Sailing to all seven continents with stops at 350 different ports of call illustrates what Princess Cruise Lines is all about. Under the umbrella of its parent company, Carnival Corporation, Princess maintains its personality as a leader in the cruise industry. The line is gearing up to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.
Departing on December 3, 2015, the exact day 5 decades ago the line’s first ship, Princess Patricia set sail, a one-time special Mexico itinerary sailing will commemorate the event. Everything is hush-hush since the announcement, but Princess promises that its ship the 670 passenger Pacific Princess being used will be nothing short of a huge celebration.
This nostalgia cruise promises to have a few surprise guests onboard as well as top-named entertainers. Booking for this once-in-a-lifetime cruise holiday begins on the 13th of May.
Modest Beginnings
Stanley B. McDonald started Princess Lines in 1965 by chartering a ship and using it for winter season cruises with paying passengers bound for Mexico out of California. The line could not keep up with the bookings. By adding other ships, this innovative venture created a successful mid-size enterprise and formulated cruising as a holiday concept placing it back on the map once more.
Expansion
Expansion grew further, thanks to the television series, the “Love Boat”. The show utilised Princess’s Pacific Princess in 1977 as the focal point and the storyline, which touched on the trials and tribulations of fictitious guests who sailed on her for the show. This proved to be the best advertising campaign in history and made Princess Cruises a household name. Sales for cruise holidays soared as did the number of ships, and as of today, the line has a total of 17 modern ships in their fleet.
Size and locations
The larger Princess ships offer passengers many of the usual onboard amenities that you would come to expect from a major cruise line together with some of the more standard itineraries. Princess’ smaller ships head to unique areas such as Antarctica, the Amazon and other regions of untouched habitats.
Princess is prominent in Alaska, but it also offers cruises to Mexico, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, India and Antarctica. Cruises frequently depart during the spring/summer/autumn season from Southampton, Dover, Barcelona and Venice, whilst in the winter Caribbean season ships depart from Fort Lauderdale and New Orleans.
Cruises also originate from Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Chile. Alaskan cruises can be combined with a land tour by train that utilises Princess Wilderness Lodges. Wilderness Lodges are located in Denali, Kenai, Fairbanks, Mount McKinley and Copper River. Glacier hiking, national parks and wildlife watching are highlights of Princess’s Alaskan cruises tours. Princess employ a naturalist to help guests become acquainted with whales, sea lions, birds, bears and other wildlife.
Recent news
Besides the announcement of the 50th Anniversary cruise, Princess has something else to celebrate with its newest fleet member debuting this May. The Regal Princess’s maiden voyage will start off through the Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with plans to head across to Europe later on. This luxurious new ship has set a buzz of excitement in the cruise world as it boasts new and innovative attractions and is going to hold approximately 3,560 passengers.
The atrium aboard the Regal Princess is going to be similar to the one aboard the Royal Princess and the ship will have plenty of activities available, from taking in some relaxing entertainment at Piazza to enjoying an ice cream at the Italian style Gelato to having a nice relaxing martini at Crooners. There’s something for everyone here and this is a great place to get to know your fellow travellers.
One of the new attractions on the Regal Princess is the SeaWalk, a 28 foot walkway that is surrounded by glass panelling and provides stunning views of the ocean and it lights up at night. Other attractions include The Princess Watercolour Fantasy, a night time amazing light and sound show that takes place on the top deck pool with a series of dancing fountains that shoot water up 33 feet into the air. Club goers can rejoice in the fact that there is a hip, new and happening nightclub called Club 6.
Written by Veronica Shine
