Fly and cruise packages from Australia

What are fly and cruise packages?

A fly and cruise package bundles your cruise with the flights, hotels and transfers that make it a complete holiday rather than a cruise with loose ends. Instead of booking each piece separately, you get a single itinerary, a single point of contact and — if something needs changing — a single call. For Australian travellers, that matters: most embarkation ports are either a short domestic hop from your home city or, in the case of a transpacific voyage, at the far end of a long international flight. Either way, Cruise1st can wrap the whole trip into one Cruise1st Package.

Where do these sailings go?

The range runs from close-to-home Pacific escapes through to epic transpacific crossings and a round-the-world voyage. Here is where the cruising is concentrated, and what each direction offers.

Close to home — Australia, the South Pacific and Polynesia

The largest share of sailings stays in Australia’s own waters or heads out into the Pacific. Australian coastal voyages are the most popular group — a natural fit if you want to explore your own coastline without a long international flight. Departures sail predominantly from Sydney, with options also from Brisbane and Perth (Fremantle). If you are local to the port, this is a cruise with no flight at all; if you are coming from another state, a short domestic hop is all it takes.

Beyond Australia’s coast, the South Pacific draws a strong share of sailings — island-hopping itineraries that finish in ports such as Lautoka, Fiji. Polynesia features too, with voyages that end in Honolulu — a wonderful reason to add a few nights in Hawaii either side, which our team can book as part of the same package. The Australia and New Zealand combination brings both countries into a single sailing, finishing in Auckland — ideal if you want to see two destinations without backtracking.

Most of these itineraries are one-way, so the ship arrives somewhere different from where it set off. That means you fly one direction only, with a domestic or short international flight connecting the two ends. Cruise1st handles both legs as part of your package.

The long haul — transpacific crossings and round the world

For a longer adventure, transpacific sailings account for a substantial slice of what is on offer. These voyages cross the Pacific Ocean and end in ports including Tokyo, Honolulu and Seattle or depart from San Francisco — making them a natural way to combine a cruise with time in Japan, Hawaii or the US West Coast. At a median of 23 nights and some sailings running to 96 nights, these are proper expeditions rather than short breaks. Cruise1st books the international flights, any pre- or post-cruise hotels and all transfers in one go, so nothing is left as a loose end.

One round-the-world sailing also features — a voyage that calls at ports across multiple continents and is the kind of trip most people spend years planning. Our cruise specialists can talk you through what that involves and help you decide whether a full circumnavigation or a transpacific crossing suits you better.

Which ships are sailing these routes?

Several ships carry the majority of these packages, each with its own character. Here is what you will actually find on board.

Grand Princess — Princess Cruises

Grand Princess accounts for the largest number of sailings among the packages on offer, operating from Sydney and Brisbane. The ship’s specialty dining is led by Crown Grill — awarded USA Today’s ‘Best Cruise Steakhouse’ — and Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria. On deck, Movies Under the Stars® gives you a giant poolside screen with free popcorn and blankets, particularly memorable on voyages heading up toward the Reef. The MedallionClass® OceanNow® system lets you order food, drinks and services to wherever you happen to be on the ship via the Princess app — a genuinely useful convenience on longer voyages. If you are choosing a cabin, the range runs from a 14.9 m² Inside cabin IA through a 19.1 m² Premium sea-view O3 with panoramic windows, a 25.5 m² Premium Balcony B2 with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, up to the 67.8 m² Grand Suite S1 with its own private hot tub. See the Grand Princess cabins and deck plans for the full layout.

Norwegian Spirit — Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Spirit matches Grand Princess for the number of sailings on these packages. The ship went through a full refurbishment in 2020 — the result is Onda by Scarpetta for modern Italian dining alongside the enduring Cagney’s Steakhouse, plus the Spice H2O adults-only open-air beach club, which brings an Ibiza-style outdoor atmosphere that is hard to find on smaller ships. The Stardust Theatre stages nightly productions for those who like their evenings to have a clear centrepiece. Cabin grades run from a 13.8 m² Family Inside I4 (sleeping up to 4) through a 26.7 m² Deluxe Sea-view O3, a 15.9 m² Balcony BA, up to the 56.2 m² Owner’s Suite SB with a private aft balcony, separate bedroom and walk-in wardrobe. Full details are on the Norwegian Spirit cabins and deck plans page.

Royal Princess — Princess Cruises

Royal Princess carries 3 packages and is immediately recognisable for the SeaWalk — an 18-metre glass-bottomed walkway that extends 40 metres above the ocean. It is a striking feature and one that tends to stay with you. Like Grand Princess, she runs MedallionClass OceanNow on-demand delivery, so food and drinks come to you wherever you are on board. Crown Grill and Sabatini’s anchor specialty dining, and the 24-hour International Café means there is always somewhere to go at any hour of the day or night. Cabin options range from a 15.4 m² Inside IA through a 20.0 m² Sea-view O6, a 23.4 m² Deluxe Balcony DA with private outdoor space, up to the 54.5 m² Penthouse Suite S3 with aft balcony. Check the Royal Princess cabins and deck plans before you decide.

