Princess Cruises offer new exotic itineraries in 2012 and 2013

Princess Cruises offers new itineraries in 2012 and 2013 which give folks in the Pacific Northwest some great opportunities to experience exoctic vacations of varying length. This is the first of several articles to inform you of cruise itineraries for the 2012 and 2013 sailing season.

Princess cruises is a leading supplier for exotic vacations. Why would you choose Princess cruises over any other cruise line? Princess offers some of the best itineraries and has won the Readers Choice Award for Best Cruise Line Itineraries seven times in a row between 2004 and 2010 by travel agent readers of Recommend Magazine.

For 2012-2013, Princess also offers over 50 unique itineraries and over 180 spectacular ports. Cruises can range from a 10 day Tahiti and Polynesia sailing to a 50-day Four Continent Grand Adventure. Many people are interested in the small ship experience and Princess offers both the large and small sailing experience in the 2012-2013 sailing season.

Princess has an exciting array of land and sea vacation options in the exotics. This includes the wonder of a Princess cruise itinerary combined with the lands tour taking you to destinations which are not accessible by cruise ship for the experience of a lifetime. If you have a lot of friends who enjoy cruising, Princess offers group rates and cabin upgrades for early bookings for 16 or more people (only eight couples required to make a group qualify).

There are several itineraries to choose from for an exotic cruise

First there is Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This cruise season started this past September (2011) and goes through May of 2012. You can choose from five ships in the Asia, Australia and New Zealand market: Diamond Princess for up to 2670 passengers; Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess with 1990 passengers each, and the Ocean Princess with 680 passengers. On these cruises you have a wide choice of casual or upscale specialty restaurants - up to 11 different venues, including Sabatini's and Sterling Steakhouse. On board activities include the Sanctuary, Lotus Spa, Scholarship at Sea program, live entertainment, casinos, nightclubs and more.

TIP: the Sun Princess and Dawn Princess are based in Australia year-round and use Australian currency on board. The Sun Princess uses Australian currency for Australian-based sailings only.

In exploring Asia Australia and New Zealand itineraries, there are two basic categories:
1. Asia, India and Africa:
Princess offers 12- to 50-day itineraries departing from cities such as Beijing (Tianjin), Singapore, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Melbourne and Sydney covering destinations including Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Osaka (for Kyoto), Mumbai and Dubai.

2. Australia and New Zealand:
To visit the lands ‘Down Under’, Princess offers itineraries featuring some of the best of the region. Passengers can choose from a complete circumnavigation of Australia to the popular 14-day New Zealand voyages and more. The biggest issue you will face will be reserving your desired cabin. Passengers tend to reserve their cabins 6 to 9 months in advance of the cruise. So making your reservation early will be to your advantage.

Among your choices for cruise opportunities is a 16 day Southeast Asia and China cruise that gives you seven ports of call in six countries with five sailings. This would take place on the Diamond Princess between October and November of 2012 and during April of 2013. This particular cruise goes between Beijing and Bangkok.

There is also a 16 day Alaska and Far East cruise itinerary which happens on September 22, 2012 and May 3, 2012 on the Diamond Princess. This cruise goes between Anchorage (Whittier) and Beijing. There are five ports of call in four countries.

Additionally, there is an 18 or 20 day Australia and Asia itinerary with the Diamond Princess departing November 26, 2012 for an 18 day sailing between Bangkok and Sydney or the Ocean Princess which departs November 13, 2012 and May 29, 2012 for a 20 day sailing between Singapore and Sydney. These two cruises offer six ports of call in five countries.

TIP: Many Asia, Australia and New Zealand sailings may be combined into “Grand Adventures” ranging from 23 to 50 days. Check with your local travel agent for more information on “Grand Adventures”.

There is a 14 day Australia and New Zealand itinerary which is new. This goes from December 2012 through February 2013 on the Diamond Princess between Sydney and Auckland. On this cruise there are seven ports of calls in two countries and a total of six sailings to choose from. It also features holiday sailings for both Christmas and New Year's.

Two other itineraries include a new 11-day Queensland itinerary which features the opportunity to witness a solar eclipse and a new 33-day Round Australia and New Zealand itinerary which circumnavigate Australia and New Zealand.

This is the first of a series of articles describing the exotic itineraries Princess Cruises offers for the sailing season of 2012 through 2013. Check back soon for information on Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific as well as information on South American sailings and the 2013 World Cruise.

This offers a great opportunity for people in the Northwest to experience exotic sailings. Alaska Airlines offers several daily flights from Seattle to Anchorage for the 16 day Alaska Far East cruise itinerary. Check with your local travel agent for more information on these and other cruises offered by Princess cruises.