Princess Cruises is restarting cruises for the first time in nearly two years. It’s been a long wait, but finally, the Carnival-owned cruise line can start to bring back cruise vacations, starting with the Majestic Princess from Seattle, Washington.
Majestic Princess Restarts from Seattle
The Princess cruise ship is the first in the fleet not to resume from the U.S. but the first in the world. The vessel departed the Port of Seattle at approximately 6:00 PM local time after 500 days on hold. The ship is sailing a seven-day cruise in Alaska, including calls in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, along with the stunning views of Glacier Bay.
The build-up has been well before today, when Princess Cruises and sister line celebrated the return of cruises on Friday, July 23. The event was attended by Jan Swartz, President of the cruise line, along with Donald Arnold, President of parent company Carnival Corporation.
On Saturday, Swartz visited the Majestic Princess in Seattle, just a day before the ship’s departure. She met all the crew and made a speech in the main atrium by thanking them all for everything they’ve done and understanding the hard times they’ve gone through.
Guests were welcomed on board Majestic Princess today at Pier 91 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to marks the restart of operations. Guest will get to enjoy all the amenities on board, and the ship offers a truly touchless experience with its Medallion Class tech, including OceanMedallion wearable devices.
Majestic Princess is back at sea thanks to the hard work of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, Congressman Don Young, and Governor Mike Dunleavy who have been pushing to get Alaska open again for cruise tourism. With the signing of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, cruise ships can temporarily bypass the Passenger Vessel Services Act and not needing to call in a foreign port when departing from the U.S.
Majestic Princess, one of the newest ships in the fleet, is sailing with fully vaccinated guests to ensure everyone on board remains protected. The ship will continue sailing Alaska from the Port of Seattle with ten cruises through September 2021.
On July 24, sister line Holland America restarted cruises for the first time with Nieuw Amsterdam from Seattle. On July 23, Celebrity Millennium also resumed from the port to offer cruises to Alaska. Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas was the first cruise ship to resume Alaska sailing from the port on July 19. Carnival Miracle is the next to resume when she departs on July 27.
