Princess Cruise Line became part of Carnival Corporation in 2003. By and large the very ‘British’ style of this cruise line has remained solid, although regular passengers say they are beginning to notice the Carnival influence; especially in spelling on notices! Princess was a real fairytale – a tiny cruise line that became a giant. In 1965 the line started with just one ship, but now has sixteen and is proud to say the Princess fleet, as a whole, is one of the most up-to-date in the industry - half is ships have been built in the 21st century including in 2007 the Emerald Princess, whose sister ship, Ruby Princess, launched in the autumn of 2008.
Innovation has been a keynote of the line, the famed ScholarShip@Sea programme gives travellers a chance to try out new skills ranging from cordon bleu to digital photography and internet cafes are now in place on all ships.
- Brand history – formed in the swinging sixties, the Princess line has become a cruise giant that was still swallowed up by Carnival Line in a fairly hostile takeover in 2003
- Signatures of the line - Movies Under the Stars has been a big hit with passengers and is being rolled out to many ships in the next few years
- Number of ships – 17 (two ships leaving the line in 2011, two new builds joining in 2013 and 2014)
- Best for (kids, entertainment etc) – Bon Voyage: a four hour ‘saying goodbye’ tour that allows departing passengers to host family and friends on a ship tour, including lunch! The adults only pools are very popular too
- Special dining features – Princess has some of the most flexible eating options at sea
- Special suite features – the Princess ships vary widely in size and scope, so picking your suite carefully is important
- Special kid features – three age groups and very good policies for collection and drop off make this a secure and fun club-based children’s activity feature
- Entertainment features – those Movies Under the Stars which are a great romantic setting: in fact the whole Princess experience is pretty good at romance
- Spa and fitness features – great spas and gyms, but best of all the Wii Fit installation that makes fitness fun!
- Routes – Princess has been a big Alaskan superstar, and with some of the Alaskan capacity being reduced, it will be interesting to see if they move towards the Mexican Riviera (where they are also very strong) or push even further into Europe