Princess Cruises

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Besides being a global cruise and tour company, Princess Cruises is one of the best-known names in the industry.

It takes more than one million passengers each year to more than 300 worldwide destinations in six continents.

Princess Cruises is the third largest cruise line globally, operating a fleet of 17 modern ships. Each vessel is known for its innovation and an array of onboard amenities. This includes entertainment, exceptional dining experience, and superb customer service.

History

Princess Cruises began when founder Stanley McDonald rented Princess Patricia in 1965. It is one of the Alaska cruise ships owned by the Canadian Pacific Limited.

It is laid up in winter and travels from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. Since it wasn’t designed for tropical cruising and lacked air-conditioning, Princess Patricia ended her charter in favor of a more purpose-built cruise ship Princess Italia.

In 1969, Princess Italia took the Alaskan cruises from San Francisco. Unfortunately, the charter was canceled in 1973 to return to Europe. A year later, Britain’s Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O Cruises) acquired the Princess Cruise Lines.

P&O Cruises also bought two ships for the Princess Division’s flagship cruises. These are the Island Princess and Pacific Princess. The latter became famous after it was featured in the American television series The Love Boat in 1977.

In 1981, Princess began sailing at the cruise line’s first private Caribbean destination, Palm Island in the Grenadines. After five years, P&O Princess Cruises presented its Alaskan tour, which operated on the Alaska Railroad.

The Princess Tours is based in Anchorage, Alaska, and now operates ten luxury railcars. They also offer full-service scenic tours of Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) and can accommodate over 700 passengers per day. 

That same year, Princess unveiled the Princess Bay, located at Saline Bay on Mayreau’s Caribbean island.

Princess Bay became the cruise line’s second private island resort. It replaces Palm Island, and it is promoted as “every castaway’s first choice.”

It is always featured on the cruise line’s Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico. But it is no longer the company’s private resort.

In 1991, Princess Cruises began developing its third Caribbean private resort named Princess Cays. Located on the southern tip of Eleuthera’s island in the Bahamas, the resort was unveiled a year later.

The Princess Cays resort is shared between Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line. Unfortunately, the resort caught fire in January 2019. The fire damaged several buildings along the south side of the island.

In 1998, Princess unveiled its first Grand-class vessel, the Grand Princess. At the time, the $450 million Fincantieri-built ships were the largest passenger ship ever commissioned and completed.

Two more ships in the class were built, the Golden Princess and the Star Princess.

As P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation on April 17, 2003, it became the world’s largest cruise operating company with a net worth of US$5.4 billion. As a result, Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess were integrated to form Carnival Corporation & PLC.

In July 2018, Princess signed a memorandum of agreement with Fincantieri. The MOA is about the construction of two new 175,000 GT ships. Each powered by liquefied natural gas.

That said, the new vessels will become the most significant ships built in Italy and commissioned for Princess. It will also be the first in the fleet to run on LNG. Contact signing took place a year later, together with the development of the ships.

Moreover, Princess will become the fifth Carnival Corporation brand to operate LNG-powered ships.

The Sea Witch

The Sea Witch is one of the most recognized brand logos in the cruise industry. It symbolizes the smooth and flowing gracefulness of the ocean waves.

It also represents the excitement and adventure of discovering what the world has to offer on a Princess cruise.

Currently, it embellishes Princess ships’ funnels.

Accommodation, Design, and Amenities

Princess Cruises is famous for being an industry innovator. That’s because it has introduced many new features and programs throughout the years.

Among them are affordable balconies on many of the ship’s outside cabins. They also offer 24-hour dining, choice dining venues, and flexible dining times.

They were so well-received that even other cruise lines adopted their programs. Thus, the Princess Cruises programs have become an industry standard. 

Princess ships also debuted features such as Movies Under the Stars, poolside theaters, The Sanctuary adults-only oasis, and the Chef’s Table dining experience. 

The line’s newest ship, Royal Princess, first debuted an over-water SeaWalk, a new Princess Live! a television studio and a special Chef’s Table Lumiere dining space surrounds diners in a curtain of light.

Princess Cruises offers an atmosphere of comfortable elegance. Thanks to its public spaces designed to feel the intimacy, even on the largest vessels. 

Princess’ ships also feature a variety of signature “escape” venues and amenities. This enables passengers to enjoy themselves in an informal, relaxed atmosphere.

Thus, if you seek quiet time to rejuvenate or want to keep active with a full array of onboard activities, the Princess Cruises is the way to go.

Destinations

Princess has more than 150 different itineraries that offer travelers the opportunity to sail around the world. It set sail to six continents that call at more than 300 ports and destinations around the world. 

Its destinations include Europe, the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Alaska, Mexico, South America, South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Asia, India, Africa, Canada, and world cruises. 

Princess passengers can upgrade their cruise experience with a wide array of port excursions and cruise tours worldwide. Thus, passengers can combine their cruise with a full land tour.

In particular, having led the way in the Gulf of Alaska, Princess maintains a strong presence in the 49th state. Through its Princess Tours division based in Seattle, the company operates a wide variety of spectacular land and sea experiences in the majestic “Land of the Midnight Sun”.

The most extensive tour provider in the state, Princess operates as many as eight cruise ships, five riverside wilderness and lodges, a fleet of deluxe motor coaches, and luxury mound rail cars. All these provide easy access to Alaska’s interior with the line’s unique “Direct to the Wilderness” service. 

As a result, Princess’ passengers can connect between the cruise ship and a land tour with ease. This allows them to experience Alaska’s most popular attractions in a single vacation.

Service

No matter where the Princess Cruises sail, passengers can enjoy gracious service and elegant yet comfortable atmosphere.

Their crew is dedicated to providing exceptional service, ensuring that every guest experiences an unforgettable vacation. They even have a customer service training program, wherein the team is trained to superb customer service.

Moreover, this decade-long program becomes the guiding philosophy of Princess Cruises’ onboard experience. This is to ensure that the entire crew will work together and is providing a remarkable cruise experience to passengers.

The Fleet

Princess Cruises’ fleet of ships consists of five classes: The Royal class, the Grand class, the Coral class, the Sun class, and the R class.

The Royal Class

The Grand Class

The Coral Class

The Sun Class

The R Class 

Princess Cruises is the consistent top choice among cruise passengers and industry experts. That’s because they can offer contemporary cruising and balance it with tradition and innovation. 

Their spectacular ships sail to the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, and many fascinating places. Plus, you get to do what you love aboard their vessel.

For one, you can enjoy Wi-Fi at sea, expedited boarding, drinks on-demand, and more. They also offer a personalized vacation that will allow you to have an unforgettable adventure.