Princess Cruises’ new blog, “Inspired to Cruise: A Year of Reasons to Get Away From the Everyday” is a great example of a cruise line that knows exactly who they are and where they want to go. Starting just five weeks ago, the year-long series will feature stories from passengers that will explore the celebrations, accomplishments, milestones and other inspired reasons to cruise. Its just the latest in some recent smart moves by a line clearly navigating social waters with ease.
Earlier this week, Princess Cruises announced they were looking for 1,000 passenger-submitted cruise vacation photos to permanently showcase aboard its new Royal Princess when the ship debuts in spring 2013 for its “1,000 Memories at Sea” contest. This guest-focused promo invites passengers to submit their best cruise vacation shots, which will be displayed on the walls of hallways between staterooms and in other locations around the ship. In addition, one lucky photographer will win a cruise for two, including airfare, on Royal Princess.
“With the introduction of Royal Princess, we wanted to pay tribute to our passengers and their vacation memories made aboard our ships,” said Jan Swartz, executive vice president for Princess. “This contest will be a fun opportunity for 1,000 of our passengers to be permanently recognized aboard our new ship, so they should start sifting through their travel photos now, and submit a remarkable shot to be considered.”
The year-long “Inspired to Cruise” program is already a fabulous follow-up to the line’s award-winning blog 50 Essential Experiences The Travel Bucket List, last year’s blog stories authored by Princess’ own destination experts; long-serving and well-traveled shipboard and shoreside employees. Each post told a personal story, and readers also meet the expert through a revealing questionnaire and is now available in a 328 page soft-cover collectors’ book.
Each week during 2012 the blog will explore the celebrations, accomplishments, milestones and other inspired reasons to cruise, each told by a different passenger. This diverse group of contributors – from long-time cruisers to those who set sail for the first time – will share a total of 52 stories throughout the life of the blog.
The first five reasons to cruise are:
Story #5: To Dance with My Husband – Susan Galuski of Annapolis, Maryland tells how she had high hopes of dancing with her husband on their 40th anniversary cruise, but her self-conscious spouse kept putting the moment off. Would he ever ask her to dance?
Story #4: Getting Away with Girlfriends – “The Royal Order of the Grand Princesses” is the ultimate group of girlfriends who cruise to get away from their daily routines so they can enjoy some pampering and fun. Carol Aldy and Mickey Farmer describe how their group finds their inner “princesses” and embrace the spirit of fun as they dress up in “royal” attire and flaunt their princess roles to the hilt as they escape on their yearly cruise together.
Story #3: Spoil the Grandkids – Pam Carlson of Arlington Heights, Illinois, is a grandmother who has started a family tradition of taking each grandchild on a cruise when they turn 13. In her story, she describes her surprise when granddaughter Catherine picked a cruise to Egypt, and the joy of being able to make memories with her in the land of the pharaohs and throughout their Holy Land cruise in the Mediterranean.
Story #2: Before the Kids Leave the Nest – Beth Shaw of Dublin, Ohio, is a single mother who cruised to take one last vacation together with her three sons before they “flew the nest.” She shares her mixed emotions about her sons leaving home and her desire to get away with them one last time before they grew up and moved on. Their Caribbean cruise proved to be the perfect send off for two of the boys, headed to college and the military.
Story #1: Marrying Each Other…Twice – In the first blog post, Nancy Chamberlain-Fox of Trabuco Canyon, California tells the story of cruising to celebrate the second time she and her husband were married…..after a span of being apart for 27 years. Their love story takes an unexpected turn when they discover that their multi-generational dinner table mates each share the same anniversary date.
Also featured on the blog is a weekly “Escape Inspiration” video. Each 30-second favorite moment at sea is introduced by a Princess crew member who describes why the scene is meaningful to them. This one shows a glacier calving better than any I have seen and totally takes me back to our sailing on Coral Princess where we saw this first hand:
Not long ago, Princess Cruises introduced Princess Radio, an easy-listening Pandora Internet radio station, the perfect weekend background.
Totally free. Totally without any advertising.
Once on the Pandora site, listeners can customize and create a radio station of their choice. From “Relax” to “Rejuvenate” and everything in-between, the hits just keep on coming. Once set, listeners are invited to “Immerse yourself” with video that takes them away to sights they might see on a typical cruise where they have escaped completely ala Princess Cruises.
Give a listen to Princess Radio right now, odds are you won’t want to turn it off all weekend.
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