The Crown Princess May 7 sailing to Alaska has been changed. The cruise line informed guests in a letter that scheduled engine maintenance has forced several changes to its scheduled ports of call.
The scheduled maintenance means that Crown Princess cannot operate at her full speed during the upcoming voyage. While Princess ensures that the safety of guests and crew is in no way compromised by the lack of speed, the maintenance does come as a surprise. The vessel will be on its first cruise in more than two years.
Crown Princess Engine Maintenance
Due to scheduled engine maintenance, Crown Princess’s May 7 sailing has been adjusted. Back to operations after more than two years, the voyage would have been the first since the global pause in operations in March 2020.
In a letter sent to guests, the cruise line says, “Please be advised that due to scheduled engine maintenance, Crown Princess will not be operating at full speed during your upcoming cruise. This in no way compromises the safety of our guests and crew, which is our highest priority but does require us to make some revisions to your cruise itinerary.”
Crown Princess will no longer be calling to Ketchikan on Thursday, May 12. Instead, Princess Cruises has included a call to Icy Strait Point from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Wednesday, May 11.
The vessel will also arrive at the first port of call, Juneau, at 3:30 PM on Monday, May 9, instead of 12:00 noon. The arrival to Skagway is one hour earlier, at 6:00 AM instead of 7:00 AM, due to the various changes.
The reason for the scheduled engine maintenance is unclear at this time. While vessels do need regular maintenance to keep them running effectively, it seems strange that this maintenance would happen during the first voyage after two years of downtime. Guests booked on this voyage will receive a refundable credit of $100 applied to the onboard account.
Read Also: How Much Does an Alaskan Cruise Cost?
The new itinerary will be Juneau, May 9; Skagway, May 10; Glacier Bay, May 11; Icy Straight Point, May 12; Victoria, British Columbia, May 13; and returning to Seattle on May 14.
Crown Princess Returns To Service
Guests disembarked Crown Princess for the last time on March 16, 2020. On May 7 she will finally welcome guests back on board again.
Through September 22, the vessel will be spending the entire summer in Alaska, sailing from Seattle, Washington, on 19 7-night cruises and one 5-night cruise.
Seven-night cruises typically include calls to Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm, Ketchikan, and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
After her season in Alaska, the 113,561 gross tons Crown Princess will be heading over the Vancouver for a 15-day voyage to Hawaii.
Crown Princess will conclude the year sailing from Los Angeles on a 28-night Hawaii, Tahiti & Samoa cruise and two 15-night Hawaii cruises.
Several Princess Cruises ships will be making their return in the upcoming weeks, including Island Princess and Royal Princess.
