Princess Cruises was founded by Stanley McDonald in 1965 with one ship, the former passenger ferry Princess Patricia, for cruises along the Mexican Rivera. In 1974, the company was bought by the UK’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), and in 1988 P&O/Princess Cruises merged with the Italian line Sitmar Cruises. In 2000, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises fought a protracted battle to buy Princess Cruises. Carnival won.
Princess Cruises benefited hugely from its involvement in the American television series The Love Boat, and its brand became known as “The Love Boat Cruise Line.” Today it provides comfortable mainstream cruising aboard a fleet of mainly large resort ships (plus three mid-sized ships), and covers the world. The ships have a higher-than-average Passenger Space Ratio than competitors Carnival or RCI, and the service is friendly without being showy.
- Frequent passengers’ club: Captain’s Circle.
So what’s it really like?
Ships in both the mid-size and large categories operated by Princess Cruises are clean and always well maintained, and the promenade decks of some ships have teak deck lounge chairs – others are plastic. Princess Cruises also has a nice balance of officers, staff and crew members, and the line’s British connections help it to achieve the feeling of calmness aboard its ships that some other lines lack.
Choose Princess Cruises if you enjoy being with families and fellow passengers of mid-50s and upwards, who want a well-organized cruise experience with unpretentious middle-of-the-road cuisine, a good range of entertainment, and an excellent shore excursion program – arguably the best run of any of the major cruise lines. There are proper cinemas aboard most ships as well as outdoor poolside mega-screens for showing “movies under the skies” in the evening.
Lines can form at peak times for elevators, the purser’s (information) office, and for open-seating breakfast and lunch in the main dining rooms. Lines for shore excursions and shore tenders are also a fact of life aboard large resort ships.
All passengers receive turndown service and chocolates on pillows each night, as well as bathrobes (on request) and toiletry amenity kits – larger, naturally, for suite/mini-suite occupants – that typically include soap, shampoo, conditioner, and hand/body lotion. A hairdryer is provided in all cabins, sensibly located at a lounge area vanity desk unit.
If you want to keep up with the world, BBC World, CNN, CNBC, ESPN and TNT can be found on the in-cabin color TV system (when available).
Countless pieces of questionable “art” are encountered in almost every foyer and public room – an annoying reminder that cruising aboard large resort ships is like living in a bazaar of paintings surrounded by a ship.
The dress code is either formal – usually one formal night per 7-day cruise – or smart casual. The latter is interpreted by many as jeans or tracksuits and trainers.
The newest ships – Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, Ruby Princess – include an adults-only area called The Sanctuary, an extra-cost retreat at the top of the ship, forward of the mast. This provides a “private” place to relax and unwind and includes attendants to provide chilled face towels and deliver light bites. It has thick padded sunloungers both in the sun and in the shade, a swim-against-the-current pool, and there are also two outdoor cabanas for massages. I particularly recommend The Sanctuary in hot weather during Caribbean cruises. It’s worth the extra $15 a head per half-day.
Princess’s onboard product, especially the food and entertainment, is well established, and is totally geared to the North American market. But British and other European nationalities should feel at home, as long as they realize that this is all about highly organized, packaged cruising, food and service, with an increasing emphasis on onboard revenue. So expect to be subjected to a stream of flyers advertising daily art auctions, “designer” watches, specialized classes (Princess Cruises’ “ScholarShip@Sea” programs), and the like.
You’ll also have to live with many extra-charge items such as ice cream, non-standard coffees and pastry items taken in venues other than the restaurants, $4 per hour for group babysitting services, and $40 for a ceramics class. There’s a charge for using washers and dryers in self-service launderettes.
Princess Cruises’ ships are best suited to couples, families with children and teenagers, and older singles who like to mingle in a large ship setting with ophisticated surroundings and lifestyle, reasonably good entertainment and fairly decent food and service, all packaged affordably.
The few staff members on duty at the gangway when you first arrive will merely point you in the direction of your deck, or to the ship’s elevators instead of escorting you to your cabin. An “express check-in” option is available by completing certain documentation 40 days in advance of your cruise.
Berlitz Guide to Cruising 2010
Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2010
