Be sure to hit the princess site and look up the latest top offers to take advantage of their fantastic prices that they have been slashing on a weekly basis.

Princess.com

We have a Princess cruise to Alaska coming up and will be posting the pics on this blog.

Click around on our Princess Cruise Calendar here http://www.westsideintltravel.com/princess-cruises/princess-cruises-calendar.asp and comment back on the blog and let us know what you think.

Thanks!

Princess Cruises Calendar

“Caribbean Princess has just emerged from an extensive three-week drydock to add many of Princess Cruises’ signature features that have proven so popular on its newest ships. The vessel now offers passengers the engaging street-cafe atmosphere of the piazza-style atrium with its International Cafe and Vines, the wine, seafood and cheese bar; the adults-only Sanctuary, seven new suites, and a more centrally located casino. Work is also nearly complete on a new Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant.”

Read More Here: http://www.westsideintltravel.com/princess-cruises/caribbean-princess-emerges-from-drydock.asp

Many of their cruise lines are offering great rebates this year since the economy is down, so if you are able, I would jump on some of these early season offers while they are available at such low prices.

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

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

The line that pioneered the “Movies Under the Stars” concept in 2004 says it plans to take the monster screens fleetwide over the next three years in a big expansion.

Princess already has the 300-square-foot screens on the top decks of seven of its newest vessels — the Caribbean Princess (where it all began), Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Star Princess, Sea Princess and soon-to-debut Ruby Princess. Over the next three years the line will add them to seven more ships.

The rollout will begin on the Golden Princess next May, followed by the Dawn Princess (June 2009), Coral Princess (October 2009), Sun Princess (April 2010), Island Princess (October 2010), Diamond Princess (November 2010) and Sapphire Princess (2011).

Princess Cruise Lines use the high-tech, LED screens day and night to show movies, sporting events such as the Super Bowl and concerts by the likes of Elton John and Tina Turner and more. The line even has been known to offer midnight showings of cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

This month, meanwhile, the line plans to broadcast an exclusive to the cruise industry concert by a top-selling recording artist Josh Groban.

Please feel free to send us your comments once you get to experience the big screens in person!

Source: usatoday.com

Diamond Princess is a luxury destination in itself. Wake each morning in anticipation of a new horizon. Take in the view from one of nearly 740 balcony staterooms. Indulge in a hot stone massage at the renowned Lotus Spa, enjoy fine dining in a formal or relaxed atmosphere and make it a cruise to remember.

Be sure to check out this video that Princess created to see what the Diamond Princess experience is all about http://www.princess.com/video/dvd/diamond_sapphire.html

source: princess.com

Passengers Can Now Enjoy a New “Piazza” with International Café and Vines, plus Adults Only Sanctuary and Movies Under the Stars

The Star Princess set sail this weekend after a three-week drydock that dramatically transformed several spaces onboard, including turning the ship’s atrium into a vibrant street café-like piazza, adding the company’s signature adults-only retreat called The Sanctuary, and installing a 300-square-foot Movies Under the Stars poolside screen.

These features, which have been enthusiastically enjoyed by passengers on Princess Cruises’ newest vessels, have inspired an expansion to other ships in the fleet, and Star Princess is the first to be revitalized with these favorite elements.

Star Princess’ updated piazza-style atrium will now feature an array of dining and entertainment opportunities including the specialty coffees, freshly baked goods, paninis, salads and tapas of the International Café. It will also introduce an expanded Vines wine bar concept, which will feature more than 30 wines by the glass, a selection of artisan meats and cheeses, plus a wine shop where passengers can purchase their favorite bottle.

On the top deck of the ship, passengers can now relax in the tranquil environment of The Sanctuary, Princess’ signature adults-only retreat featuring plush padded lounge chairs and the services of dedicated Serenity Stewards. Along with enjoying refreshing beverages and light snacks, visitors to this exclusive space can also receive a massage in one of two private cabanas.

Princess’ trademark Times Square-style Movies Under the Stars poolside screen is now in place and will show a variety of films, concerts and special events daily. And in the evenings it becomes an outdoor theater with specially covered lounge chairs and cozy blankets, where moviegoers can enjoy free popcorn, plus other snacks and beverages.

Additional changes made during the drydock include a new Internet Café and library area, enhancements to the onboard boutiques, the addition of LCD flat screen televisions in all staterooms, and a variety of other cosmetic updates.

Star Princess is the first of three ships to receive these updates. Caribbean Princess and Golden Princess will also receive similar transformations in subsequent drydocks, in January and April of 2009, respectively. Caribbean Princess and Golden Princess will also receive additional enhancements including a new Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant, a new casino area and six additional suites.

Source: http://www.princess.com

star princess