Princess Cruises launches ‘Bon Voyage’ program
By: Johanna Jainchill – February 11, 2010 – TRAVEL WEEKLY
Princess Cruises will revive an old tradition with a new program allowing passengers’ friends and family to board their ship on embarkation day.
Set to debut in March, the Bon Voyage Experience will enable passengers to bring guests onboard during embarkation for a four-course lunch with wine, a ship tour and a souvenir photo. The $39 per-guest cost can be applied towards a future Princess cruise.
Princess said the program is a throwback to an old tradition, when friends and family would routinely board ships to say goodbye to passengers. The tradition died out two decades ago due to increasingly tighter security procedures, Princess said.
Passengers wishing to bring guests onboard can arrange it up to six days prior to the cruise. There will be no more than 50 guests allowed onboard on any embarkation day and all guests must supply the required security information and identification.
The program will debut in March in the ports of Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, and then roll out to New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
New Free Breakfast Items
During the last quarter of 2009, new food items were introduced as an addition to the scrumptious selection of breakfast treats to be found at the International Café and Horizon Court/Panorama Buffet locations.
Available on Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Golden, Ruby and Star Princess from 7am to 11am, the International Cafés now serve our new Yogurt & Granola Parfait with Raspberry Swirl and Bircher Muesli. Both items are nutritious alternatives for our more health-conscious passengers.
The next new item on the breakfast menu is the Egg, Bacon and Cheese Muffin, available at both the International Cafés and Horizon Court/Panorama buffets. Now passengers who crave this popular breakfast sandwich while onboard won’t be missing home quite as much, and won’t even have to dig around for the dollar they’d pay for it on land. The complimentary Egg, Bacon and Cheese Muffin is a savory morning indulgence that has proven to be quite a hit onboard Princess ships.
Mike Gresh, Sales Manager, Homeport Cruises, attains cruise industry’s highest ranking – ECCS 2009 Scholar. Who did you trust to book your last cruise?
Yes its big, but that’s only part of the story. Watch for our updates on Monday 11/23/2009. Get ready to have some fun again: surf’s up, zip line, climb that rock wall. visit Central Park, the Boardwalk – you get the idea!
NCL has been working hard the past few years to improve their service (they invented FreeStyle Cruising), build new ships and get the public to try their brand of easy going, unstructured cruising – and they’ve achieved that goal. Staff and customers onboard are relaxed, the entertainment is top notch and the food (especially the buffets) are excellent. You can choose from at least two main dining rooms for B/L/D and the buffet is almost always open – and in addition, they offer several alternative dining restaurants where a nominal fee of $10-$25 per person applies – like their steak house, Italian, Sushi, Lobster or Teppanyaki cuisine. Cruise prices are always reasonable – in fact, some of the best values going.
