British tycoon Sir Richard Branson welcomes his cruise ship to Australia

Billionaire tycoon Sir Richard Branson took to a speedboat as he welcomed one of his cruise ships into Sydney Harbour for the first time.

Virgin Voyages ship Resilient Lady, which holds 2770 passengers, has sailed all the way from Europe to be based in Australia for the summer.

Brit Branson waved to cameras as he careered along in a slick wooden speedboat beside the ship as she made the final approach towards Circular Quay.

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"It's just incredible to think it's come all the way from Europe to here, and a lot of people very excited to see it - and me maybe number one most excited," Branson said.

Passengers packed the top deck to watch the celebrations.

Branson also climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark the occasion.

Virgin Voyages is the first travel brand in the Virgin Group to enter the Australian market since Virgin Australia, then called Virgin Blue, launched in the country in 2000.

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Virgin Voyages cruises are adults only and the company, which launched in 2021, has three ships sailing in Europe, the Caribbean and now Australia.

Tickets were sold to cruise-lovers to attend a party on the ship in Sydney tomorrow, before the ship sails on to Port Melbourne, where it will be based until autumn.

It's one of three new cruise lines sailing in Australia this summer as part of what is set to be the biggest cruise season yet.

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Virgin Voyages, Disney Cruise Line and Scenic are all venturing to Australia for the first time, hoping for a slice of the $5 billion industry.