Princess to Base Five Ships in Europe for 2007 Season
Princess Cruises will make its largest ever Europe deployment in 2007 when it sends five ships to the Continent, offering 81 departures and 31 itineraries visiting 110 ports, a 33 percent increase over last year. The extended season will start in April and run through December 2007.
The Emerald Princess, Princess Cruises´ next ship currently under construction at Italy´s Fincantieri shipyard, and the Royal Princess, the ship it will acquire from U.K.- based Swan Hellenic, will both make their Princess debuts in 2007 in the Mediterranean and will offer Med itineraries throughout the season.
The Emerald Princess´ first sailing will be out of Rome, scheduled for April 11, 2007. The 113,000-ton vessel will embark on a 12-day Greek Islands itinerary and will then offer a series of Greek Islands and Mediterranean cruises before heading to Fort Lauderdale in October.
The Royal Princess will add new ports to Princess´ itineraries, visiting Ravenna, Italy; Split, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; and Canakkale, Turkey. The ship also will resume Holy Land trips to Israel and Egypt, which had been on hiatus.
In addition, the Grand Princes will sail a mainly Northern Europe series; the Star Princess, predominantly in the Baltic region, with a few late-season Greek Isles sailings; and the Sea Princess will sail out of Southampton, England, with a series of Iberian, Mediterranean and Scandinavian sailings.