Princess Cruise Lines

Princess Cruise Lines are part of the biggest cruising companies in the world, although they are still probably best known for the TV series “The Love Boat” from the 1970s.

Princess Cruise Lines began in 1966 when the “Princess Patricia” was chartered by Stanley MacDonald to undertake cruises from Los Angeles to the Mexican coastline. The ship though had been designed for Arctic cruising, and came without any of the necessary features of an equatorial cruise. The “Princess Patricia” was then replaced by the “Princess Italia” a ship designed for the warmer climes, and was truly modern in every aspect. The “Princess Italia” ended up doing Alaskan and European cruises as well. A third ship, the “Princess Carla”, was quickly added to the growing company.

Princess Cruise Lines was going from strength to strength and in 1974 the company was purchased by P&O (the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company), who assed the “Sun Princess” to the fleet. The “Island Princess” and “Pacific Princess” were also built new fro P&O, it was on these two cruise liners that “The Love Boat” was set. P&O already had a large fleet and ships would be transferred between brand names, and the “Sea Princess” sailed for both brands from 1978. It wasn’t until 1984 that the first ship, the “Royal Princess”, was the first liner specifically built for the Princess Cruise Lines Company.

P&O continued to buy other cruise companies and with the purchase of Tour Alaska and Sitmar Line, further ships were acquired and new cruise routes were added to the company. Many ships and routes were added to the Princess Cruise Lines brand. Princess Cruise Lines ended up being separated from P&O in 2000, before Carnival Corporation merged with P&O and all of its separate companies, to incorporate twelve cruising brands.

Princess Cruise Lines is now marketed as Princess Cruises and runs seventeen cruise lines, which include three small ships. All of the liners are designed to provide all of the experiences of a five star hotel, but with what feels like a personal service. Depending on which ship you are on you can expect casinos, theatres and swimming pools. The liners also sail on a wide range of destinations, including world cruises, Alaska, Hawaii, South America, Europe, in fact pretty much anywhere around the world. Cruises from Princess Cruise Lines may not be cheap but they are an unforgettable experience.