Sail like royalty with Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises celebrated its fifth year of operations in South-east Asia last Sunday on board luxury ship Sapphire Princess.

Members of the premium international cruise line's Captain's Circle loyalty programme were invited to the event.

One of them was Mr Joshua Lim, 82, who has been on six Princess Cruises trips since 1997, the first of which was a fly-cruise to Alaska with friends.

He said: "I loved the excellent service. The crew was so attentive and caring."

Since then, Mr Lim has cruised to places such as Europe, Mexico and Canada.

He plans to revisit Alaska in 2019, this time with his grandchildren.

Another member, Ms Katherine Kwek, 52, recalled how she felt faint late at night while cruising in Australia.

Ms Kwek, who has hypertension, visited the medical centre on board and was provided with immediate medical treatment for her high blood pressure.

She said: "From then on, I knew that if anything happened to me on Princess, I will be well taken care of."

Since its ships set up homeport in Singapore in 2014, Princess Cruises has expanded operations in South-east Asia to include sales, customer service support, operations and marketing.

It operates 17 cruise ships and carries two million guests yearly on trips lasting three to 111 days and across 360 destinations.

EXPANDING

Mr Farriek Tawfik, director of South-east Asia for Princess Cruises, said during the celebration: "Princess Cruises is excited to continue expanding operations in the region for the next five years, especially as millennials become more interested in cruise holidays."

This is the third time Sapphire Princess is making Singapore its home port, and it will be docked from now until March at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre.The 18-deck, 2,670-passenger liner offers spacious comfort for couples and families, with more than 60 per cent of its 1,337 cabins featuring private balconies.

It also boasts exceptional customer service, with a ratio of one crew member to two passengers.

Sapphire Princess's sister ship, Diamond Princess, will also be making Singapore its home port next year to meet the increasing demand for short- and long-haul cruises from Singapore.

Mr Tawfik said Princess Cruises' presence in South-east Asia has increased awareness of fly-cruises among guests in the region.

He added that fly-cruise destinations such as Alaska, Hokkaido, Russia and Europe have become increasingly popular among Singaporeans.

The Sapphire Princess offers itineraries of four to 10 days from now until March. Fares are from $579 to $1,574 a person.