Tag Archives: princess Cruise

Sapphire Princess Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Regal Princess Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Posted on by
Reply
Regal Princess arrives in the World Famous Port City of Liverpool on the 29th June 2023 and Spacejunkie2 took some great photos of the arrival.

Regal Princess in the Famous city of Liverpool, Photo credit  Spacejunkie2 Flickr -29/062023

The Regal Princess is completing its 10th year of service this month. Built for Princess Cruises at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the vessel officially debuted on May 20, 2014.

A sister to the 2013-built Royal Princess, the ship is the second in a series of six Royal-class ships for Princess Cruises.

For its maiden voyage, the Regal Princess offered a seven-night cruise to Italy, Turkey and Greece. Built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard, the vessel departed from Venice on an open-jaw cruise to Athens.

Sailing through the Eastern Mediterranean, the itinerary featured visits to Corfu and Mykonos, in addition to a two-day stop in Istanbul.

Throughout the summer of 2014, the Regal Princess offered Princess Cruises’ signature Grand Mediterranean cruises, with different seven- to 12-night itinerary choices.

In October 2014, the 3,600-guest ship crossed the Atlantic for the first time ahead of a winter season in the Caribbean.

Sailing from Port Everglades on Sundays, the Regal offered week-long cruises to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and the Bahamas during its inaugural program in the region.

The Princess ship is spending another summer in Europe in 2024.

Sailing from Southampton, the vessel is offering a series of 12-night cruises to the British Isles that feature visits to Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. Some itineraries also include stops in Wales, France and the Shetland Isles.

In early October the Regal Princess is scheduled to return to North America for a winter season in the Caribbean.

Now sailing from Galveston, the ship will offer six- to 11-night cruises to the Western Caribbean, featuring calls to ports in Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Belize and Grand Cayman.

Port Canaveral Breaks Record with 6.8 Million Cruise Passengers in 2023

Posted on by
Reply

Capt. John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO, delivered the annual State of Port address on November 8 at Cruise Terminal 1.

The world’s busiest cruise port, Port Canaveral, set an all-time high with 6.8 million cruise passengers in financial year 2023.

The port homeported 13 ships and received 906 ship calls, according to a press release.

Port Canaveral’s operational income reached an unprecedented $191 million, including a record-breaking $158 million from cruise operations, he said.

“This Port is an economic powerhouse in the state of Florida,” Murray said. “Central Florida benefits immensely from our operations, with numerous jobs created, businesses thriving, and increased tourism. We play a crucial role in supporting Florida’s tourism industry.”

In 2024 the port is expected to homeport 13 cruise ships, hosting 7.3 million passengers and anticipating 913 ship calls. In order to handle the growing cruise traffic, the Port will dedicate $78 million from its Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Projects budget to Port-wide parking improvements.

Additional improvements will include a new camp store, pavilion renovations, road paving, and RV site upgrades at the Port’s Jetty Park.

“We’re very excited for the future,” Murray said. “We have some great assets coming online in the next few years and a lot of surprises for the business as a whole.”