About Princess Cruises
Editor's Note: In December 2009, Princess Cruises announced that Royal Princess will leave the fleet in May 2011 to join British sister brand P&O Cruises. It will be renamed Adonia.
What began as the little cruise line that could has evolved into a cruise industry giant. Beginning its operations with a 6,000-ton converted ferry chartered from the Canadian Pacific Railway as a small luxury liner between Los Angeles and the Mexican Riviera in 1965, Princess Cruises now has 17 ships sailing the globe on approximately 100 itineraries that range from 7 to 107 days and visit more than 350 ports.
Princess Cruises' fleet is among the industry's most contemporary: The line has launched half of its ships in the 21st century. In 2002, the company acquired three vessels from now-defunct Renaissance Cruises: the rechristened Tahitian Princess (to be renamed Ocean Princess in November 2009), Pacific Princess and Royal Princess. Most recently in 2007, the line launched Emerald Princess, and its sister ship, Ruby Princess, set sail in the fall of 2008.
Princess is now part of the industry's giant Carnival Corporation, a merger that occurred in 2003 when Carnival acquired Princess' parent company, U.K.-based P&O Cruises, in a hostile takeover tug of war with Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. From what we've seen, the operation of the line has, by and large, remained the same although some repeaters say they are starting to notice the Carnival influence.
Read the complete Princess Cruises Review
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