Sapphire Princess Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Posted on 7 June, 2024 by Spacejunkie2

Princess Cruises Sapphire Princess has completed its 20th year in service.

Built at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Japan, the cruise ship was delivered to the company on May 27, 2004.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean, the Sapphire Princess arrived in Seattle for its christening ceremony in 2024 following its delivery.

The event took place at the port on June 10, 2004, and included Nancy Murkowski, the wife of Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski, serving as godmother.

Three days later, the Sapphire Princess kicked off its inaugural season, which included a series of seven-night cruises to Alaska and Canada sailing roundtrip from Seattle.

After a fall season offering ten-night cruises to the Mexican Riviera from San Francisco, the 2,600-guest ship repositioned to Australia for the 2004-05 winter.

At the time, the ship became the newest and largest to ever sail in the region, offering itineraries to New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The Sapphire Princess continued to cruise in the Pacific Ocean during most of its career, with itineraries also visiting Southeast Asia and the Far East.

In 2014, the vessel was chosen to introduce the Princess Cruises brand to the Chinese market as the Sapphire Princess sailed from Shanghai for a four-month season that included itineraries to various destinations in South Korea.

Four years later, the ship debuted in Europe with a series of cruises departing from Southampton in England.

In recent years, the Sapphire Princess has been spending summer in Alaska before heading south for winter programs in South America and Antarctica.

In 2024, the ship is also scheduled to offer cruises in the Caribbean before heading to the South Atlantic and debuting in Brazil.

A sister to the 2004-built Diamond Princess, the Sapphire Princess project was based on Princess Cruises’ Grand class.

Slightly larger than its predecessors, the ship has undergone several refurbishments during its 20-year career.

As part of one of its most recent refits, it received new Princess Luxury beds, in addition to upgrades to public areas including its fitness centre, spa and retail shops.

Carnival Corp Posts 109% Occupancy in Third Quarter

Posted on 2 October, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

P&O one of the Carnival Group, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr account)

Carnival Corporation’s nine brands enjoyed full ships in the third quarter of 2023 as the company delivered a profit of over $1 billion and record revenue.

The ships on average were 109 percent full. Cruise ship occupancy is calculated by having two people in each stateroom, bringing a ship to 100 per cent. Any additional guests, such as children, will push a ship over the 100 per cent mark.

The company said that the 109 per cent occupancy number was better than its own expectations and marked a return to historical levels, compared to just 84 per cent in 2022 and 113 per cent in 2019, the last normal year prior to the pandemic.

“On the European front, occupancy came in better than anticipated for Costa and AIDA, with both brands hitting 119 per cent occupancy in August. Not to be outdone, P&O Cruises achieved its highest occupancy in over a decade,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

“And so I can’t say that their yields were higher. But I can tell you that their occupancy is back, and they are well on their way, and that’s absolutely as expected,” said Weinstein, commenting on the company’s P&O brand.

Carnival Luminosa to Spend 10 Days at Sea

Posted on 17 September, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line is changing the itinerary of Luminosa’s 30-day repositioning cruise to Australia.

After sailing from Seattle on Sep. 14, the cruise will no longer visit any port in Alaska.

Instead, it will head straight to Japan, spending a total of ten days at sea before arriving in the port of Otaru.

“In partnership with our Fleet Operations Center, we are monitoring a low-pressure system in the greater Alaska region which is forecasted to create unusually high swells and strong winds that will impact the first part of our itinerary,” the company said in a statement given to guests onboard.

“To maintain a safe distance from the storm, we must sail south of the low-pressure system. Therefore, it will not be possible to visit Alaska,” Carnival added.

The original itinerary of the repositioning cruise included visits to Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, in addition to scenic cruising at the Hubbard Glacier.

“Everyone’s safety is our priority, and we really have no choice other than to change our itinerary. We know you were looking forward to visiting Alaska as part of this unique adventure and we share your disappointment,” the statement remarked.

“To make it up to you, we will be posting a $200, per stateroom, onboard credit to your Sail & Sign account to enjoy a little something on us,” Carnival added.

The company will also reimburse any pre-purchased shore excursions for the destinations that are no longer being visited.

Now sailing directly to Asia, the Carnival Luminosa is scheduled to arrive in Japan earlier than planned and visit an additional port in the country. To accommodate the extra port of call, however, Carnival also cancelled a visit to Kushiro.

Following the revised itinerary, the 2009-built ship is scheduled to arrive in Otaru on Sep. 25, before heading to Hakodate on Sep. 26.

The remainder of the cruise, which also includes visits to three other ports in Japan and additional visits to Indonesia and the Philippines, hasn’t changed.

Spending the 2023-2024 winter in Australia, the Carnival Luminosa is scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Oct. 15.