Inaugural Sailing of the Royal Princess

My wife and I feel very privileged today.  We accepted the invitation to sail on the inaugural cruise in North America of Princess Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Royal Princess.  You’ve heard and read about her, no doubt.  She was christened by the mother of Prince George, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, back in June, and has been sailing in Europe before crossing the Atlantic last week. 

We have been on several inaugural sailings with Princess. . .the Star Princess, the Ruby Princess, and the Diamond Princess, but this one tops them all.  Of course, they took from the best of the fleet, then added some other touches, and the Royal Princess is one beautiful ship.  A little history, it is the third ship to be named “Royal Princess”.  The first one was built in 1984, and she was christened by another Princess, Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales.

Of course the Island Princess and the Pacific Princess were the first ships in the Princess Cruise Line’s fleet, and the Island Princess came to fame in the public’s mind as the “Love Boat”.  The captain of the “Love Boat”, Gavin MacLeod, was also a passenger the past Sunday-Tuesday, and was part of the program on Monday.  We listened to his interview on the ships in-house television, and then watched in person as he was interviewed again in the theater.  For an 82-year old, he was just great!!. . .very gracious and kind, and sat for two hours while a great line of travel agents obtained his signature and took pictures with him.  It was a real surprise to listen to him talk from the stage about his belief in Christ and how that conversion several years ago was the most important decision he had ever made.  He was very personable with Paula and me, and hopefully we will have our picture up on facebook pretty soon.

Oh the ship!!  They have a SeaWalk that bows out over the water, so you walk on glass, looking down at the water.  Their Piazza is 50% larger than on any of their other ships; more entertainment venues, more shops, larger casino.  If you want serenity, the Sanctuary is a tranquil haven exclusively for adults.  Movies Under The Stars shows ball games, movies, and musical concerts; they have a venue for a Water and Light show at the Fountain Pool; the song and dance show in the beautiful theatre was one of the best we have ever seen.

We haven’t even mentioned the various dining venues; all of them are dazzling in décor with beautiful wood, glass, brass, and unusual chandeliers.  We saw more tables for two than in any dining room we have seen in quite some time.

She will be in the Caribbean, sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale this winter and spring, then head back to Europe to introduce guests to the Mediterranean in the summer of 2014.  We would love to get some of our Abilene friends on her, so give us a call at The Travel Factory. We will introduce you to one of those serious bucket list experiences on the Royal Princess.  Call at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040, or drop in for a face to face visit at 4150 Southwest Dr., Ste. 120.  Web page: www.thetravelfractoryabilene.com