Archive for the 'Princess Cruises' Category

One of the best-value stateroom categories on Emerald Princess (and its sisters) is the mini-suite. A roomy 324 square feet (including the balcony) on Emerald Princess, the mini-suite features a separate sitting area with sofa bed, a queen-sized bed with luxury linens and mattress, two flat-panel televisions, and a bathroom with tub and shower. In the accompanying video, I take you into my mini-suite before I clutter it up, which my stateroom steward James takes pride in uncluttering each morning and afternoon.

One of the best-value stateroom categories on Emerald Princess (and its sisters) is the mini-suite. A roomy 324 square feet (including the balcony) on Emerald Princess, the mini-suite features a separate sitting area with sofa bed, a queen-sized bed with luxury linens and mattress, two flat-panel televisions, and a bathroom with tub and shower. In the accompanying video, I take you into my mini-suite before I clutter it up, which my stateroom steward James takes pride in uncluttering each morning and afternoon.

Research shows that most people planning a trip to Alaska want to see two places: Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park. You can get to Glacier Bay aboard a cruise ship and admire the national park’s stunning scenery from the comfort of your balcony stateroom. But to get to Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley), you’ll have to get off the ship, lace up your hiking boots, and trek inland. That’s where a cruisetour comes in.  Read more... (513 words, 6 images, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Can a cruise line with no newbuilds in sight compete with ones taking on dazzling new ships every year? Can a luxury line compete on service alone when its rivals are taking part in a wave of new construction?

The lines on the non-newbuild side of the equation say yes, and in fact, they contend that they offer their guests an advantage: Instead of investing in newbuilds, they spend resources keeping their current fleets fresh.  Read more... (449 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

For me, the beauty of a cruise is that I can have my cake and eat it too. There’s plenty of opportunity for family togetherness and much-needed time apart as well. If you’ve got little ones, it’s key of course to know the cruise lines’ age policies for kids programming. You don’t want to show up at the gangway only to realize yours are too young for the drop-off playroom (nightmare!). For those of you with older teens, it’s equally as important to know when your young adults can (and can’t) drink and gamble. Read on for the skinny.  Read more... (1243 words, estimated 4:58 mins reading time)

[Guest columnist Art Sbarsky provides his assessment of Tahitian Princess.]

There’s always been a debate as to which is more important in the cruise-making decision: the itinerary or the cruise line/ship. There’s no one answer, and almost always the ultimate decision is based on a combination.

For my recent cruise, it was clearly a decision based on BOTH the ship and the itinerary. I wanted to try the Tahitian Princess to see how the large-ship Princess experience translated to a 30,277 gross ton ship carrying around 660 guests.

And the itinerary from Dover to Brooklyn took me to nine places I had never been to before: Dublin, Greenock (a gateway for Edinburgh), Torshavn in the Faroe Islands, Seydisfjordur and Reykjavik in Iceland, Prins Christian Sund and Qaqortoq in Greenland, St Pierre (off the coast of Canada but part of France) and Sydney, Nova Scotia. What an amazing and diverse array of places to see and made available through itinerary-driven Princess Cruises.  Read more... (1609 words, 10 images, estimated 6:26 mins reading time)

This week, we take a look back at some of old, but still relevant, stories. “Bigger, Better, New & Improved” originally was written for United Airlines’ award-winning magazine, Hemispheres – in 1998! Clearly, not much has changed.

Bigger, Better, New & Improved?

Listen to the cruise industry-an industry fixated on superlatives. Hear claims to possessing the world’s largest ship, the most expensive ship, the largest ship to transit the Panama Canal, “the highest-rated premium cruise line” (a claim made by Celebrity Cruises), “the only premium cruise line” (a counter claim made by Holland America Line), “the highest-rated major cruise line of more than two ships” (a claim unearthed only after excavating deep into a recent Conde Nast Traveler reader poll), the largest casino afloat, the largest verandas afloat, the largest suites afloat (still with us?), the largest suites with verandas afloat . . . well, you get the picture.  Read more... (825 words, estimated 3:18 mins reading time)

Princess Cruises will have an original copy of the Declaration of Independence on board its ships in Alaska during the week of July 4, and passengers will be invited to see this historic statement written and signed by the founding fathers of the United States.  Read more... (356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Looking to attract more first-time guests who may want to dip their toes rather than dive into a cruise vacation, Princess Cruises has announced 18 shorter itineraries from the West Coast for during the spring and fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011.

Ranging from as little is one night to seven days, these shorter vacations represent a cruise hors d’oeuvres that Princess hopes will create new enthusiasts who want to order the full meal.

The choices include a seven-day trip on Sapphire Princess, departing Los Angeles Sept. 10, 2010, that spotlights coastal wine regions, with excursions to vineyards and microbreweries as well as on-board tastings and presentations.

Given the length of this trip and the choice of the new and large Sapphire Princess, it would seem that Princess is confident that this will be a popular sailing with both first-timers and experienced cruisers.

Also, the line is offering short Alaska and Pacific Northwest sailings of four and five nights.

• The five-day Alaska Sampler roundtrip with Coral Princess departs from Vancouver next May and will visit Juneau and Ketchikan.
• The four-day Northwest Sampler”on the Royal Princess, roundtrip from Seattle next May, will sail through the Inside Passage and pay visits to Vancouver and Victoria.

While these itineraries may leave guests wanting more, Princess will expose them to the stunning beauty of the Alaska and Northwest coast.

For a cruise that emphasizes the shipboard experience, Princess is offering Pacific Coastal cruises connecting Vancouver and Los Angeles or San Francisco on several of its ships as they reposition to and from Alaska each spring and fall. These are available for a time commitment of as little as two days up to four days, and they should give guests a good idea of the service standard and that amenities they will enjoy on a Princess ship.  Read more... (533 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)