Princess Cruises

Princess Cruise Line began its operations in 1965 by chartering ships from other companies to offer short cruises to destinations such as Alaska and the Mexican Riviera. In 1974, P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) acquired Princess Cruise Line and expanded its offerings to include more private destinations in the Caribbean, along with enhanced onboard services and amenities compared to other cruise lines of the time. As part of this expansion, Princess developed its own private island, named Princess Cays, located along the south coast of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. It’s worth noting that while marketed as an island, Princess Cays is actually a beach destination shared with other cruise lines.

In 2000, P&O Princess Cruises was officially established as a division of P&O, which also included P&O Cruises, P&O Australia, AIDA, and Princess Cruise Line. However, in 2003, Carnival Corporation completed a multi-billion dollar acquisition of all these entities. Subsequently, Carnival Corporation de-merged the individual cruise lines, leading to the formation of the independent entity known today as Princess Cruises.

Princess Cruises gained widespread recognition through the American television series ‘The Love Boat,’ (1977 to 1987) which prominently featured its ship, the Pacific Princess. In 2022, a reboot of the series featuring the Regal Princess was produced, but it was cancelled after the first season due to extremely low ratings.