For this edition of Travel Talk Thursday, the team at Travel Time TPI spoke to Cindy, a representative from one of our most popular partners, Princess Cruises. Cruises really are the ultimate vacation. At Travel Time – TPI, we specialize in cruises and how to get the most out of your cruise package.
Scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the video event that was broadcast live for Travel Talk Thursday with Travel Time!
Princess Cruises is a great premier cruise line that likes to take our guests all over the world. They have 14 ships and are back in action this year, visiting over 380 different destinations. They’re actually known as the world’s leader in destination cruises.
With their many great partnerships like the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, Princess Cruises can give you those extra experiences with unique excursions that get you involved in every destination. And on board, they have even more to offer. Keep reading to learn why you should book a Princess Cruise today!
Who is Princess Cruises for?
From our experience, there are three sub-groups of people that are most attracted to Princess Cruises:
- The learning family is usually on the younger side of their passenger group, where mom and dad want to show the children and experience things with the children around the world. They want to introduce them to new things and other cultures.
- The discerning traveler is someone who wants relaxation but still wants to explore. They want to be able to relax at the spa, have the lotus experience, do the adults-only section, then enjoy having some adventure and learn some things when they’re out.
- The adventurous explorer is on the verge of semi-retirement. Most of the time these travellers are “empty-nesters”. All of a sudden, they have a little bit more time on their hands because the family’s gone or the kids are out of their home, they have a little bit more time on their hands to build and create that perfect vacation. For these passengers, it’s all about exploring new things.
What really sets the age for Princess is the itinerary. Interestingly enough, Alaska and the Caribbean are their busiest itineraries for families. Then when someone’s looking at a 30-day sailing around South America, that’s going to bring an older clientele because young families don’t typically have 30 days to go on a cruise.
What makes Princess Cruises different from other cruise lines?
If you’ve never been on a cruise before, you may think that all cruise lines are the same. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Each cruise line has something special to offer their guests, from perks to VIP groups. But, Princess Cruises has many exclusive affiliations and perks that most cruise lines just can’t offer.
Exclusive Destination Access
Being the destination leader, Princess Cruises makes sure their guests get the most in-depth experience. They have lots of help with partnerships with Discovery and with Animal Planet that give the passengers those opportunities to experience a destination on a deeper level, which makes the most memorable moments.
For example, in Costa Rica, you can go and visit the sloth sanctuary while you’re doing the Panama Canal cruise. Princess is the only one that is allowed in there because of our Animal Planet partnership, so it’s a unique experience.
Seamless Boarding
Most cruise lines also have to wait in the port for a few hours while they load the ship up. Princess Cruises does not have to do that anymore. Boarding is now a seamless process where guests can walk right through. Once on board the ship, you can get right to enjoying the food and entertainment.
Another part of ease of use is the new Ocean Medallion technology. This begins as soon as you get to your room. When you first come to your room, the door opens for you. It knows that you’re coming, and it’ll open the door and welcome you before you enter the room.
Ocean Medallion Service
Another perk of Ocean Medallion is ordering food and drinks from wherever you are on the ship. It’s like everybody has their own butler. So, if you’re beside the pool or on the balcony in your room, you can order food and beverages, and have them brought to you right where you are on the ship.
This is done through the device you are given upon boarding, in the app. You simply put your order in, and it comes right to you.
Dine My Way Feature
Princess Cruises has just come out with a new portion of Ocean Medallion, called Dine My Way. You can pick what time you want to eat and who you want to eat with. You can even tell them how fast or slow you want to eat based on how much time you have before the evening’s entertainment.
Even for allergies or food sensitivities, you can let them know on the device. That goes right to all of the staff to make sure you’re not being served any of your allergy triggers.
What are the COVID protocols?
After what’s happened in the past year, everybody has different levels of comfort with crowds. It’s a big thing, how comfortable you are with people around you. Princess Cruises has a solution for that. If you’re worried about crowds, you can look at live venue capacities, where you can go onto your device, look at a venue, and it will show you what the seating is like, how full it is, and then you can make an informed decision from there about what you want to do.
Vaccination Requirements
The number one question about Princess Cruises is their vaccination requirements. All trips this year are vaccinated sailings. What that means is at least 95% of guests have to be fully vaccinated, having both doses of a vaccine at least 14 days before departure.
At this point, they have not said if you have to be vaccinated for 2022 sailings. It really is up to the governments, the doctors, the World Health Organization.
On board the ship
There really is something for everybody on a Princess Cruises cruise ship. Nothing’s better than dinner and a show, and there is lots of that, plus there are pools and activities on board, so you’re never bored.
Food and Drinks
Princess Cruises is well known for its dining variety. One ship may have their steakhouse and Italian food, and then another may have sushi and a French bistro. Always on board is their famous pizzeria, as well as the International Cafe, which is open 24 hours and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Entertainment
Steven Schwartz is one of Princess Cruises’ other partners. He’s an award-winning producer and composer of many Broadway shows like Wicked, Godspell, and Pippen. He’s brought some of his famous shows onboard Princess Cruises’ ships. For the Alaskan Cruise, which is a family trip, Princess Cruises is also excited to be hosting The Muppets.
What is Princess Plus?
Princess Plus is an all-inclusive experience for Princess Cruises guests. This is for the people who want to pay once for everything, instead of constantly buying specialty food, paying tips, and other things. When you purchase the Princess Plus Package, it includes gratuities for the staff crew, unlimited Wi-Fi for your cruise, and their Premier Drink Package.
The Premier Drink Package includes everything: alcoholic beverages, water, pops, specialty coffees, smoothies, and milkshakes. Everything you can drink. Princess Pluss is also a much better value. And, if you pre-purchase this Princess Plus package it’s only forty USD per day. That’s a half-off discount on Princess Plus for your cruise!
Call Travel Time to book your cruise ahead of time
The most important piece of advice when booking a cruise is to book ahead of time. Not only do these cruises sell out quickly, but when you put down a refundable deposit and there’s a better price, you can unbook and then rebook without losing your place.
At Travel Time – TPI we specialize in cruises. We have several members such as Wanda, who is familiar with the different cruise lines and especially Princess Cruises that we’re talking about today. We are ready to answer all your questions and help you plan your next cruise vacation with Princess Cruises!
