Royal Princess leaves dry dock with a new pub
Get the story first Add No Fluff Cruising as a preferred source in Google
Royal Princess is out of a Singapore dry dock with a new pub, a larger bar, 20 more cabins, and a Sanctuary Club that is still open to the rest of the adults onboard.
The Princess release on PR Newswire is datelined Fort Lauderdale, 30 Oct 2026, 3:00 p.m. ET. It says the dock ran from 16 Oct through 30 Oct. It calls the ship a 3,595-guest ship. Rodrigo Llaguno, the chief operating officer, is the executive in the quote.
The photo is the release image. The caption goes left to right: O’Malley’s Irish Pub, the Suite Lounge, and Bellini’s. It calls them newly enhanced spaces on Royal Princess. The source line is Princess Cruises. A separate photographer is not named.
What moved on the ship
O’Malley’s Irish Pub takes the old Vines spot on deck 5. Bellini’s grows into the old Photo Gallery and looks over the Piazza. The release describes Irish-inspired food and drinks in the pub, and Bellini cocktails, champagne, sparkling wine, and other specialty drinks in the bar.
The cabin math in the release is six mini-suites, seven oceanview cabins, two interiors, and five single interiors. That is 20. The new oceanview cabins can be booked as Sanctuary Collection rooms, and so can suites, mini-suites, deluxe balconies, and balconies. No fare is printed.
The Sanctuary Restaurant is on deck 6, beside the Concerto Dining Room. The release says it is only for Sanctuary Collection guests.
The casino loses the staircase between decks 6 and 7, and the floor is given more room for slots. The Effy boutique is refreshed. The Shops of Princess switch to the retail partner Starboard.
The club rule, and the bill
The footnote is the line that matters if you sail soon. The Sanctuary Club becomes part of the collection on 22 April 2027. Until that date, guests 16 and older may use it. The release says the room used to be the Retreat Pool and The Sanctuary.
An earlier Princess release, dated 22 Oct 2026 on the page and 21 Oct in the dateline, put Sanctuary cabins on sale for a 12-day South Pacific cruise on 4 Jan 2027. People who book the collection once it is on sale get Princess Premier. The release lists drinks, specialty and casual dining, Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, room service, and OceanNow in that package. Cabanas at the club still cost extra.
If you booked before 22 Oct and you already held a Reserve Collection cabin, that release says you get the Sanctuary experience at no added cost. Premier is left out of that conversion.
The 30 Oct release calls the collection all-inclusive. It does not repeat the Premier exclusion. For the bill, use the 22 Oct booking rules.
The season after the yard
The 30 Oct release says the ship then sails a Sydney season in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. She is one of three Princess ships in the region for 2026-27. The counts are 42 itineraries and 62 departures. The other two ships are not named.
That is a different note from the 2028-29 Australia season already on this site. This dry dock does not change those 2028 dates.
The 22 Oct release also times the other four ships. Regal goes on sale 5 Nov 2026, Discovery on 4 Dec, Sky on 10 Dec, and Enchanted on 17 Dec. Those dates are sale dates. They are not this Singapore dock.
What this means for you
If you board before 22 April 2027 and you are 16 or older, the release says the Sanctuary Club is yours to walk into, whatever cabin you booked. The restaurant on deck 6 stays with the collection.
If you held Reserve Collection before 22 Oct, look for Premier on the folio. The conversion in the earlier release leaves it off. If you want a Sanctuary cabin that includes Premier, the first sailing named for that sale is 4 Jan 2027. Check the category on princess.com, or call 1-800-PRINCESS, before you assume the package is in the fare.
Facts above follow the Princess release on 30 Oct 2026 and the Princess newsroom page dated 22 Oct 2026.
Related stories
Questions
- Can you use the Sanctuary Club without a Sanctuary cabin?
- Until 22 April 2027, guests 16 and older may use the Sanctuary Club on Royal Princess without a collection cabin. The 30 Oct 2026 release says the club joins the collection on that date. The Sanctuary Restaurant on deck 6 stays limited to Sanctuary Collection guests, with no preview exception.
- What are the 20 new cabins?
- The 30 Oct release says the dry dock adds six mini-suites, seven oceanview cabins, two interiors, and five single interiors. Those figures add to 20. The new oceanview cabins can be reserved in the Sanctuary Collection, along with suites, mini-suites, deluxe balconies, and balconies. No fare is printed.
