Tag Archives: princess cruises

Pacific Encounter Sets Sail on Maiden Cruise for P&O Australia

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Another cruise ship is resuming service in Australia today as the Pacific Encounter welcomes guests onboard for its maiden voyage for P&O Cruises Australia, a Carnival Corporation brand.

Formerly operated by Princess Cruises, the 2,600-guest vessel is kicking off its first sailing for P&O Cruises Australia in Brisbane.

A seven-day voyage, the “Barrier Reef Discovery” cruise features a visit to two different destinations in Northern Australia, including Cairns – where the Encounter is set for a long, 48-hour stop.

Before returning to Brisbane, the 109,000-ton ship will also sail by the remote Willis Island.

According to P&O, the scenic cruising around the uninhabited small islands and islets of the region allows guests to contemplate and marvel the nature and its sights.

Continuing its inaugural season, the Pacific Encounter will offer additional departures from Brisbane through December.

While several domestic ports are included in the itineraries over the next few months, the vessel will also offer international cruising starting in October, with cruises visiting Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and more.

Originally named Star Princess, the Pacific Encounter was built in 2002. Transferred to P&O Australia during the pandemic, the vessel was subjected to a major refurbishment before arriving in Australia.

According to its new operator, the work included important technical upgrades as well as other enhancements such as upgraded hotel facilities and interior furnishings.

During the refit, most of the public areas have also been redesigned, receiving what P&O calls a “stylish modern Australian décor with quirky features.”

Popular dining outlets have been added as well, including the Waterfront Restaurant, the Dragon Lady and Angelo’s – an Italian venue that sports iconic Sophia Loren artworks and beautiful drapery.

On the external side, the vessel received P&O’s iconic red, white and blue bow livery depicting the Southern Cross.

Following the Pacific Explorer, which welcomed guests in May, the Pacific Encounter became the second ship to resume service for P&O Australia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Launching service on October 22, the Pacific Adventure will mark the restart of the company’s entire three-ship fleet.

Princess Cruises to Sponsor Trackhouse Racing in NASCAR

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Princess Cruises today announced a deal with Trackhouse Racing to sponsor driver Daniel Suárez in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

Princess will serve as the primary sponsor on Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International race on Aug. 21 and at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway on Oct. 23.

The partnership will also include Suárez’s teammate Ross Chastain and expand beyond what race fans will see on Sunday. In the coming weeks, Princess Cruises and Trackhouse Racing will unveil a program that will enable NASCAR fans to travel its ships around the world.

“We are proud to partner with Trackhouse Racing and enter the NASCAR world,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. “Trackhouse has been one of the most exciting and interesting teams, we appreciate and applaud Daniel and Ross’s impressive success and we look forward to showing NASCAR fans the exceptional, vacations Princess Cruises offers. We have a lot of plans that we think NASCAR fans are going to really like.”

Trackhouse Racing is in its second season in the Cup Series. Suárez and Chastain have visited victory lane three times in 2022 and are two of the favourites in the 16-driver playoffs that being Sept. 4 in Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

“I can’t certainly tell you the type of trip I am going to go on this off-season if we win the championship,” said Suárez who became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. “I think everyone has heard of Princess Cruises and dreams of going on a trip somewhere special. I hope we can help a lot of people do that soon.”

Trackhouse founder and team owner Justin Marks said the new partnership with Princess Cruises is another testament to the team as well as the sport of NASCAR.

“The biggest and most recognizable companies are seeing the value in Trackhouse Racing, our drivers and the sport of NASCAR,” said Marks who brought in entertainer Pitbull as a team partner last year as part of its off-track effort to expand the sport’s fan base beyond its normal demographic. “Princess Cruises is a powerful brand and the goal of this partnership is to expose our fans to the wonders of a Princess cruise vacation and provide NASCAR fans a very cool way to travel the globe.”

Carnival Corporation is upgrading its ships’ engines and technical systems to improve energy efficiency

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The “service power packages” upgrades will include ongoing installations throughout 2023 on ships belonging to the company’s nine brands – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Australia, Costa Cruises, Aida Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cunard.

Developed over the last six years and tailored to each vessel, upgrades to save energy include investments in variable speed drives and on-demand automation and controls, cooling enhancements, energy-saving LED lighting and more efficient heating and ventilation systems.

Carnival estimates the programme will deliver an average of 5-10% fuel savings per ship and is expected to reduce fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions by more than 500,000 metric tons each year.

The upgrades will also result in around $150 million in fuel cost savings per year.

Carnival’s chief maritime officer Bill Burke said: “Based on our improved fleet composition, including adding six industry-leading LNG-powered ships, and our previous investments to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, our absolute carbon emissions peaked in 2011 despite significant capacity growth over the past decade.”

“These tailored service power packages further build on those efforts as part of our comprehensive approach to sustainability.”

The fleet-wide enhancements are part of Carnival’s energy efficiency investment programme. The company has committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 20% from its 2019 baseline by 2030, supporting its efforts to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050.