What’s so good about Princess Cruises?

One of the perks of my job is getting to see brand spanking new ships. I am lucky enough to have won a place on the new Majestic Princess’s first sailing on the 31st of March & this is going to be my first Princess cruise. I had a lovely Caribbean cruise booked on the Sea Princess a few years ago, but unfortunately had to cancel due to work commitments, so I can’t wait for this trip, especially as Princess are thought of as a 5 star cruise line.

Sadly this won’t be a 2 week Caribbean cruise, but a 4 night sailing from Trieste to Rome with a call at Kotor in Montenegro. There are 2 sea days which will give me plenty of opportunity to explore the ship and see what Princess are all about. Unfortunately I am just about old enough to vaguely remember watching The Love Boat way back  in the early 80’s & I have been watching the TV documentary set on the Royal Princess which is interesting, but doesn’t really represent the whole experience.

Karaoke suite on Majestic Princess

I generally get excellent feedback about this cruise line from my customers, although like all companies things don’t run smoothly 100% of the time. In general food gets rave reviews. There are a host of speciality restaurants which you can pay for, but lots included in the price such as a noodle bar, Dim Sum restaurant & pizzeria. The main dining rooms have a 5 course evening menu including dessert and coffee. You can see some sample menus here. Princess really go all out with the desserts and although I haven’t got a very sweet tooth (I’m more of a cheese & biscuits kind of girl) I know I’ll be tempted.  They also have a strong relationship with chocolate -not only in the dining room, but in the cafes, at the bars in cocktails, in the Spa’s for treatments and even premium chocolate & wine tasting experience are available to book.

Entertainment on Princess gets positive reviews. There are traditional West End shows and lots of money is invested in musical productions. Along side headliner comediens, magicians & illusionists there are street entertainers in the expansive Piazza. For those who have some singing talent Princess have introduced their version of The Voice. One of the things I’m most looking forward to is watching Movies Under the Stars on deck one evening on a mattressed lounger under a cosy blanket being served popcorn, cookies & milk.

Enrichment programs are something which Princess have been developing over the last few years and are now working with The Discovery Channel & Animal Planet, providing  talks on board as well as shore excursions with the experts. Here’s what they say about their stargazing experience:

“Science Channel and Princess Cruises will take you on a cosmic voyage as you look to the skies from our top deck. On this interactive guided tour, a Princess Stargazing Specialist will teach you how to find your bearings and identify the major constellations, hear the secrets of the stars and the folklore around them. In addition, our onboard libraries will be stocked with supplementary astronomy resources for guests to enjoy and continue their exploration of the night’s sky when returning home. Great for all ages”.

As with most major cruise lines kids & teens are well catered for with activities provided from the ages of 3 up to 17 where there are the usual sports competitions, parties, talent shows, arts and crafts there are many tied in to the enrichment theme. Here are some:

• • NEW! Mythbusters Activities: Try three hands-on challenges, featuring Tori Belleci from the show.
  • NEW! Survive Alaska: Invent tools to survive the harsh environment of The Great Land.
  • Animal Planet™ uncovers ferocious secrets in Shark Attack, and learn squid anatomy in Just Squiddin’ Around.
  • Learn the science of magic or become an engineer for a day with programs from the California Science Center, home of the Endeavour space shuttle.
  • Inspire a love of nature from the regions we sail with Animal Planet Endangered Species and Glacier Bay Jr. Ranger programs.

• And finally Princess have collaborated with sleep expert Dr Michael Breuss to design exclusive luxury beds which will be in all 44,000 Princess cabins by 2018, so hopefully despite all I intend to do whilst on board I will hopefully follow Princess’s current marketing slogan and ‘come back new’!
• I will be reporting about my trip when I return in April, but if you’d like to read the latest Princess reviews click here.
• Until next time…au revoir.