Looking for a perfect place to enjoy a complete solar eclipse? The Emerald Princess will give guests sailing the Mexican Riviera in April 2024 the rare opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse at sea.

“This rare occurrence in the cosmos is sure to wow millions but only the smallest fraction will ever experience this phenomenon via the ocean aboard an amazing cruise ship,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. Read more...

The first Princess Cruises restaurant primarily devoted to seafood has been unveiled in the new restaurant The Catch by Rudi, designed in partnership with culinary icon Chef Rudi Sodamin.

“The Catch by Rudi is my way of combining my love of food, seafood and people with my incredible culinary journey at sea and my lifelong history of cooking seafood across the globe to delight Princess guests,” Sodamin said. Read more...

The next generation of “The Love Boat” line will welcome cruise guests in early 2024. The new Sun Princess will be Princess Cruises’ largest, most contemporary and state-of-the-art ship in the popular cruise line.

With bright designs inspired by rays of sunlight and next-level expanded spaces, the new Sun Princess will include a show-stopping Arena theatre and stunning three-story dining venue – a first for Princess. Read more...

For those planning a cruise, Crown Cruise Vacations President Ross Spalding and his team of travel and cruise specialists are experts at booking families, friends and individuals on their dream cruise vacations. A great place for inspiration and insight when booking a cruise vacation is the Crown Cruise Vacations blog. Read more...

What better place for a wedding renewal ceremony than on Princess Cruises, the original Love Boat. And what better time than during the Valentine month of February when Princess Cruises will attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest multi-location vow renewal. Read more...

The Ketchikan Visitors Bureau now has a beautiful new totem pole, courtesy of Princess Cruises. Crafted by local carver Kelly White, the specially created totem pole is to celebrate the cruise line’s golden anniversary in Alaska.

Inspired by strong and important sea creatures, the totem pole features a killer whale, a powerful hunter and navigator of the seas; an octopus, a mysterious, intelligent and complex creature of the seas; and halibut, a proven reliable food source throughout the year.   Read more...

In 1989, Ilene Weiner and her husband set sail aboard the Fair Princess to the Caribbean. That was the beginning of an amazing journey and a long-lasting love affair.

Three decades later, Ilene is still cruising. She is now the most-traveled guest on Princess Cruises and just celebrated her 282^nd cruise, marking 2,500 days at sea. Read more...

Fannie “Q” Quigley (1870-1944) was quite a lady. She was a prospector, trapper, hunter, woodcutter, gardener, dog musher and great sourdough cook. She also offered tons of hospitality.

In honor of the Alaskan legend, Princess Cruises will be debuting a new restaurant and bar showcasing her story and featuring locally inspired dishes in a modern saloon setting. Read more...

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, standing center, and xx from left, attends the ceremony honoring Princess Cruises and the original cast of “The Love Boat” with a honorary star plaque at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, May 10, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Princess Cruises/AP Images)

Back in May of 1977, a new TV show premiered that was set aboard a cruise ship. Called “The Love Boat,” the series featured stories of romance, hijinks and adventure on the high seas.

It also made viewers think this cruising travel looks like a great deal of fun. Why not enjoy it themselves, viewers thought? Before long, Princess Cruise became a household name as the setting and, some say, the star of the show.

“The ‘Love Boat’ opened the hearts and minds of millions of television viewers to the adventures of cruise travel by way of the exotic destination our ships visited on the show,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “Today, our guests continue to create lasting memories and explore the world on our modern, fleet of 17 premium cruise ships.”

Now those long-ago actors have been honored with an honorary star plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Princess Cruises and the original cast of “The Love Boat” received recognition for their contribution to the history of television and support of the preservation for the Walk of Fame.

Princess Cruises becomes only the third brand to be recognized as a Friend of the Walk of Fame, joining L’Oréal PARIS and ABSOLUT Vodka.

Present for the presentation were Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Jill Whelan (Vicki), Ted Lange (Isaac), Bernie Kopell (Doc), Lauren Tewes (Julie) and Fred Grandy (Gopher) joined by Leron Gubler, CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Donelle Dadigan, co-chair of the Hollywood Historic Trust, the superintendent of the world-famous walk,  and Jan Swartz.

The honorary star plaque is located on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the main entrance to the Dolby Theater.

After the pilot show, “The Love Boat” show went on to enjoy phenomenal success, continuing for 10 seasons until 1987 as one of the highest-rated, prime-time television shows in the country.

Pacific Princess and Island Princess were the two original ships but as the show grew in popularity “The Love Boat” was filmed aboard many Princess ships at exotic destinations around the globe.

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruise Lines

     Image courtesy of Princess Cruise Line

Bill plans to snorkel and take photos of the colorful fish in the coral reef. Mae is looking forward to browsing through local arts and crafts at beach shops. And their son Mike wants to practice his paddleboarding.

The family from Maine says they have been looking forward to Princess Cays which offers plenty of adventure and attractions. Or folks can just lean back in a beach chair and relax.

The private 40-acre island area owned by Princess Cruise Line since 1992 is a fun stop on Princess cruises. Princess Cays is located in the Bahamas, in the southern portion of the island of Eleuthera, which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

The island is 100 miles long and about 2 miles wide. The island is graced with gently rolling hills and miles of sparkling white sand beaches and mangrove trees. Eleuthera is about 200 miles from where we set sail in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

As with all shore stops, passengers can stay aboard the ship and enjoy a huge choice of shipboard activities or they can go ashore for even more things to do. On Princess Cays, activities include swimming at the private beach, renting water fun equipment, shopping at the island marketplace and dining at the complimentary barbecue lunch.

Princess Cays has a coral reef teeming with schools of tropical fish for snorkeling and provides all the necessary equipment, including a small bag of fish food to ensure that snorkelers see plenty of fish up close.

Ships can’t dock here so Princess passengers have to take tenders from ship to shore and back. We will be anchored offshore only from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and it is not convenient to take the tender back and forth so passengers are packing what they need for a day on the island.

Bars and drink stations are plentiful on Princess Cays and a large barbecue lunch will be served from 11:30 to 2 p.m. on the island. Grill choices are burgers, hot dogs, chicken and ribs with all the fixings. There’s also a big tropical fruit area if diners want to eat light in anticipation of dinner on the ship.

Princess Cays is connected by a series of paved paths that lead to palm tree-dotted beaches where clamshells and private bungalows are available for rent. Bring water shoes, as the shoreline by the water can have sharp rocks and coral fragments.

Unlike some other cruise line private islands, Princess offers excursions to nearby villages from Princess Cays. Although Princess uses a section of the island, the rest of Eleuthera is inhabited by a population of about 11,000 residents.

Princess Cruise Line runs excursions to some of the smaller villages outside the complex, such as Rock Sound known for its bottomless blow hole. The ocean hole is a perplexing natural phenomenon because even though the ocean is a mile away, the rock formation is filled with seawater that appears to ebb and flow with the tides.

On our day at Princess Cays, we saw a young couple get married on the beach. After exchanging vows, the wedding party posed for photos alongside the Caribbean. In their formal attire, the bride and groom and attendants jumped into the air numerous times so a photographer could try to capture the unusual photo.

Next, the groomsmen tossed the groom into the air and caught him for more photos. Then they tossed the bride aloft, still holding her wedding bouquet and wearing her long white dress as she came down safely into waiting arms while the camera clicked away.

The photos must have been pleasing because the wedding party gathered round the photographer, looked at the digital pictures in the camera and giggled. I imagine the newlyweds will have a fun photo album of Princess Cays to share when they return home.

Photo and Story by Jackie Sheckler Finch