Princess Cruises president John Padgett has hailed the “critical” UK market as the line noted high repeat rates, strong sales of its ‘plus’ and ‘premier’ packages and an increase in younger passengers.
Padgett was speaking during a trade showcase for about 300 agents onboard Sun Princess in Southampton and said the decision to homeport two ships in the UK in 2026 reflected strength of demand in the line’s third largest source market.
“The UK market is a leader with our bundle product, perhaps the highest (market) and we are seeing first-time passengers coming back with a very high repeat-rate,” he told a Travel Weekly Webcast.
“We are also getting younger Brits – not teenagers but we are seeing an age (profile) down about five or 10 years.”
Padgett admitted Princess took time to fine-tune its experience for UK guests but said it had now “cracked it”, with adjustments resulting in Sky Princess from Southampton gaining the fleet’s highest performance scores in the last quarter.
He said the strong performance was driven by Princess’s Medallion onboard technology, which he insisted had yet to be replicated by other lines.
UK & Europe vice-president Eithne Williamson confirmed UK bookings are tracking well ahead year-on-year, with 2026 bookings 50% ahead of 2025 sales at the same point last year and fly-cruise bookings up 13% year-on-year.
More than 70% of those booked for 2026 have also opted to upgrade from the Princess standard package to either plus or premium.
Padgett said Princess was committed to delivering Sun Princess’s sister ship Star Princess on time for a revised delivery date next September, after the first ship in the Sphere Class experienced late delays due to last-minute work.
Princess Cruises and the Fincantieri shipyard mutually agreed to postpone the delivery of Star Princess from July 29 to September 26, resulting in the cancellation of the nine planned inaugural sailings.
Padgett also said the line was continuing to make “tweaks” to Sun Princess after six months of operation, including changes to some restaurants and in lounges and the ship’s gym.
He said: “Star will be a duplicate of the Sun but weare still tweaking the Sun. It is a new concept and after sailing for six months we are now in the process of fine-tuning.
“This ship is getting exceptional guest feedback and we are committed to getting Star delivered on time.”