Star Cruises

Star Cruises is the third-largest cruise line in the world behind Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean, and dominates the Asia-Pacific market. It also owns the Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, Orient Lines and Cruise Ferries brands with a total combined fleet of 22 ships and over 35,000 berths. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange SEHK: 678 and the Singapore Exchange SGX: S21 on Clob International.

Star Cruises is credited for almost single handedly developing the cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Its foray into the global shipping market has allowed it to tap into lucrative and more mature markets in North America and Europe. Its services cater to Asian passengers as well as to North Americans, Europeans and Australians interested in Asian destinations.

History

Star Cruises was founded as an associate of the Genting Group of Malaysia, incorporated in Bermuda on 10 November 1993 with its corporate headquarters in Hong Kong. The company's first ships were two cruiseferries acquired from the bankrupt's estate of Swedish Rederi AB Slite. In the following years the company purchased several other used ships. In 1998 Star Cruises took delivery of its first new build, SuperStar Leo, followed by sister ship SuperStar Virgo in 1999.

In the year 2000, Star Cruises acquired Norwegian Cruise Line (including its subsidiaries Orient Lines and Norwegian Capricorn Line) and became the first global cruise line. Norwegian Capricorn Lines operations were soon merged into those of Star Cruises. Before the purchase of NCL, Star Cruises had several new builds either planned or under construction, but most of these joined the NCL fleet instead of that of Star Cruises. In August 2007 Star announced that in exchange for $ 1bn (US) that 50 % ownership of NCL would pass to a large US Private Equity group - Apollo Management LP .

In 2001 Star Cruises founded a new daughter company Cruise Ferries which began operating one ship, Wasa Queen, on short cruises from Hong Kong to Xiamen; then on overnight gambling cruises from Hong Kong, and from July 2007 similar overnight gambling cruises from Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur) Malaysia.

With the operations of Norwegian Cruise Line having proven more profitable than those of Star Cruises itself, since 2006 the trend has been that new ships are built for NCL, and the old ships they replace are then transferred to the Star Cruises fleet in Asia.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is an American cruise line, based out of Santa Clarita, California, that operates cruise ships also shares the same building with Cunard Line headquarters. It is one of the many cruise lines operated by the Carnival Corporation. The company was made famous by The Love Boat TV series, in which two of its ships, the Island Princess and Pacific Princess were featured.

Princess Cruises began in the mid sixties, when Stanley MacDonald chartered Canadian Pacific Limited ferry Princess Patricia for cruises from Los Angeles during a time when she would have usually been in lay-up. However, Princess Pat, as she was fondly called, had never been designed for tropical cruising, and Princess ended her charter in favor of a more purpose-built cruise ship Italia.

The Italia had originally been ordered in 1963 and was one of the first to implement modern design elements, such as lifeboats mounted lower on the ship, allowing for uncluttered upperdecks, and engines placed far in the rear, allowing for spacious public rooms amidships. Gustavo Finali and Romano Boico had designed the ship's interiors, designers whose resumés included such ships as the Augustus and Raffaello (of Italian Line) and the Oceanic and Homeric (of Home Lines).

Construction proceeded slowly, and accordingly, the Italia was not launched until the spring of 1965, and during the fitting out, both the owners and the builder were declared bankrupt. The Italia was passed onto a bank who created a company to charter or sell the ship, and consequently, the company chartered the Italia to Princess.

Princess, who marketed the ship as Princess Italia but never officially renamed her, used the ship to inaugurate their Mexican riviera cruises out of Los Angeles, and did not even receive the Princess logo on her funnel until the following year.

In 1969, the Princess Italia was used on Alaskan cruises from San Francisco, but by 1973, the charter was canceled, and the Italia returned to Europe on charter to Costa Cruise Line.

Princess's third charter ship was none other than Costa's Carla C. Originally, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique's Flandre, the ship had been purchased by Costa in the late sixties and given a major rebuilding. Almost immediately after completion, the ship was chartered to Princess, and it was onboard the ship, which was marketed, but again not officially renamed, Princess Carla, that Jeraldine Saunders wrote the first chapters of 'Love Boat.'

Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) acquired Princess Cruise Line in 1974 and their Spirit of London (originally to have been Norwegian Cruise Line's Seaward) was transferred to the Princess fleet, becoming the first Sun Princess.

