Princess Cruises has five ships that spend the summer season in the Mediterranean and then return in the fall to the Southern Hemisphere. So, they have several transatlantic repositioning cruises to choose from.

A sister ship of the Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess is one of Princess’s newest ships. With more than 900 balcony staterooms, it’s a great ship for those who love being at sea. There’s a Sabatini’s Italian restaurant and Crown Grill in addition to the main dining rooms, and a Lotus Spa for relaxing. The atrium lobby is like a piazza with a sidewalk café and wine bar.

Crown Princess

She sails from London on September 3, 2010 and calls at Cornwall in England, Belfast and Dublin in Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland before disembarking passengers in New York on September 17. With seven port calls and seven days at sea, this voyage has a nice balance of activity and relaxation.

Grand Princess launched in 1998 as the first Princess Grand Class ship. For such a large ship — she carries 2,600 passengers — she’s surprisingly intimate with lots of cozy places. The adults-only Sanctuary is a good place to unwind and there’s a nine-hole putting course where you can work on your short game.

On Saturday, September 25, Grand Princess sails from London and visits Bergen in Norway, the Shetland Islands, Denmark, two ports in Iceland, and Nova Scotia before docking in Fort Lauderdale on October 11. With ten days at sea, this is a great choice for cruisers who want to enjoy the ship’s amenities and life at sea.

Ruby Princess is the same class as the Crown Princess, so she has the same dramatic, atrium lobby where passengers gather to enjoy a glass of wine or watch the performers. There are more than 900 balcony cabins to choose from, and several alternative restaurants.

Passengers embark Ruby Princess in Venice on October 8 and overnight onboard. She sails the next day and visits Naples, Rome, Cannes, and Barcelona. After three days at sea, she calls at Ponta Delgada, Portugal and then spends five days at sea en route to Fort Lauderdale. Passengers disembark there on October 24.

Grand Princess

Travelers with a little more time (16 nights) and a taste for the exotic should consider a repositioning cruise on the Star Princess this fall. The ship has three dining rooms, three showrooms, two alternative restaurants, and a full-service spa. With four pools, nine whirlpools, and a golf simulator, there’s plenty to do on sea days, and Movies Under the Stars are a fun evening activity.

Star Princess sails from Rome on Saturday, December 4 and calls at Florence, Cannes, Barcelona, and Casablanca and Agadir in Morocco. After five days at sea, she arrives at Recife in Brazil. After two more sea days, she arrives in Rio de Janeiro, where passengers overnight onboard the ship. They disembark in Rio on Monday, December 20.

Carrying just 64 passengers, Pacific Princess is one of the smallest ships in the Princess fleet. She is one of the R Class ships that Princess acquired from the now defunct Renaissance Cruises. And she’s a real gem to sail on. The food and service are a cut above, and the smaller scale contributes to on-board camaraderie.

Pacific Princess leaves Rome on Sunday, December 5th and visits Florence, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona. She calls at rarely visited Ceuta, which is a Spanish Territory, and then continues on to Casablanca. After visiting Ponta Delgada, Portugal, she spends four days at sea before arriving in Hamilton, Bermuda. She spends another two days at sea before disembarking passengers in Fort Lauderdale on December 22.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

Crown Princess Image Flickr: MoToMo
Grand Princess Image Flickr: P/\UL

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Repositioning cruises on Royal Princess.

Another one of the former Renaissance Cruises “R Class ships, Royal Princess is a sister ship to Pacific Princess.  It carries 710 passengers in style in 355 spacious and well-designed staterooms, 75% of which have balconies.

The beautiful, wood-paneled library with leather wing chairs is one of the largest at sea with over 4,000 titles.  And Sabatini’s Italian Restaurant and Sterling Steakhouse provide passengers with additional dining options.

Royal Princess spends the summer in Alaska and the fall in Tahiti, so she offers a couple trans-Pacific repositioning cruises.

On April 30, 2010, Royal Princess sails from Fort Lauderdale and calls at Aruba before transiting the Panama Canal.  After leaving the canal, she visits Costa Rica and four ports in Mexico before heading up the Pacific coast for San Francisco.  She’s in port until 10PM, which lets passengers spend the evening ashore in San Francisco.  Then she sails for Seattle, arriving two days later.  With a total of ten sea days, there’s plenty of time to relax and enjoy the ship’s amenities.

Once the Alaska season is over, Royal Princess heads to the South Pacific.  She leaves on September 14, 2010 from Vancouver, British Columbia and arrives in Hilo, Hawaii six days later.  She calls at Kona, Lahaina, and Kauai in the Hawaiian islands before arriving in Honolulu.  Passengers who embarked in Vancouver can stay aboard and sail all the way to Papeete, or disembark in Honolulu on September 24.

Those with less time can board in Honolulu instead of Vancouver.  They’ll visit Kauai, Lahaina, and Hilo before crossing the South Pacific.  After five days at sea, they’ll arrive in Bora Bora, where they’ll spend a full day before sailing at 3AM.  En route to Papeete, Royal Princess will call at Raiatea, and Moorea.  Passengers overnight aboard ship in Papeete and disembark the next morning.

