Princess Cruise Line Review
Freedom, flexibility and choice are Princess Cruises' keys to success - qualities Australians will become familiar with when Sun Princess is based here full-time from November. Sun will be cruising from three homeports - Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle - offering premium cruising. At 77,000 tons, she will be the largest cruise liner to operate from Australia and according to Princess Cruises' Australian spokesperson, Sandy Olsen, Sun's arrival "demonstrates the local market has matured to the point where it can support a luxury superliner like Sun Princess year-round".
Originally Sun had been scheduled to sail from Australia for a five-month summer season, but it was decided that her sister ship Dawn Princess would join her over the 2008-09 summer. Dawn Princess will operate a season from Sydney while Sun Princess sails from Melbourne. The deployment of the two ships sees Princess Cruises' capacity in Australia grow by almost 350 per cent between 2007 and 2008. Sailings on Sun Princess will also include the longest-ever round-trip voyage from Australia - a 75-night cruise, embarking from Sydney on July 14, 2008.
"This is an exciting initiative and the market has recognised this with strong bookings already for Sun Princess" Olsen says.
"For the first time, Australians can sail on an epic voyage and pay everything onboard in Australian dollars, which represents big savings on a long journey."
Olsen says bookings are equally as strong for Dawn. "Seasoned cruisers to newcomers are drawn to Princess' premium level of cruising. The diverse range of itineraries on offer and the affordability of the product - particularly balcony cabins - is certainly bringing customers through the door."
Sun and Dawn each offer 975 staterooms, almost half with private balconies, together with eight restaurants and cafes, seven lounges, three pools and five jacuzzis.
On board, Australian currency will be used and beverages, food and itineraries will be tailored to suit Australian tastes.
Princess Cruise Line is familiar with the Australian market's requirements because twin 116,000-ton vessels, Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess have been frequent visitors, and the 30,000-ton Pacific Princess pioneered premium cruising, sailing from Sydney each summer since 2002. This popular ship will return this summer during her first world cruise and Olsen says, "it'll be great to see her here again, if only briefly".
Pacific Princess inherited her name from the original Pacific Princess (retired in 2002), which starred in the television series, The Love Boat. When the TV show was launched in 1977, it was a huge hit and introduced millions of viewers not only to the idea of a holiday at sea, but also to Princess Cruises.
These were heady days indeed for the cruise line, which sprang from humble beginnings in 1965 to become one of the largest and most instantly recognised cruise brands in the world.
Princess can trace her origins back to a 6000-ton ferry, Princess Patricia, chartered during the winters of 1965 and 1966 to cruise Mexico's West Coast. The itineraries became an instant hit and three additional ships joined the fleet, but the line's big break came when it joined forces with UK-based P&O Cruises in 1974. The combined company bought two new ships and a few years later The Love Boat made one of them - Pacific Princess - a household name."
Princess Cruises prospered from the resulting international cruise boom and over the years new ships were introduced until Princess now boasts a fleet of 17, carrying more than one million passengers a year and sailing to an impressive 260 ports.
The latest addition is 113,000-ton Ruby Princess being built at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. A sister ship to Crown Princess and the new Emerald Princess, Ruby will enter service in late 2008 and carry 3100 passengers.
Throughout the decades, Princess Cruises has prided itself on its innovations. From ship design to on-board life, Princess has been a leader, introducing vessels offering choices in dining and entertainment venues and hundreds of cabins with balconies. It also pioneered what it dubbed 'Personal Choice Cruising', where passengers have access to 24-hour dining.
An example of this new style of cruise liner is the 109-ton Grand Princess. When she was launched in 1998, she was the largest and most expensive cruise ship to enter service and passengers were amazed by her three main restaurants, three show lounges, several alternative dining venues, a wedding chapel and a nightclub that was spectacularly suspended 15 decks above the ocean.
Grand Princess Ships became so popular that she was soon joined by her sisters Diamond and Sapphire Princess. This powerful combination of freedom, choice and flexibility continues to work its magic today, long after the original Pacific Princess fired the imaginations of all those Love Boat fans and launched an appetite for cruise holidays.
Today, Princess Cruises is part of the gigantic US-based Carnival Corporation and offers cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Asia, Africa, Canada and New England and Antarctica. It is also the largest cruise and tour operator in Alaska, offering eight cruise ships, five wilderness lodges, luxury domed rail cars and a fleet of deluxe motor coaches.
Written by Toni Eatts - issue 29/spring 07