Westerdam — Holland America Line

Westerdam is a mid-sized ship carrying around 1,916 guests — notably quieter than the large resort ships, thanks to Azipod propulsion. The dining highlight is Morimoto by Sea, bringing Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Japanese cuisine on board alongside Tamarind pan-Asian fine dining. Evenings are filled by the World Stage, Rolling Stone Rock Room, Billboard Onboard sing-alongs and The Dam Band live sets — a varied programme that suits travellers who like variety rather than a single headline act. View the Westerdam cabins and deck plans for more detail.

Carnival Luminosa — Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Luminosa brings Carnival’s signature energy to these packages. The bar lineup — Alchemy Bar craft cocktails, RedFrog Rum Bar and Piano Bar 88 — gives you a different venue for every mood, while Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi Express and Seafood Shack anchor a specialty dining programme well above what you would expect on a standard cruise. For quieter moments, the Cloud 9 Spa™ thermal suites and hydrotherapy pool pair with the adults-only Serenity Retreat. See the Carnival Luminosa cabins and deck plans for cabin options.

Azamara Pursuit — Azamara

Azamara Pursuit is a boutique-scale ship for just 777 guests, and the itinerary philosophy is noticeably different from the larger ships: longer stays in port, frequent overnights, and late departures so you can actually explore rather than dash back for sail-away. Complimentary AzAmazing Evenings — exclusive private cultural events ashore — are included in your fare, as are specialty dining at Prime C and Aqualina restaurants. If you want the destination to feel as important as the ship, Azamara Pursuit is worth a serious look. The Azamara Pursuit cabins and deck plans page has the full cabin breakdown.

Why travellers love fly and cruise holidays

The appeal is straightforward: you visit multiple destinations without unpacking more than once, and the ship does the travelling overnight while you sleep. For Australians, the fly and cruise format makes distant regions genuinely practical — a transpacific crossing or a long Pacific island itinerary becomes a self-contained holiday rather than a complicated logistics exercise.

The one-way shape of most of these sailings (18 of the 20 packages are one-way) is worth understanding before you book. You board in one city and disembark in another — Singapore, Sydney, Auckland, Honolulu, Tokyo and Lautoka are among the disembarkation points. That means you fly to the start, cruise to the finish, and then get home from there. Cruise1st handles both the outbound flight and the return leg in a single booking, so there is nothing left for you to sort out separately.

Make it a full holiday

A cruise package does not have to stop at the gangway. Cruise1st can add flights, hotels, tours, transfers, train journeys and travel insurance around your cruise — as a ready-made bundle or a fully custom holiday built around what you want. Whether you are arriving the night before to make an early embarkation comfortable, or staying on at the end to explore the disembarkation city, the team puts it all on one booking. That is the practical advantage of booking with cruise specialists rather than direct with the cruise line: we handle the whole trip, not just the ship.

Prices for these packages start from A$2,599 pp* — and our Best Price Guarantee means that if you find the same package cheaper elsewhere, we will match it. Our fly cruise range and the broader Cruise1st packages collection show everything available if you want to compare across a wider set of options. You can also browse all cruises with flights included for the full picture.

Top alternatives to consider

If you are weighing up a fly and cruise package against other options, here are a few directions worth exploring.

• Carnival cruises around Australia — a strong choice if you want Carnival’s energy on a coastal route without the complexity of an international flight.
• Carnival cruises from Sydney — if Sydney is your home port, these sailings let you walk on board without a flight at all.
• Princess Cruises around Australia in 2027 — Grand Princess and Royal Princess both appear on these routes, so this is a natural next step if a Princess package appeals.
• Royal Caribbean Christmas cruise 2026 in Australia — for those planning ahead around the holiday period.
• Easter cruises from Sydney in 2027 — a popular window for longer Pacific itineraries departing from Sydney.

If you are thinking about a round-trip from Sydney specifically, the Sydney to Sydney cruise collection and the cruise around Australia pages are good starting points. Transpacific itineraries that end in Sydney — such as Honolulu to Sydney sailings — are a popular shape for those wanting to work Hawaii into the trip. And if New Zealand is part of the picture, cruises from New Zealand covers departures from that side of the Tasman. For the 2026 season specifically, Princess Cruises around Australia in 2026 is worth a look too. If an offer with a shorter lead time suits you better, last-minute cruise packages departing within 90 days are also available.

*Prices are per person based on 2 people sharing, and are subject to change. This price is not kept up to date and therefore does not reflect live pricing and availability. Prices and any discounts shown were checked on 14 October 2026.