Melbourne drew the golden curtains this morning for an arrival fit for a royal.
The Golden Princess megaliner was welcomed in spectacular style as it sailed into Port Phillip Bay through two billowing curtains towed by helicopters.
The curtains, which measured a whopping 20,000 square feet each, were drawn to reveal the Princess ship as it made its maiden call to its new home port.
Hundreds of on board cruisers were on deck to witness this momentous occasion. Some crew members were overheard to be elated at the ship’s unique reveal, admitting it was perhaps better than any other reveal they’d ever seen before.
Golden Princess was welcomed in style today in Melbourne
Golden Princess is the largest cruise ever to be based in Victoria's capital, and at 108,000 tonnes, is 40 per cent larger than the previous biggest ship, Dawn Princess.
Over the next five months, Golden Princess will carry 40,000 guests on 15 roundtrip cruises to New Zealand, the South Pacific and Tasmania. The megaliner is just one part of Princess Cruises’ largest ever summer Down Under where a record five Princess ships will be based in Australia.
Victoria is one of the fastest growing cruise states in Australia, home to 175,000 of the one million Australians who took a cruise in 2014.
The Melbourne base is also a fitting choice for the home of Golden Princess. The ship was one of the first in the 18-ship fleet to debut Melbourne-born international chef Curtis Stone’s new menu items. ‘Crafted by Curtis’ dishes will feature in the main dining rooms of all Princess vessels, while a number will also feature the acclaimed chef and restaurateur’s first restaurant at sea, SHARE.
