Left hand down a bit……..a very tight squeeze indeed

Princess Cruises’ superliner Sun Princess squeezed into history this week when she became the largest passenger ship ever to sail under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Towering 49 metres above the water line, the 77,441-ton Sun Princess cleared the Bridge’s road deck with about two-and-a-half metres to spare, before berthing at Darling Harbour.

The superliner arrived in Sydney after a 30-night cruise from the US and will now be based in Australia year-round offering a premium cruise ship experience as she sails from Sydney, Fremantle and Melbourne.

Carrying up to 1950 passengers, Sun Princess is bigger than Cunard’s iconic QE2 (70,300 tons). If tipped on her stern, the 261 metre long Sun Princess would stretch 11 metres above the observation deck of Sydney Tower, the city’s tallest building.

Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia which operates Princess Cruises in Australia, welcomed the arrival of Sun Princess as a historic day for the Australian cruise industry.

“Not only has Sun Princess set a new record by becoming the largest cruise ship to sail under Sydney’s iconic bridge, she’ll also set a new standard for cruising in Australia by offering a premium cruise experience for Australians year-round,” Ms Sherry said.

“Her arrival is testimony to the strong growth of the Australian cruise market, with Australian passenger numbers rising by 18 per cent to more than 220,000 last year.”

Ms Sherry said Sun Princess’ deployment – and the arrival of sister ship Dawn Princess for the 2008-09 summer – would see Princess Cruises’ capacity in the Australian market grow by almost 350 per cent between 2007 and 2008.

Sun Princess has 975 staterooms, with almost half of them featuring private balconies. Her many onboard features include a four-storey atrium, eight restaurants and cafes, seven lounges and bars, a theatre seating 550 passengers, a luxurious health centre and spa, a gymnasium with views out over the bow, four pools and five whirlpool spas.

“Australians have never had a luxury ship like Sun Princess based here full-time.” “The response to the announcement of her deployment has been fantastic and we’ve seen a rush of bookings, which we expect to escalate further now she’s arrived,” Ms Sherry said.

Sun Princess’ first cruise will be a 28-night circumnavigation of Australia, which will depart Sydney on November 7.

Her voyages also include 14-night cruises to New Zealand, 12-night cruises from Sydney exploring the far north Queensland coast and a 75-night Grand Pacific World Voyage. The longest round-trip cruise ever undertaken from Australia, the voyage will include visits to Alaska, Russia, China and Japan.

Prices on Sun Princess start from Aud$1432 per person for an eight-night cruise from Sydney around Tasmania. For more information call Princess Cruises on 13 24 88 or visit www.sunprincess.com.au

Report by The Mole