Sydney welcomed the largest ship to visit Australia so far this summer, when Princess Cruises’ giant Diamond Princess glided into Sydney Harbour on Friday morning.

Carrying 3800 passengers and crew, the 116,000-tonne Diamond Princess berthed at Circular Quay’s Overseas Passenger Terminal at 7am on December 16, at the end of a cruise from Asia and departed Sydney at 8pm on a 13-night Christmas cruise to New Zealand, with passengers set to enjoy a visit from Santa at sea, as well as snowfall in her multi-storey atrium, compliments of an onboard snow machine. Father Christmas tested the ship and posed for pictures onboard before Friday night’s sailing.

With the ship decked out in holiday décor – including a Christmas tree on the mast – passengers will also be treated to a special Christmas dinner, gingerbread house-making, Christmas carols and festive movies on the ship’s giant Movies Under the Stars screen.

The spectacular megaliner will cruise between Australia and New Zealand until February with each of her three visits to Sydney expected to inject around $1 million into the local economy through passenger and crew spending, stores and port fees.

Too tall to fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge road deck, Diamond Princess stretches 63 metres high and almost 49 metres wide, including her bridge wings.

At 290 metres long, Diamond Princess is the length of four 747 jumbo jets or three football fields. If tipped on her stern, the ship’s bow would reach 40m higher than the observation deck (250m high) of Sydney Tower.

The ship boasts five pools, 10 restaurants and cafes, a wedding chapel, a mini golf course, 13 bars and lounges, two nightclubs including one overhanging the ship, a luxury spa sanctuary and 1337 cabins – 750 of them with their own private balcony.