Princess Cruises’ South Australian season began on Friday with the arrival of the Sea Princess in Adelaide, the first of three Princess ships set to sail from the city in 2019-2020.

“For the first time in South Australia’s cruising history, Princess Cruises will make three international roundtrips from Adelaide, including New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa,” said Stuart Allison, senior vice president Asia Pacific at Princess Cruises.

Speaking onboard the Sea Princess, Allison added that the company will next year operate “an unprecedented 20 cruises to and from Adelaide – a move that represents the biggest ever cruise industry commitment to South Australia.”

The 2019-2020 Australian season will be the largest in the history of Princess which will carry more guests than ever onboard five ships on itineraries from Sydney, Perth (Fremantle), Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland.

The season is led by the maiden arrival of the 3,080-guest Ruby Princess and the second season return of the 3,560-guest Majestic Princess.

Cruising 444 cruise days out of Sydney, Majestic and Ruby will generate a combined capacity of over 100,000 guests, a 25 percent increase on the 2018-2019 season.

“The cruise industry is a critical part of our tourism industry, bringing interstate and international visitors here, and injecting more than $145 million, last season, into our local economy – in particular into regional areas where passengers really love the chance to get off and explore our great state,” said South Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment David Ridgway.