The two ships that were to be featured heavily in the television series 'Love Boat' were built in 1971 at Nordseewerke for Flagship Cruises and originally named the Sea Venture and Island Venture. In 1974, P&O purchased them for their Princess division, and they served as the Island Princess and Pacific Princess respectively.

A part time addition to the Princess fleet was the former Swedish transatlantic liner Kungsholm, purchased by P&O from Flagship Cruises in 1978, and then restyled and rebuilt in Bremen as the Sea Princess. She was initially based in Australia as a P&O ship until 1981 when her role there was taken over by the ss Oriana. After that, she alternated between P&O and Princess colours as she moved between fleets. The Sea Princess returned to the P&O UK fleet permanently and in 1995 and was renamed Victoria to allow a then new Princess ship to be named Sea Princess.

The first P&O Princess Cruises purpose-built cruise ship was the Royal Princess in 1984, the largest new British passenger ship in a decade, and one of the first, if not the first, ships to completely dispense with interior cabins. The ship now serves in P&O Cruises fleet as the Artemis. A new Princess ship, Royal Princess, is set to debut sometime in spring 2007.

In 1986, P&O Princess Cruises acquired Tour Alaska which operated on the Alaska Railroad. Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Princess Tours now operates ten luxury railcars with full-service scenic tours of Mount McKinley and can accommodate over 700 passengers per day.

P&O Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar Line in 1988 and transferred all of its major tonnage to Princess, including three cruise ships then under construction. The Dawn Princess and Fair Princess were both ex-Cunarders, and the former Sitmar Fairsky became Princess's Sky Princess. The first of the three new Sitmar ships came into the Princess brand in 1989 as the Star Princess, the largest British exclusively cruising ship. Two 70,000 grt cruise ships entered service in 1990 as the Crown Princess and Regal Princess, bringing Princess's fleet up to ten deluxe cruise ships.

On October 23, 2000, P&O Princess Cruises demerged from Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), to become an independently traded company. Then, on April 17, 2003 the Miami-based Carnival Corporation merged with P&O Princess Cruises at US$5.4 billion, to form Carnival Corporation & plc as the world's largest cruise company. Besides Princess Cruises, Carnival is currently operating 11 other brands.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Cruises

Holiday Cruises

Is anything more luxurious than taking a cruise holiday? Traveling to exotic locations on a luxury ship, catching sunrays, and breathing the salty breezes can renew and replenish anyone, no matter how shopworn from the cares of work. However, a cruise holiday requires planning in order to be the best it can be. Check out these tips to have a cruise experience you will remember.

So where do you start when planning a cruise holiday? First, what is your budget like? Do you need to hold down expenses? Then here are a few tips for economizing on your cruise holiday.

When scheduling your cruise holiday, you should be aware that there are off season and on season dates, and that you want to schedule your trip in the off season to get the best deal. What you may not know, however, is that cruise lines actually change prices a number of times throughout the year. Ask and find out when their absolute lowest season prices are. In addition, keep your plans somewhat flexible so that you can change ships at the last minute. Sometimes a ship is not filled to capacity, so the cruise line will sell the last few tickets at a real bargain. It is always to their advantage to sail filled to capacity because people on holiday spend money on souvenirs, drinks, etc. Use this knowledge to get a really great deal.

Where you cruise to on your holiday can make a big difference in your cost as well. If you pick a popular spot, you can travel cheaper than if you choose a less popular spot. Another consideration is whether you really care about those ports of call. If you just want to stay on the ocean liner and enjoy the luxuries, book a cruise that doesn't stop anywhere. These "cruises to nowhere" are just as luxurious as the others but cost less.

To be safe on a cruise holiday, don't take a lot of expensive equipment or jewelry with you. Make sure your passport, health insurance, and other papers are up to date. Be sure to ask about laws you may inadvertently be breaking when you get off the shore you are accustomed to. Laws in ports and even in the water can vary, and you sure don't want a big hassle with a foreign law enforcement agency.

To travel lighter, find out about equipment that will be available on the ship. For instance, if the cruise line provides irons or hair dryers, you won't need to pack yours. Also pack your own sample size shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries because these items will cost more in the gift shop. You should have access to laundry facilities on your cruise holiday, so you don't have to take a huge amount of clothing. Pick a wrinkle proof lightweight outfit for every two or three days and pick separates in colors that coordinate so you can get different looks. Be sure to pack a formal and or semi-formal outfit if you will be taking part in these sort of activities on your cruise holiday.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com