The Royal Princess is Ready for her Inaugural Celebration
A musical salute provided a spectacular welcome for Royal Princess to Southampton as the new cruise ship arrived to begin a week-long series of special inaugural events. British actor, director and writer Simon Callow orchestrated the Southampton University Brass Band to serenade the new Princess Cruises ship with a rendition of...
Fleet wide improvements for the Carnival Corporation
Carnival Cruise Lines is conducting a fleet wide $300 million plan to significantly enhance emergency power capabilities, introducing a new fire safety technology system and improving the level of operating redundancies. The improvement plan is the result of a comprehensive operational review, overseen by parent company Carnival...
Carnival, Princess adopt new onboard smoking policies
By Michael Coleman Carnival and Princess, two of the world’s most popular cruise lines, have adopted new onboard smoking policies which will be rolled out in the coming months. Citing its “ongoing commitment to keep pace with changing guest preferences’’ the 23-ship Carnival fleet, effective this week, will only permit cigarette...
Media darling, Grand Princess, transformed
By Michael Coleman A Princess cruise ship, formerly the largest cruise ship in the world, has a new distinction. Following the most extensive drydock in Princess Cruises history, Grand Princess has emerged from a 24-day, transformational drydock. The vessel even became a media star as the line posted daily video updates on the work in...
Princess honors MacLeod, preps for Royal Wedding
By Michael Coleman Princess Cruises honored television’s most beloved captain, Gavin MacLeod, with a special 80th birthday party aboard Golden Princess this week in Los Angeles. Crew members, along with his friends and family, sang “Happy Birthday” and presented him with a massive cake — a 5-foot-long, 3D replica of the original...
Princess blog features ultimate travel wish list
By Michael Coleman The world’s top destinations will be unveiled weekly in an inspiring new blog launched by the travel savvy employees of Princess Cruises. The line launched “50 Essential Experiences: The Travel Bucket List” (50essentialexperiences.com) this week. A series of posts, each authored by one of Princess’...
Princess eyes Hawaii, Tahiti and the South Pacific
By Michael Coleman Princess Cruises has just unveiled a series of 2011-2012 itineraries to Hawaii, Tahiti and the South Pacific. Sun, sand, swaying palm trees, the scent of topical flowers in the air and breathtaking island scenery set the stage as the line offers 43 sailings of 10 itineraries to 33 ports. Voyages run from …...
Princess to allow you to show off your ship to friends and family
By Matt Roseboom In the late ‘70 and early ‘80s, when “The Love Boat” was a hit show on television, cruising was popular, but not nearly as popular as it is today. So many first-time cruisers’ expectations came from watching the TV show. Many were probably not too happy when they compared the size of …...
Princess to get two new ships – their largest ever
The Carnival Corporation & plc has signed a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of two 3,600-passenger cruise ships for its Princess Cruises brand. The new ships — which will have an all-in cost of approximately €155,000 per lower berth — are scheduled to enter service in...
Cruise Guide: Caribbean voyages in vogue
By Michael Coleman The cruise industry is just a few weeks away from ushering in the 2010 Caribbean season. If picture-perfect tropical islands, sun-drenched beaches and boundless shopping opportunities float your boat, a Caribbean cruise on one of the following mass-market lines may be for you. Carnival – The largest Carnival ship...