The usual reason why a cruise line has small ships is well as large ships in their fleet is that over the years the line has been building larger and larger ships and as a result, the older ones are now relatively smaller than the newer ones. However, this is not always the case. Princess Cruises has three small ships in its fleet that are not the result of the evolution of the line’s fleet but rather because they could offer a somewhat different cruise experience.
Ocean Princess, Pacific Princess and Royal Princess (which will be joining sister company P&O Cruises’ fleet next year as Adonia) are part of a series of eight nearly-identical ships that were originally built for Renaissance Cruises. When that line went bankrupt, other lines swooped in to add these delightful little ships to their fleets. Oceania Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises now have the others.
Oceania and Azmara use these ships to provide luxury cruises. At Princess, the three small ships adhere to the same standards as the larger ships in the Princess fleet. However, while it is a Princess cruise, it is somewhat different.
On the one hand, these ships do not have all the options that one finds on a larger ship. However, the small ships have an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere like a country club or a British country house. They are also more intimate; one can get to know a substantial percentage of the crew and the passengers.
Ocean Princess, Pacific Princess and Royal Princess (which will be joining sister company P&O Cruises’ fleet next year as Adonia) are part of a series of eight nearly-identical ships that were originally built for Renaissance Cruises. When that line went bankrupt, other lines swooped in to add these delightful little ships to their fleets. Oceania Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises now have the others.
Oceania and Azmara use these ships to provide luxury cruises. At Princess, the three small ships adhere to the same standards as the larger ships in the Princess fleet. However, while it is a Princess cruise, it is somewhat different.
On the one hand, these ships do not have all the options that one finds on a larger ship. However, the small ships have an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere like a country club or a British country house. They are also more intimate; one can get to know a substantial percentage of the crew and the passengers.
Also, Princess does not use these ships to do the same type of cruising as its larger ships. They do longer cruises and rove the globe, often traveling to places where larger ships cannot go.
Beyondships’ profile of Ocean Princess is at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-OP-Profile.html The multi-page photo tour begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-OP-Tour-1.html and there is an interview with General Hotel Manager Daniele Cafiso in which he talks about the Ocean Princess cruise experience. http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-OP-art-HD.html
