PRINCESS INTRODUCES SHORTER CARIBBEAN CRUISES; ROYAL PRINCESS OFF TO MEXICO

As part of an extensive 2018-19 schedule, Princess Cruises has announced the deployment of no less than five cruise ships in the Caribbean market that winter, among them several fourteen night departures from Fort Lauderdale on the recently renovated Caribbean Princess. These ships will collectively offer a series of seven, ten and fourteen night departures covering all the major highllights of the Caribbean and Central America cruise roster.

Without doubt, one of the highlights of the overall roster is the introduction of a programme called 'More Ashore', which will give passengers more shore time in such popular banner Caribbean ports as Aruba, Cozumel, Curacao and St. Thomas. These will be mainly extended evening stays, and should enhance the appeal of otherwise conventional Caribbean itineraries quite substantially.

But the truly spectacular splash here is the news that the giant Royal Princess will, at 141,000 tons, become the largest ship of any line to be deployed out of Los Angeles since Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas a decade or so ago. The ship- the first of a ground breaking trio for the Princess fleet- will sail from Los Angeles to the highlights of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta on a series of seven night round trip cruises.

In all, Princess will deploy some five ships to the Mexican and Pacific coastal theatre, offering a series of cruises ranging from five and seven to ten nights. Embarkation will be possible for the longer runs in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. In a west coast extension of the 'More Ashore' programme already mentioned, late night stays will be offered in San Diego, and all five night cruises will offer a full, overnight call at Cabo San Lucas, though whether an all night ship-to-shore tender service will be offered is unlikely.

Princess offers some of the best, most highly styled short cruise operations aboard ships on both the west and east coasts of America, With the 114,000 ton Emerald Princess and Star Princess joining the Royal Princess out of Los Angeles, the line offers a bigger, more rounded and comprehensive line up of Mexico cruises than anyone else. With partner line, Holland America offering a pair of highly rated ships out of San Diego, and parent company Carnival Corporation sailing a trio of ships out of Long Beach, it seems that the continued recovery of the Mexican market is seen as a given.