In the Caribbean, Princess will sail six ships on 13 itineraries with 129 departures visiting more than 25 ports in these fabled islands. Ruby Princess will take over the line's 10-day Eastern and Southern Caribbean itineraries, offering some of the less-visited ports in the region. Emerald Princess sails on the line's Eastern Caribbean itinerary and Crown Princess will feature the Western Caribbean with an enhanced itinerary now featuring the lovely island of Roatan, Honduras. Caribbean Princess continues to sail on alternating seven-day Southern Caribbean sailings from San Juan. Grand Princess returns with an extensive 14-day Caribbean Collection route and Sea Princess will again sail on 14-day voyages from Barbados.
On the Pacific side, Princess again returns to its "south of the border" cruising roots with two ships - Sapphire Princess sailing on the classic seven-day Mexican Riviera route from Los Angeles and Star Princess cruising on 10-day voyages from San Francisco.
"The Caribbean and Mexican Riviera both offer the delightful sense of fun and make for a wonderful warm weather escape," said Jan Swartz, Princess senior vice president. "And passengers will also be able to enjoy an array of fantastic ships on these routes, including Caribbean Princess and Star Princess with brand new piazza-style atriums and a number of new features."
Princess' Caribbean and Mexican Riviera itineraries for 2009-10 include:
Caribbean
Emerald Princess - Emerald Princess sails to the Eastern Caribbean, with roundtrip cruises from Ft. Lauderdale on Sundays. The itinerary features calls in line's own Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. Emerald Princess offers 28 sailings between October 11, 2009 and May 2, 2010.
Crown Princess - Crown Princess takes over the line's roundtrip seven-day sailings to the Western Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale with an enhanced itinerary that now offers calls in Roatan. The ship will sail on 27 Saturday departures with stops at Grand Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel and Princess Cays. Crown Princess' season will run from November 7, 2009 through May 8, 2010.
Caribbean Princess - Caribbean Princess sails from San Juan on two alternating seven-day itineraries. The Classic Southern Caribbean route features 14 sailings to the ports of St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia, while 14 Southern Caribbean Explorer sailings travel to St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. Cruises depart between November 1, 2009 and May 9, 2010. Caribbean Princess will also offer one eight-day Bermuda & Eastern Caribbean sailing from New York to San Juan calling at Bermuda, St. Kitts, Antigua and St. Thomas, departing October 24, 2009.
Ruby Princess - Ruby Princess offers a set of alternating 10-day sailings roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale - one to the Southern Caribbean and the other to the Eastern Caribbean. The Southern Caribbean Medley itinerary, offered on 10 sailings, includes calls at Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. The Eastern Caribbean Voyager itinerary, featured on nine sailings, offers calls at Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Emerald Princess' Caribbean season runs between October 25, 2009 and April 29, 2010.
Grand Princess - Grand Princess offers more time to explore the islands with a 14-day Caribbean Collection itinerary roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale. The ship sails to Grand Turk, La Romana, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Barbados, Trinidad, Curacao and Aruba. Grand Princess offers nine departures between December 21, 2009 and April 23, 2010. The ship also offers a new 11-day Grand Southern Caribbean sailing on January 4, 2010, calling at Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.
Sea Princess - Sea Princess will offer a series of alternating 14-day Caribbean voyages from Barbados. Seven sailings of the Grand Caribbean Islander route feature calls at St. Lucia, Trinidad, Grenada, Bonaire, Curacao, Montego Bay, Samana, Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua and Dominica. The ship will also offer seven sailings on a Grand Caribbean Adventurer itinerary that features stops at St. Vincent, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Samana, Tortola, St. Kitts, Antigua and Dominica. To begin her season, Sea Princess offers a seven-day Southern Caribbean sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Barbados featuring calls at Princess Cays, Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua and St. Lucia. In spring the ship sails back to Ft. Lauderdale from Barbados with a six-day sailing to Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. Sea Princess sails between October 10, 2009 and May 1, 2010.
Mexican Riviera
Sapphire Princess - Sapphire Princess will again set sail from the Port of Los Angeles on 32 departures to the sunny Mexican Riviera. This favorite seven-day roundtrip route takes in the prime ports of call of Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. Sapphire Princess will depart on Saturdays between September 26, 2009 and May 1, 2010.
Star Princess - Star Princess will a offer a longer, 10-day roundrip Mexican Riviera voyage from San Francisco featuring calls at Acapulco, Zihuatanejo/
Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises are available for booking on June 5, 2008. Escape Fares for seven-day sailings start at $599 per person, based on double occupancy. Past Princess passengers are eligible for up to $50 in Captain's Circle Launch Savings on bookings made by December 31, 2008.
Additional information about Princess Cruises is available by calling your certified cruise counsellor, Kenneth Chow, Accredited Cruise Counsellor (ACC) of Cruise Planners at 800-839-7135, kchow@cruiseplanners.com or www.nycvaluecruise.com.
