The third Princess Cruises cruise ship to return to service in the last ten days, Crown Princess, sails from Seattle today. The Crown-class cruise ship is destined for Alaska, where she will be sailing a summer season of Inside-passage cruises.
Today’s sailing marks the end of a busy ten days for the cruise line, where besides Crown Princess, two more ships commenced operations. Island Princess departed Fort Lauderdale on April 27, sailing to the Panama Canal, and Royal Princess sailed from Vancouver on May 2, starting her Alaska season.
Crown Princess Returns To Service
As she sets sail from Seattle, Washington, on May 7, the 113,561 gross tons Crown Princess will have welcomed guests back on board for the first time in more than two years. On March 16, 2020, the last guests disembarked when the CDC announced an operational pause for all cruise ships.
The return has not gone without issue, most notably in the last week as Princess Cruises announced several itinerary changes for the first cruise. Due to scheduled engine maintenance, Crown Princess will no longer call at Ketchikan on May 12. Princess announced the vessel would be calling at Icy Strait Point on Wednesday, May 11.
Arrival at the first port of call, Juneau, has also seen changes, with the vessel coming into port late in the afternoon instead of noon. The May 7 sailing is the first in a series of 19 Inside Passage voyages sailing from Seattle, concluding the season in Alaska on September 10, 2022.
Read Also: IDEAL Hotels Near Seattle Cruise Port
During the winter, Crown Princess will sail from Los Angeles for a season on the California coast and cruises to Hawaii. Before that, there will be a roundtrip cruise from Vancouver, which includes calls to San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, before returning to Vancouver, Canada on October 2.
A 15-night Hawaii cruise from Vancouver will follow. After that, Crown Princess will reposition to Los Angeles, departing on an epic 28-day Pacific Island cruise, with calls to Hilo, Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Hawaii; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Apia, Western Samoa; and Tahiti and Moorea, French Polynesia.
It’s been a Busy Ten Days for Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is making solid strides in getting the entire fleet operational. The second-largest cruise line in Carnival Corporation, the company has 15 cruise ships in total, of which 12 ships are now active.
Princess cruises returned three ships to service in the last ten days, including Royal Princess, sailing to Alaska, and Island Princess, sailing the Panama Canal.
“We’re so excited to have three more Princess MedallionClass ships return to service and our shipboard teams are ready to help our guests create a lifetime of vacation memories,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president.
“It’s so gratifying to see tens of thousands of guests each week enjoying their vacations with us and the friendly and attentive service that is a Princess Cruises hallmark.”
Three ships remain to return, with the full fleet expected to be fully operational in September of this year. Coral Princess will set sail from Brisbane, Australia, on June 16, 2022. She will be one of the first cruise ships to operate in Australia in over two years after the country only recently removed a cruise ban.
Diamond Princess will sail after the summer season, sailing from San Diego on a series of California Coast and Mexican Riviera voyages. Lastly, Sapphire Princess will return to service on September 24, 2022, sailing cruises to the California Coast, Mexican Riviera, and Hawaii from Los Angeles.
