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Princess 2016/17 has fresh Caribbean, Canada/New England routes, longer port stays

New six- and eight-day Caribbean itineraries, evening and overnight stays in port, a Panama Canal voyage round-trip from Los Angeles and shorter Canada/New England fall getaways highlight Princess Cruises' 2016/17 Americas season.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

May 1, 2015

4 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

Ten ships will offer 255 departures of 62 itineraries between September 2016 and April 2017. Cruises sailing from US ports range from three days to 28 days. Bookings open May 21.

The lineup has four Caribbean ships, including the newest, Regal Princess and Royal Princess, joined by Caribbean Princess with fresh itineraries, and the small Pacific Princess. The new Dominican Republic port of Amber Cove will be offered on every seven-day eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Regal Princess.

Caribbean Princess' six- and eight-day cruises from Port Everglades can be combined for a 14-day 'Caribbean Adventurer' program spanning the western and southern Caribbean. Southern Caribbean sailings will visit Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba, with an evening stay at Oranjestad. The six-day cruise will call Cozumel, Belize and Roatán or Costa Maya.

Regal Princess will return to alternating seven-day eastern and western routes, which also can be combined. In addition to Amber Cove, the eastern cruise gives choices among stops at St. Kitts, Antigua or St. Maarten, with every sailing featuring St. Thomas, including a new evening stay. The western voyages will visit Princess Cays, Jamaica and Grand Cayman and include a full day and evening stay at Cozumel.

Royal Princess returns on the line’s most popular Caribbean itineraries—a 10-day 'Southern Medley' and 10-day 'Eastern Voyager,' which can be combined for a 20-day cruise. Destinations include St. Kitts, Barbados and St. Lucia as well as less-frequented ports such as Dominica, Grenada and Bonaire.

Princess will offer two short weekend getaways. Royal Princess will sail a four-day eastern 'Caribbean Getaway' visiting Grand Turk and Princess Cays, while Crown Princess will depart on a five-day cruise with stops at Princess Cays and Amber Cove.

Holiday voyages on all three ships offer a variety of choices, from seven to 21 days.

The intimate Pacific Princess will sail a special two-week 'Caribbean Connoisseur' voyage over the holidays that visits remote islands including the Grenadines, Tobago and the British Virgin Islands, with a maiden call at Cruz Bay on the US Virgin Island of St. John.

On the US West Coast, four ships will be deployed from three homeports—Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver—to Hawaii, Mexico and along the Pacific Coast, with voyages ranging from three to 28 days.

Three-, four- and five-day departures from Los Angeles are offered throughout the season on Crown Princess, Ruby Princess and Star Princess, with visits to Santa Barbara, Catalina, San Diego and Ensenada. Ruby Princess will depart on a five-day 'Baja Getaway' featuring an overnight at Cabo San Lucas.

Crown Princess will offer a fall departure of the line's 28-day 'Hawaii, Tahiti & Samoa' itinerary from Los Angeles to visit the islands of French Polynesia and Samoa without the need to take a flight. 

Grand Princess continues year-round cruising from San Francisco to Hawaii, Mexico and the California coast after the Alaska season.

Coral Princess and Island Princess return to the Panama Canal to offer 10-day partial transit or 15-day full transit voyages.

Island Princess will also offer 15-day cruises with two-day Canal experiences that combine a Canal transit with a day at Fuerte Amador, where passengers can visit Old Panama City and the surrounding rainforest, or tour the Gatun Locks to learn the history of the Canal and visit the Expansion Observatory Platform overlooking the waterway.

On Nov. 20, 2016, Island Princess will embark on the line’s first round-trip Canal voyage from Los Angeles since 2009. This 19-day cruise offers adventures including Mayan ruins, Mexico’s largest ecological preserve, the rainforests of Costa Rica, the volcanoes of San Juan Del Sur, the cobblestone streets and colonial architecture of Antigua, Guatemala (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and an overnight stay in Panama.

Pacific Princess will also join the Panama Canal lineup on several 17-day itineraries.

In Canada/New England, fall foliage sailings will operate on Regal Princess and Caribbean Princess, with more itinerary choices.

Regal Princess will continue the seven-day Canada/New England itinerary departing on Saturdays from New York, visiting Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John (New Brunswick) and Halifax (Nova Scotia). Regal Princess will also sail on a new, shorter five-day fall getaway from New York to Saint John and Halifax.

Caribbean Princess will cruise between Québec City and New York on the line’s 10-day 'Classic Canada & New England' itinerary, featuring an overnight stay in Québec and calls at New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as well as Boston and Newport. Caribbean Princess will also offer a more expansive 14-day 'Canada & Colonial America' itinerary from Québec City to Fort Lauderdale including visits to Bar Harbor, Norfolk, Saguenay and Sydney (Nova Scotia).

Two land and sea options combine a land tour with an East Coast cruise that focus on sites of colonial America or Niagara Falls and highlights of Eastern Canada.

The 'Historic America Land and Sea Vacation' features iconic sites such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate, Colonial Williamsburg, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Gettysburg Battlefield. The 'Maple Explorer Land and Sea Vacation' includes the capital of Ottawa, Montréal and guided tours of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, cathedrals and the historic 19th century Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Participants will also cruise through the Thousand Islands during the land portion of their tour.

 

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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