multi-year deployment underscores our confidence in Singapore’s connectivity and strong cruise ecosystem. We’re seeing growing demand for longer, more immersive journeys, and this program allows us to deliver richer itineraries across Southeast Asia and beyond while attracting more international guests to the region.”
Singapore reported 9 per cent growth in passenger numbers in 2025, exceeding two million passengers annually. Contributing to this growth was the arrival of the Disney Adventure, that became the first large, broad market vessel to homeport year-round in Singapore, with the potential to handle 500,000 passengers per year.
Disney Cruise Line exited Australian waters in August last year following ongoing rumours about the family-friendly line ditching departures from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
