Princess Chatter

"Princess Cruises recently revealed that a nondescript black door on Deck 8 aboard the new Sun Princess will house Spellbound, a collaboration with Hollywood's famed Magic Castle."

"Renderings of Spellbound by Magic Castle on Sun Princess show the same ornately decorated Victorian interiors. The space will have three intimate rooms including a fireplace, a bar with sleight-of-hand servers, a 30-seat theater and even a resident spirit. "

"Multiple shows by reservation will take place throughout, with the admission fees to be announced soon."

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/entertainment/inside-hollywoods-magic-castle-inspiration-novel-sun-princess-experience

"While Wärtsilä Water and Waste and Carnival Corporation have previously signed similar agreements, the fleet of 31 ships covered by this contract is the largest to date. The full scope includes health check visits, service visits, spare parts, remote technical support, and contract management services."

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/01/carnival-signs-technical-support-agreement-with-wartsila/

Diamond Princess
"Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Capacity: 2,600 guests
Tonnage: 113,000
Year built: 2004
Drydock Period: January 19 to February 6
Shipyard: Sembcorp Marine Singapore (Singapore)

The Diamond Princess is set to undergo a routine drydock later this month. Currently in service in Southeast Asia, the Princess Cruises vessel is scheduled to arrive at a shipyard in Singapore soon after disembarking passengers on Jan. 19.

Before resuming service on Fe. 6, the 2004-built vessel will see a series of interventions, which include scheduled maintenance, technical overhauls, regular upkeep, and class inspections."

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/01/key-cruise-ship-drydocks-in-january/

https://cruise.blog/2024/01/how-track-cruise-ship

"Princess Cruises has made an alteration to a Regal Princess cruise sailing on January 21 out of Galveston, Texas. Instead of sailing to the tropical island paradise of Roatan, Honduras, guests will spend the day at Belize City, Belize instead.

The change in itinerary was made by Princess Cruises in light of congestion in Roatan. The small island has a limited number of berths and can only accommodate three cruise ships at the same time."

https://www.cruisehive.com/port-congestion-forces-princess-cruise-ship-elsewhere/120117

"This sometimes-adversarial relationship between locals and tourists isn’t new though. Weisel recalls when she first bought the bar. Her first act of business was removing a sign that the previous owner, Larry Buster Sr., had hung from the back deck. The sign was on full display when cruise ships pulled into port. And it said: “F*** Princess Cruise Lines.”

“As soon as the paperwork was done, I said I gotta go get something on the deck,” Weisel laughs. “And Larry said ‘No! The sign that I made that says, F*** Princess Cruise Lines?’ And sure enough, I come off the deck and I have that sign. You might as well shoot yourself in the foot, Larry, to have that sign out there. I just bought the bar. I’m sorry. I mean, come on. Times change. It had to go.”

Weisel says she gets it though.  “A lot of locals, the really devout locals, they know what day is the slowest for the cruise ships every year. That’s the only day they come and get mail. I mean, some people just do not like the tourism, and I understand. I’m not going to push it down their throat, I get it.”

https://www.krbd.org/2023/12/28/paula-weisel-on-enduring-and-changing-in-ketchikan/

"Sun Princess, the biggest member of the Princess Cruises fleet so far, will introduce the Park 19 activity zone with an overhead ride, climbing course and the Infinite Horizon, where daredevils can peer over the ocean on moving glass walls that tilt over the side of the ship."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/cruises/sneak-peek-sun-princess-cruise-31762414

"Princess Cruises is also taking steps toward sustainability, eliminating plastic, Styrofoam, paper napkins and more from their ships and private resort destination, Princess Cays."

https://www.rd.com/list/things-you-wont-be-able-to-do-on-cruises-anymore/