Princess to Spruce Up Older Ships with Amenities from New Vessels

Princess Cruises said three of its ships –the Star Princess, Caribbean Princess and Golden Princess- will be renovated over the next year, as the line moves to add features from its three newest ships to the balance of its fleet.

The older vessels will get features that were introduced on the Crown Princess, such as The Sanctuary, an adults-only quiet area; the Piazza, an atrium-style midship area with an espresso and pastry cafe, wine bar, and “street entertainers”; and a jumbo poolside screen for the viewing of movies at night.

The Star Princess will go into drydock this month, followed by the Caribbean Princess in January and the Golden Princess in spring 2009. The Sterling Steakhouse on the Caribbean Princess will become the Crown Grill and will be moved one level down to Deck 6; the casino will take its spot on Deck 7.

Princess made the announcement during the Cunard-Princess annual summit for top-producing travel agents; 150 agencies qualified by selling at least $1.4 million of Princess cruises or $200,000 of Cunard, and 120 were onboard.