Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess has commenced her Singapore homeporting season, entering Marina Bay Cruise Centre on December 7th and departing shortly thereafter on a 16-day scenic voyage that called at Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Langkawi, Penang, Phuket, Nha Trang and spent 2 days in Halong Bay before proceeding to Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. This deployment followed a 12-day repositioning passage from Yokohama that included port visits at Toba, Osaka, Taipei (Keelung), Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City. Diamond Princess is expected to operate a series of festive cruises around Southeast Asia through February 2026, covering multiple destinations in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, including Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which provides access to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat.
The vessel’s Southeast Asian programme encompasses Christmas and New Year sailings, seasonal voyages through Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, and culminates with a sold-out 14-night repositioning cruise on February 10th, 2026. On this northbound voyage, Diamond Princess is scheduled to call at Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City) and Nha Trang in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Keelung and Japan’s Osaka and Shimizu before arriving in Yokohama on February 24th to begin a longer Japan season extending until November 2026.
The 2,670-passenger ship, built in Japan, incorporates facilities tailored to the regional market, including an extensive onboard bathing complex noted as the largest of its type at sea, offering indoor and outdoor bathing and ocean views.
Earlier in the autumn, Discovery Princess made her maiden call to Singapore before drydocking at the local shipyard, and Crown Princess also visited the port ahead of her Australian season. Both visits signal an increased presence of Princess vessels in the region. Announcements regarding future deployment indicate that Royal Princess is scheduled for her first Southeast Asia cruise from Singapore in October 2026, and that in the 2026-27 season Sapphire Princess is to join Diamond Princess in homeporting in Singapore before both vessels proceed to Japan in early 2027, a return of dual deployment not seen since 2018-2019.