Princess plans record six ship deployment in Europe in 2008

Princess Cruises has joined US rival Royal Caribbean International in announcing its largest ever ship deployment in Europe for 2008.

The line is to have six ships in the region next summer, including both Sea Princess and Grand Princess operating from Southampton to give a combined capacity of 4,550 beds.

Newly launched superliner Emerald Princess and sister ship Crown Princess plus more intimate ‘boutique-style’ Royal Princess and Pacific Princess will also sail in European waters next year.

Prices start at £649 for a seven-night cruise on Sea Princess from Southampton in the programme which goes on sale on Monday (April 2).

Early booking discounts of up to 45% apply for cruises booked by August 31 in addition to free places for children on selected Sea Princess sailings from Southampton. Free coach transfers or car parking in Southampton apply to all 14-night Mediterranean cruises on Sea Princess and 12-night ‘Fire & Ice’ cruises on Grand Princess for bookings also made by the end of August.

UK director Peter Shanks said: “After a record year in 2007, Princess has reaffirmed its growing commitment to Europe with our biggest ever cruise programme. 

“With the deployment of six ships – including the brand new, 3,110 passenger, Emerald Princess and Crown Princess in Europe for the first time – we offer really diverse itinerary choices for discovering the Mediterranean, Scandanavia, Canada and New England.”

The line’s ‘Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Canada and New England 2008’ brochure features a wider variety of itineraries with a choice of seven, 10, 12, 14 and 16-night cruises. Princess claims it will provide more balcony cabins than any other major cruise line in the UK market.

Following Grand Princess’s two cruises from Southampton to the Norwegian Fjords, North Cape and Iceland in 2007, an additional sailing has been added for 2008. The line expects demand for these cruises to grow by 50% in 2008.  A 12-night ‘Fire & Ice’ cruise on Grand Princess starts at £1,089 per person.

Following its maiden season this year, 3,110-passenger Emerald Princess returns as the company’s newest ship in the Mediterranean in 2008 operating 12-night Mediterranean and Greek Island fly-cruises. Charter flights from London and Manchester to Barcelona, Venice and Rome will feature extra legroom, leather seats and healthy menu. Prices start at £1,389 per person.

Crown Princess will join sister ship Emerald Princess in Europe for its first ever season of 10- night cruises from Copenhagen, visiting the capitals of the Baltic region, including a two-day visit to St. Petersburg. The 3,110 passenger Crown Princess will be the biggest cruise ship to sail in the Baltic Sea, the company claims. Prices start at £1,099 per person.

A series of new ‘Classical Europe’ cruises taking in many major cities in both the Mediterranean and Scandanavia as well as St Petersburg in Russia are on offer on 670-passenger Royal Princess – formerly Swan Hellenic’s Minerva II – after its maiden season this year. Itineraries include Princess’s series of regular transits of the Kiel Canal as the ship sails from Rome to Stockholm on a 16-night return itinerary from £1,699 per person.

Similarly-sized Pacific Princess will offer more ‘off-the-beaten-track’ cruising, visiting  Ravenna (Italy), Split (Croatia), Kotor (Montenegro) and Canakkale (Turkey); all UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as the Holyland, Egypt, the Black Sea and other destinations in its first season of Mediterranean cruising.

Shanks explained: “As ships get larger and larger we are also seeing demand for smaller ships increase as well. We can now offer a big ship or a small ship experience in Europe.” 

Sea Princess will offer a new programme of Canada and New England cruises in autumn 2008, with a new itinerary sailing between New York and Quebec, and a repositioning cruise from Southampton to New York via Iceland and Greenland.

by Phil Davies