- Who gets Princess Premier on Royal Princess?
- The 22 Oct 2026 release says a Sanctuary Collection booking made after the cabins go on sale includes Princess Premier. On Royal Princess that sale starts with the 12-day South Pacific cruise on 4 Jan 2027. A Reserve Collection cabin booked before 22 Oct converts without Premier.
Sources
Tier 1 = the cruise line’s own published material · Tier 2 = an established cruise-news outlet- TIER 1Princess Cruises release on PR Newswire, Fort Lauderdale, 30 Oct 2026, 3:00 p.m. ET: Royal Princess, described as a 3,595-guest ship, emerges from a two-week dry dock in Singapore that ran 16 to 30 Oct. The dock introduces the Sanctuary Collection as part of a rollout to five Royal-class ships, adds O'Malley's Irish Pub, expands Bellini's, refreshes the Princess Casino, and revitalizes the Effy jewelry boutique. Rodrigo Llaguno, chief operating officer, is quoted. The collection on this ship includes the Sanctuary Club, with a footnote, plus newly constructed oceanview staterooms that can be reserved in the collection along with suites, mini-suites, deluxe balcony, and balcony staterooms. The Sanctuary Restaurant, only for Sanctuary Collection guests, is open on deck 6 next to the Concerto Dining Room. The dock adds 20 cabins: six mini-suites, seven oceanview, two interiors, and five single interiors. O'Malley's takes the former Vines location on deck 5. Bellini's expands into the former Photo Gallery and overlooks the Piazza. The casino staircase between decks 6 and 7 is removed so the floor can take more slot machines. The Shops of Princess move to retail partner Starboard. After the dock the ship heads to a Sydney season in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. She is one of three Princess ships in the region for 2026-27, with 42 unique itineraries and 62 departures. The release points readers to a travel advisor, 1-800-PRINCESS, or princess.com. The footnote says the Sanctuary Club becomes part of the collection on 22 April 2027, and that until then all adult guests 16 and older may preview it. It says the club was the Retreat Pool and The Sanctuary. The caption on the lead image reads left to right, O'Malley's Irish Pub, Suite Lounge, and Bellini's, and calls them newly enhanced guest spaces. The source line is Princess Cruises. The page does not print a fare, the 4 Jan 2027 sale date, or the names of the other two ships in the 2026-27 season.
Princess Cruises, checked 30 Oct 2026 · Read 2 Nov 2026. Load-bearing source for the dry dock, the venues, the 20 cabins, the restaurant rule, the club footnote, and the 2026-27 counts. The hero is this release's image. - TIER 1Princess Cruises newsroom, page dated 22 Oct 2026, dateline Fort Lauderdale, 21 Oct 2026: the line will expand Sanctuary Collection across five Royal-class ships, beginning with Royal Princess, then Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, and Sky Princess. Gus Antorcha, president, is quoted. The collection includes a Sanctuary Club, a Sanctuary Restaurant, and select suites and staterooms, including newly constructed oceanview staterooms. Suite guests get a suite concierge. Guests who book the collection after it is on sale receive Princess Premier, described as premium unlimited beverages, specialty and casual dining, high-speed Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, complimentary room service, and OceanNow delivery, among other benefits. Cabanas at the club cost extra. Sanctuary Collection staterooms on Royal Princess went on sale that day, beginning with the 12-day South Pacific voyage on 4 Jan 2027. Guests who booked before 22 Oct 2026 and already reserved a Reserve Collection stateroom receive the Sanctuary experience at no additional cost, excluding Premier. Later on-sale dates in the release: Regal Princess on 5 Nov 2026, first sailing a transatlantic from Port Everglades on 17 April 2027. Discovery Princess on 4 Dec 2026, first sailing a seven-day Mexico cruise from Los Angeles on 24 April 2027. Sky Princess on 10 Dec 2026, first sailing a 14-day Baltic from Southampton on 29 May 2027. Enchanted Princess on 17 Dec 2026, first sailing a seven-day Mediterranean from Civitavecchia on 12 June 2027. The page does not describe the Singapore dry dock, O'Malley's, the 20 cabins, or the 22 April 2027 club footnote.
Princess Cruises, checked 22 Oct 2026 · Read 2 Nov 2026. Use this page for the sale date, Premier, and the Reserve Collection exclusion. The page date and the dateline differ by one day. This post prints both.
Prices and policies move. This page was last checked on Nov 2, 2026, 9:45 AM ET.