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Princess Cruise Ships Will Connect to Shore Power at Port of Vancouver
In 2009, Princess Cruise Ships Will be Connecting to Shore Power at the Port of Vancouver.
Ships are to Turn Off Engines While Docked at Canada Place to Reduce Air Emissions
Environmental Initiative Result of Partnership with Government Agencies and Sister Cruise Line
Reduced Air Emissions
Expanding its commitment to reduce air emissions, Princess Cruises has announced it will turn off its ships’ engines and instead use clean hydroelectric power supplied from ashore when calling at the Port of Vancouver during the upcoming 2009 summer cruise season.
The innovative technology is being made possible through a partnership with several Canadian project partners and sister company Holland America Line.
More on hydroelectric power
Princess will use hydroelectric power from the city’s grid instead of the ships’ diesel-powered engines to run all onboard services for its four ships docking at the Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal during day-long turnaround calls. The new shore power installation is the very first use of this technology in Canada and is the result of a $9 million cooperative partnership among Port Metro Vancouver, Transport Canada, Western Economic Diversification Canada, British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, British Columbia Hydro, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.
Princess’ shore power program made history when it first began operations in Juneau, Alaska in the summer of 2001. It expanded to Seattle in summer 2005 and is planned to roll out in other ports that have made commitments to the technology, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. Currently nine of the line’s ships are outfitted with the capability to “plug in” to a shoreside power source.
Four Princess ships will use shore power in Vancouver during the 2009 Alaska season. The vessels — Coral Princess, Diamond Princess, Island Princess and Sapphire Princess — will call in Vancouver 36 times between May 16 and September 7, 2009 as they sail on seven-day Gulf of Alaska cruises. Approximately 35 metric tons of turbine engine fuel will be eliminated per ship call by connecting to shore power, for an estimated reduction of 1,260 metric tons of fuel over the summer season.
State of the art electric connection cabinets
To create this unique power system, Princess outfitted nine of its ships with custom-built, state-of-the-art connection cabinets that connect the ship’s electrical network to the local electrical system ashore. Since 2001, Princess has invested nearly $7 million in equipment alone to enable its vessels to connect to shore power. The ships currently equipped with this technology include the Coral Princess,Dawn Princess, Diamond Princess, Golden Princess, Island Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sea Princess, Star Princess, Sun Princess
“Cold Ironing”
Also known as “cold ironing,” shore power uses electrical power transmitted from a landside transformer to the vessel via four 3?-inch diameter flexible electrical cables. The actual cable connection on a vessel is a traditional, though quite large, male/female plug and socket. The length of time needed to connect a ship to shore power and shut down the vessel’s diesel generator is approximately 40 minutes. Once connected, the ship’s engines are powered down and, simultaneously, the necessary amount of power, provided by BC Hydro, will be used to run the ship’s services while in port.
Source: Princess.com
Ruby Princess from Princess Cruises Bolster Increased Marketing Spend
Princess Cruises is currently stepping up their marketing activity in the UK to take on cruise lines that have increased advertising during the current economic downturn.
Speaking at last week’s launch of new ship Ruby Princess, head of brand marketing Pieter van der Schee said Princess is increasing its print and online advertising and backing it up with direct mailing and newspaper inserts.
He said: “We had a good response to our brochure launch in April and are on track with 2009 sales, but other brands are upping the ante with more marketing so we are responding.”
Van der Schee said Princess is also working with agents to stimulate demand, but not though price. “There is pressure on prices but we are finding sales depend on the level of marketing. A lot of people still want to book a cruise we are just having to work harder to win the business.”
He said last week’s 1.5% interest rate cut in the UK and lower petrol prices might help consumers feel less anxious about the economic situation.
Princess took 14 of its best-selling UK agents to Ruby Princess’ naming ceremony, which was followed by a two-night cruise. Princess is an ideal cruise line for any group cruise travelers out there.
Van der Schee said: “Princess is the fourth best-selling cruiseline in the UK, but some agents are not familiar with the brand so it’s difficult to explain it to customers.
“It is hard to persuade people who are new to cruise that cruiselines and ships are different so we think it’s important that agents see and experience the product.”
Princess Cruises’ president and chief executive officer Alan Buckelew ruled out following Carnival’s lead and changing the line’s European deployment for 2009 as a result the economic downturn.
“I never say never, but if cruiselines start to pull out because the Americans are not travelling to Europe we will be last to go,” he promised.
Source: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk
