Princess Cruises plans major Asian deployment
Princess Cruises will commence its largest ever Asian deployment in 2014, when the Sapphire Princess liner arrives in Singapore for a four-month winter season.
The cruise line, which forms part of the Carnival Corporation, will base the 2,670-passenger ship in Singapore from autumn 2014 to spring 2015, offering 15 round-trip departures that can be combined to create separate 25 itineraries. Cruise lengths will run from a three-day trip to Malaysia to 11-day voyages to Vietnam and back, with stops in Brunei and Bangkok. Other itineraries include a 10-day Indonesia trip and five-day tours of Thailand. All itineraries will include shore excursions.
“Princess Cruises will be the first premium cruise line to have ships based in Singapore for an extended period,” said Alan Buckelew, the line’s president and CEO. “Our new Singapore-based deployment features superior itineraries specifically designed for the regional market which we believe will prove extremely popular and will help to introduce cruise vacations to a growing number of Southeast Asia vacationers.”
Approximately 40,000 passengers are expected to be carried by Princess during the first season from Singapore, with Carnival expecting a strong number of Asian customers, along with its traditional source markets of North America, Australia and the UK.
The 116,000-ton Sapphire Princess features a range of cabins with private balconies, a spa, several F&B outlets, shops and an internet café.