After spending several months sailing the brilliant turquoise waters of the Society Islands, Royal Princess returns to Hawaii.  Passengers board in Papeete on December 5, 2010, overnight on board, and sail the next morning, calling at Moorea, Raiatea, and Bora Bora before beginning the Pacific crossing.  After five sea days, she arrives in Hilo, and visits Kona, and Maui before ending the voyage in Honolulu.  Cruisers who love being at sea will enjoy there voyages a lot.

Repositioning cruises on Ocean Princess.

The third of the old Renaissance ships, Ocean Princess was formerly the Tahitian Princess.  She offers some of the longest and most exotic repositioning cruises in the Princess repertoire.  And travelers with the time and money can enjoy an unforgettable experience both on board and ashore.

On March 20, 2010, Ocean Princess begins a 48-day voyage from Shanghai to Capetown.  Passengers can embark or disembark in several places along the way, creating the voyage that best suits their needs.

Cruising the Mediterranean

After leaving Shanghai, Ocean Princess visits Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Oman, Dubai, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Durban, and East London before arriving in Capetown.  Of the 48 days, 25 are at sea, so there’s a nice balance of port calls and days off.   And it’s hard to imagine so many diverse travel experiences rolled into one journey.

Her next voyage calls at some very exotic African ports, and this is a great way to visit some places you might be hesitate to travel to independently.  Ocean Princess leaves Capetown on May 7, 2010 for the North Atlantic and calls at ports in Namibia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Gambia, and Senegal before arriving in the Canary Islands.  From there, she sails to Funchal, Casablanca, Ceuta, Seville, Lisbon, and Le Havre before disembarking passengers in Dover.  If you want to see lots of Africa but still enjoy the comforts of home, this is a wonderful option.

At the end of the European season, Ocean Princess returns to Capetown, sailing from Rome on October 20, 2010.  Passengers will visit Sorrento, Barcelona, Nice, Portofino, Livorno, Rome, Livorno, Cannes, Barcelona, Tangier, Casablanca, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Namibia before arriving in Capetown.

From Capetown, she does the Singapore voyage in reverse, calling at Mozambique, Reunion Island, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Oman, Dubai, India, and Malaysia along the way.  From Singapore, she stops in the Phillipines, China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam before ending the voyage in Bangkok.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

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During the late 1990s, boutique cruise line Renaissance Cruises launched eight 684-passenger “R Class” ships that featured spacious cabins – many with balconies – old-world ambience, and intimate public areas.

Unable to survive the after-effects of 9/11, Renaissance ceased operations in 2001.  And today, three of their R Class ships have joined the Princess fleet as Pacific Princess, Royal Princess, and Ocean Princess.

For Princess cruisers who’ve only sailed on their 2,500+ passenger ships, these smaller ships will come as a revelation.  And many will find that less really is more.

First of all, the smaller ships can visit ports the big ship can’t – places like Kotor, Montenegro, and Ravenna, Italy.  And once you’re in port, you won’t find the town overwhelmed by cruisers.

On board, the service is really attentive, and the food is absolutely first-rate.  There’s a big difference between serving 350 diners at a time and serving twice that number.  And the difference shows in the quality, variety, and presentation of the food.

Avoid cabins at the front of the ship where you be awakened each morning by the anchor chain or the bow thrusters.

Repositioning cruises on Pacific Princess.

Sunset at Sea

If you have the time and the money, Pacific Princess will take you pretty much around the world in 2010.  She sails in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, along the coast of Mexico, across the Pacific, throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Asia, in the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic.

In some ways, the entire circumnavigation is one big repositioning cruise, with countless places to embark and disembark along the way.

She sails on January 27, 2010 from Fort Lauderdale and arrives in Rome 107 days later.  There are plenty of ports – and days at sea – in between.  And you can enjoy as many or as few as you can afford.

After leaving Fort Lauderdale, she calls at Aruba and Cartagena, Columbia before transiting the Panama Canal.  She then visits Costa Rica, Guatemala, an Mexico, before arriving in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles, she sails for Honolulu, spending five days at sea.  There’s another six days at sea before she reaches Fiji.  She calls at Vanuatu and three ports in New Zealand, before arriving in Sydney, where passengers can embark or disembark.

Pacific Princess calls at Cairns, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Truk, Micronesia, and Guam en route to Japan, Korea, and Beijing, China.  From there, she spends three days at sea before making port calls in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, the Maldives, Mumbai, Dubai, Muscat, and Luxor.

On the last leg before arriving in Rome for the summer Mediterranean season, she sails through the Suez Canal and calls at Athens and Sorrento before arriving in Civitavecchia.

By November, she’s ready to head back to the Caribbean.  Passengers can board in Athens on November 23, 2010 and visit Santorini, Patmos, Kusadasi, Nazareath, Jerusalem, Port Said, Alexandria, and Sorrento before arriving in Rome.

Those who have less time or have already sailed in the Mediterranean, can board in Rome on November 5 and call at Livorno, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Ceuta, Casablanca, and the Azores, before crossing the Atlantic.  They’ll call in Hamilton, Bermuda, and then spend two more days at sea before arriving in Fort Lauderdale.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

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