Princess Cruises upgrades its fleet

Princess Cruises is to embark on a multi-million pound upgrade of its fleet of 18 ships.

The upgrade to the Princess Cruises fleet, which will take place this year and next, follows the successful introduction of a number of features including Movies under the Stars, the poolside movie screen and adult-only retreat The Sanctuary.

Princess Cruises head of brand marketing Pieter van der Schee said, “We’ve had amazing feedback from guests who have cruised onboard our newest ships and have therefore decided to roll out many of the innovations from these ships to the rest of our fleet.”

“This means for example that Grand Princess, when she sets sail on her maiden season of Mediterranean voyages from Southampton this summer will have the popular 300 sq ft poolside Movies under the Stars screen and the adult only outdoor spa retreat The Sanctuary.”

Van der Schee said the developments follow a tradition of innovation at the cruise line, having introduced Royal Princess as the first cruise ship with all-outside rooms in 1984 , built – at the time – the largest ship Grand Princess in 1998 and having introduced Personal Choice dining.

As a part of the upgrade, Movies under the Stars will be added to most of the fleet (apart from the small ships, Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess, Royal Princess) and The Sanctuary will be added to all ships that do not already have it.

Star Princess and Caribbean Princess recently received these new features, and Grand Princess recently received The Sanctuary, preparing her for her maiden season of Mediterranean cruises from Southampton this summer.

Other new product enhancements being rolled-out across the fleet include:

• Chilled face cloths – chilled face cloths are handed out to passengers as they return from a hot day ashore and by the pool ‘misting stewards’ will offer a quick refreshing ‘spritz’ with Evian to cool off
• Flat screen TVs – staterooms are being upgraded with Viewsonic 26″ flat screen televisions
• Sabatini’s suite breakfast programme – passengers in full suites can enjoy an exclusive breakfast in Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria on sea days featuring speciality items
• New waffle stations – the 24-hour international food buffet area Horizon Court on each ship, will feature new waffle stations offering fresh, cooked-to-order waffles at breakfast and lunch and complimentary lemonade
• Ultimate Ships Tour – a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship visiting backstage, galley, engine room, print ship, photo lab, laundry room, funnel, bridge etc lasting approx 3 hours on a sea day and costs $150 per person
• Chef’s Table – for $75, passengers are welcomed into the inner sanctum of the ship’s galley by the executive chef for pre-dinner drinks and hors d’oeuvres followed by a specially prepared multi course tasting dinner – designed as a unique treat for ‘foodies’ hosted by the executive chef
• WI-FI – ‘hotspots’ for internet access have been expanded throughout the fleet.