Princess Cruises has announced that 2020 will be its biggest season ever sailing in European waters, increasing its availability by 15% compared to 2019. It will be the first time ever that three Princess Cruises ships will sail a full season from Southampton.
In addition, the company's newest ship, the Enchanted Princess, will be christened in Southampton at the end of June. This cruise ship will be the first Princess Cruises vessel to have the traditional ceremony in the UK since 2013, when the Royal Princess was christened.
The Crown Princess, with a capacity for 3,080 passengers, will sail from Southampton for 150 days, from May to November. Meanwhile, the Island Princess, with a capacity for 2,200 people, will sail from the English city to Northern Europe; finally, the Regal Princess will cruise British waters from May to September.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess will set sail for the Mediterranean, also visiting the Canary Islands and Northern Europe, including new destinations. The ship will sail for eight days from the Norwegian Fjords with stops in Bergen, Ålesund, Olden/Nordfjord, Hellesylt, Geiranger, and Stavanger. In the summer, it will embark on a 13-day itinerary visiting Barcelona, Marseille, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Sardinia, and Ceuta. Similarly, for 17 days, it will cruise the Mediterranean, visiting Lisbon, Santorini (Greece), Mykonos (Greece), Kusadasi (Turkey), Katakolon (Greece), and Cartagena. The ship concludes with a five-day cruise to Rotterdam and the Channel Islands.
Before beginning its UK season, the Crown Princess will make a series of short cruises around the Mediterranean in April and May.
The Island Princess, also based in Southampton, will offer new cruises, such as the 12-day Northern Capitals cruise: Hamburg (for Berlin), Copenhagen, Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels/Bruges (Zeebrugge), and Paris (Le Havre); and the 14-day Scandinavian and Russian cruise, visiting Bornholm (Denmark), Stockholm, Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg, Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Visby (Sweden), Helsingborg (Sweden), and Copenhagen. The visits to Stockholm and St. Petersburg will be overnight. The ship will also offer a 12-day Northern Lights cruise on two occasions. This cruise will call at the Norwegian cities of Ålesund, Tromsø, Alta (overnight visit), and Stavanger. Finally, it will depart for New York from Northern Europe on a voyage that can last either 16 or 32 days, depending on whether it is a one-way or round-trip journey.
Meanwhile, the Enchanted Princess will be christened at the end of June 2020 and will set sail for the Mediterranean in the summer. The Regal Princess will also sail around the British Isles from May to September, visiting Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, and Edinburgh. This will be the first time the ship has spent its season based in the UK.
Meanwhile, the Sky Princess cruise ship, with a capacity for 3,660 passengers and scheduled to set sail next year, will spend its inaugural spring/summer season cruising the Scandinavian Peninsula on a round trip from Copenhagen. From April to September, the ship will visit Stockholm, Oslo, Tallinn, Helsinki, Berlin (Warnemünde), and St. Petersburg, where it will make an overnight stop.
Therefore, three of Princess Cruises' newest ships – Enchanted, Sky, and Regal – will be based in Europe in 2020.The new routes are part of Princess Cruises' 2020 program, which includes voyages to Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Alaska, Canada, and New England. The UK-based ships, Crown Princess and Island Princess, set sail on Thursday, November 8, with the rest of the Europe, Caribbean, and Canada-New England cruises; and on November 15, they sailed to Alaska and Japan.
Meanwhile, the Diamond Princess will sail the Sea of Japan, visiting major Japanese cities. A total of 65 cruises will depart from Tokyo or Kobe on a ship with a capacity for 2,670 passengers. The Asian country takes center stage in Princess Cruises' new season. Similarly, this summer there will be up to 28 Caribbean cruises departing from Fort Lauderdale, with options of seven, 14, or 21 nights; 63 cruises to Australia on four ships departing from Fremantle, Auckland, Brisbane, or Sydney; and around 130 to Alaska, departing from Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Whittier, or Vancouver. The list concludes with 16 voyages on the Canada-New England route, departing from Fort Lauderdale, New York, or Quebec.
In 2020, all Princess Elite passengers will be able to book a cruise up to 48 hours before departure. Furthermore, all itineraries are available with a small deposit of €60 per person.
The Vice President of Princess Cruises for the UK and Europe explained that “Europe remains the most popular holiday destination for our European guests, so we are delighted to offer more options than ever before in 2020. The fact that Southampton is witnessing the launch of the Enchanted Princess, and that we have two of our newest ships, the Sky Princess and the Regal Princess, sailing in Europe, confirms the growing popularity of Princess Cruises in the UK.”
