Royal Princess - Tasmania Getaway from Sydney

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 1 sea day over 6 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Sydney

   AustraliaDepart

   Two terminals, and which one you get changes the day completely. The Overseas Passenger Terminal sits on Circular Quay east of the Harbour Bridge, with no air-draft limit and the Opera House directly opposite the gangway. White Bay, out at Rozelle, only takes ships that fit under the bridge, and it has no train, no ferry and no bus at the gate. Berths are assigned by availability, so nobody can promise you one.

   • Sydney Opera House backstage or architectural tour
   • The Bondi to Coogee clifftop walk, or just the Bondi Beach bus
   • BridgeClimb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
   • Ferry across to Manly or Taronga Zoo for the harbour view back

   Getting ashore

   Docked either at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, five minutes' walk from Circular Quay's trains and ferries, or at White Bay about 6km out, which is taxi or rideshare only - 15-25 minutes to the CBD.

   Best months

   Oct-Apr (southern spring to autumn)

2. Day 2

   Eden

   AustraliaPort

   Eden is a small fishing town on Twofold Bay on the NSW far south coast, one of the deepest natural harbours in the southern hemisphere. Its history is strange and specific: killer whales here cooperated with shore-based whalers, herding humpbacks into the bay in exchange for a share, and the museum keeps the skeleton of the whale who led them. Humpbacks still pass on migration.

   • Eden Killer Whale Museum and Old Tom's skeleton
   • Whale watching in Twofold Bay during the spring migration
   • Davidson Whaling Station historic site on the south shore
   • Beowa National Park and the Boyd's Tower lookout

   Getting ashore

   Normally docked at the Eden Cruise Wharf in Snug Cove since the 2019 breakwater extension replaced the old tendering; there is only one berth, so a second ship the same day still anchors off. Imlay Street is 1.5-2km uphill, and the hill is what catches people out - take the shuttle.

   Best months

   Sep-Nov (whale migration) and Dec-Feb (warmest)

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Hobart

   AustraliaPort

   Macquarie Wharf drops you a ten-minute walk from Salamanca Place, which makes Hobart one of the easiest port days in Australia. The city sits under kunanyi/Mount Wellington on the Derwent estuary, and it has an unusual amount going on for its size - a serious art museum, colonial sandstone, and the best produce in the country. If your call falls on a Saturday, the market alone justifies the day.

   • Mona, reached by the catamaran up the Derwent from Brooke Street Pier
   • Salamanca Market on Saturday mornings
   • Drive or shuttle to the kunanyi/Mount Wellington summit
   • Port Arthur historic site, about 90 minutes each way

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Macquarie Wharf, within 800m of the CBD and about 15 flat minutes from Salamanca Place - no shuttle needed, which makes this one of the best walk-off ports in Australia.

   Best months

   Dec-Feb (southern summer; Tasmania is cold outside it)

5. Day 5

   Port Arthur

   AustraliaPort

   Port Arthur was a British convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula from 1830 to 1877 and is now World Heritage listed. Unusually for a cruise call, the tender lands you directly at the site - there is no town, no shops, no alternative plan. The ruins sit in mown parkland that makes them look far gentler than the place was. A 1996 mass shooting here is also memorialised on site and treated with care.

   • The Penitentiary ruins and the Separate Prison, built for silent solitary confinement
   • Guided boat tour out to the Isle of the Dead convict cemetery
   • Point Puer, the separate prison built for boys as young as nine
   • Walking the grounds, which cover thirty-odd buildings - allow the full call

   Getting ashore

   Tender in to the jetty inside the historic site itself, from a sheltered anchorage - you land at the visitor centre with no coach transfer, and there is nothing else within walking distance; note that some itineraries list Port Arthur as scenic cruising with no landing at all.

   Best months

   Nov-Mar (southern summer)

6. Day 6

   Great Oyster Bay & Freycinet (Scenic Cruising)

   AustraliaPort

   Great Oyster Bay is the sheltered water between the Tasmanian mainland and the Freycinet Peninsula, and the ship threads it beneath The Hazards - pink granite peaks that go straight up out of Coles Bay. Nobody goes ashore; you get a few hours of coastline instead of a stop. Depending on the route, some ships round the peninsula and pass Wineglass Bay and Cape Tourville on the ocean side.

   • The Hazards rising above Coles Bay, best in early or late light when the granite goes pink
   • Wineglass Bay from seaward, if the itinerary rounds the peninsula
   • Schouten Island at the southern end of the peninsula
   • Sea eagles, dolphins and, in season, migrating whales in the bay

   Getting ashore

   No landing - a scenic cruising leg spent on the open decks as the ship passes the Freycinet Peninsula.

   Best months

   Dec-Feb (southern summer)

7. Day 7

   Sydney

   AustraliaArrive

   Two terminals, and which one you get changes the day completely. The Overseas Passenger Terminal sits on Circular Quay east of the Harbour Bridge, with no air-draft limit and the Opera House directly opposite the gangway. White Bay, out at Rozelle, only takes ships that fit under the bridge, and it has no train, no ferry and no bus at the gate. Berths are assigned by availability, so nobody can promise you one.

   • Sydney Opera House backstage or architectural tour
   • The Bondi to Coogee clifftop walk, or just the Bondi Beach bus
   • BridgeClimb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
   • Ferry across to Manly or Taronga Zoo for the harbour view back

   Getting ashore

   Docked either at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, five minutes' walk from Circular Quay's trains and ferries, or at White Bay about 6km out, which is taxi or rideshare only - 15-25 minutes to the CBD.

   Best months

   Oct-Apr (southern spring to autumn)