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Princess Cruises Changes Course to Berth at Cairns Cruise Terminal

Princess Cruises has announced that its threeAustralian-based ships – Sun Princess, Sea Princess and Dawn Princess – willstart docking at the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal on the city foreshore fromJune, following new simulator exercises which have shown the ships can safelytraverse the channel to the city's harbour.

The move is great news for the local economy with tens of thousands of Princesspassengers now having immediate access to Cairns from the cruise terminal,instead of spending time transferring by tender boats from ships anchored atYorkeys Knob, north of the city.

The new berthing arrangements will start fromJune 8 this year when Dawn Princess is scheduled to call in the city. A further16 scheduled calls to Yorkeys Knob between September 2016 and September 2017will now also be transferred to the terminal.

Princess Cruises Vice President Australia & New Zealand Stuart Allison saidthe breakthrough followed new information which had made it possible to do moreextensive simulator exercises to map the ships' passage through Cairns harbourand Trinity Inlet. The simulations were conducted with Cairns Harbour Master,Ports North Marine Pilots, Princess Cruises Marine department and a captain ofPrincess' three Sun class vessels.

"Those new exercises have demonstrated conclusively that it's possible to getour 77,000-tonne Sun class ships into Trinity Inlet to dock at the cruiseterminal, which is fantastic news for our guests as well as the people ofCairns," Mr Allison said.

Mr Allison said the changes would further boostthe economic value of the upcoming 17 Princess calls, which are alreadyexpected to inject more than $8 million to the local Cairns economy, throughpassenger and crew shopping, dining, touring and port charges.

"Cairns has always been a popular port with our guests, even when they have totake tender transfers from Yorkeys Knob. With our ships now docking in theheart of the city, our passengers will be able to spend even more timeexploring Cairns and its surrounds, which will deliver even greater benefits tothe city."

"We have always wanted to berth at the Cairns terminal, so it's fabulous thattechnology combined with the new information has now shown us the way," hesaid.

Queensland Treasurer, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderPartnerships and Minister for Sport, Curtis Pitt welcomed the announcementsaying the decision by Princess Cruises to include Cairns on their itineraryfor Sun class vessels from June was a further vote of confidence in Cairns asone of Australia's premier cruise destinations.

"The announcement further underscores the vital importance of the Port ofCairns as a critical enabler of tourism for Cairns and the region. Thesuitability of Cairns for these ships will only strengthen Cairns' position asan international cruise tourism destination," Mr Pitt said.

Carrying 2000 guests each, Sun Princess, SeaPrincess and Dawn Princess offer Australians a premium cruising option from arange of homeports including Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle. Each ship featuresa high number of staterooms with private balconies, along with multipledining options, including the new Curtis Stone restaurant SHARE on SunPrincess, and signature Princess innovations such as the popular Movies Underthe Stars poolside theatre and The Sanctuary, an exclusive top-deck retreat.

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