Cantilevered 28 feet beyond the edge of the new Royal Princess and 128 feet over the water, the SeaWalk invites you for a stroll.
Take a walk, virtually, by viewing the video at this link.
In Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid, with Hapag-Lloyd’s Columbus 2 in the background. (at Den Lille Havfrue (The Little Mermaid))
Witnessing a ship come to life is an amazing thing. Steel, wires, wood and marble are hauled in, cut, straightened, contorted and pieced together to create vessels that will sail the world’s mighty oceans.
To see the transformation of Royal Princess from shipyard (see 51 Royal Princess Photos During Its Construction) to completion (see Royal Princess, In Photos) underscored the marvel of this remarkable accomplishment. The places where I had walked at the shipyard in late March, beneath a dangle of wiring and amid the bustle of workers, now appeared refined and elegant, a classy floating resort that has the distinct advantage of being able to transport its guests from one destination to another in comfort and style.
Shipyard workers traded places with service personnel, and what was only a few months ago a skeleton of steel is now populated with people from many nations who subscribe to the Princess Cruises’ philosophy of fulfilling their roles as the “Consummate Host,” a phrase we heard repeatedly this week on board Royal Princess, along with “Good Morning,” Good Afternoon,” “Good Evening” and “How was your day?” Who cares if the cruise lines encourage and enforce a 100 percent “greet” policy, as do many service organizations? On Royal Princess, the salutations seemed genuine and set the tone for a week when it did seem possible to “Escape Completely,” a brand promise that Princess Cruises strives to deliver on each and every cruise.
Alas, my time on board was only a partial escape. I came here, with my journalistic colleagues and top-producing travel agents from around the world, to witness the launch of Princess Cruises’ newest vessel. And what a launch it was.
It would be hard to think of a more beloved soul than Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, to christen Royal Princess. She did so on an overcast day in Southampton this past Thursday, intoning only a few words before cutting the ribbon that would send a 15-liter bottle of bubbly smashing against the “P” in Royal Princess, in blue letters on the hull.
That the Duchess said not much was of no consequence. She spoke tomes with her smile and her presence, a woman eight months pregnant, glowing and radiant and bringing good cheer to the dull sky.
Following the christening, after the last confetti had flittered to the ground, the Duchess toured the ship with Captain Tony Draper. She left a piece of herself behind, to sail with Royal Princess forever, an inscription on her portrait, which adorns a wall between the Atrium and Guest Services on Deck 5. With pen in hand, she had scribbled simply, “Catherine.”
To those who were present, me among them, it seemed that Royal Princess, a structure of steel and wires and marble and wood, blessed by such a remarkable woman, had taken its first breath. The Duchess had given the Princess something that guests may begin to feel shortly after stepping on board — the ship of steel now has a soul.
In the photo: Not just another face in the crowd, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, arrives in Southampton to christen the new, 3,600-passenger Royal Princess. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
In March, along with executives form Princess Cruises and my journalistic colleagues, I walked the decks of the then unfinished Royal Princess at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. Stepping on board the ship Tuesday afternoon in Southampton, I was awestruck by the transformation from a skeleton of steel to a refined and elegant vessel, especially as I look back at 51 Royal Princess Photos from the shipyard.
Check out the changes in these 30 photos of the new Royal Princess and events leading up to the naming, which takes place on Thursday, June 13.
In the photo: Royal Princess docked at the Ocean Terminal in Southampton. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
In the photo: Princess Number 1: My daughter at her high school graduation. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
It’s rare that I post a photo on Facebook that gets more than 100 “Likes.” But this one did. That face, that smiling face in a sea of caps, is my daughter, graduating Asheville High School with the Class of 2013.
What parent would not be proud? And what father does not call his daughter a princess? What makes my daughter different, however, is that I have proof.
This photo, snapped in 2000, proves that my daughter is a princess. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
Since this past Thursday, when my princess graduated, through next Thursday, my world has been — and will be — full of princesses.
Yesterday, nearly all of Sweden tuned in to watch a beautiful ceremony as Princess Madeleine married a US-British financier in Stockholm.
Monday, I leave for London to watch a near-princess, Kate Middleton (a duchess, in fact), christen a princess, the Royal Princess. The latter, as you well know, is a 3,600-passenger new-generation ship for Princess Cruises. Among the special features found on board is a dramatic multi-story atrium serving as the social hub of the ship offering a host of dining and entertainment options; an over-water SeaWalk, a top-deck glass-bottomed walkway extending 28 feet beyond the edge of the ship; plush private poolside cabanas that appear to be floating on water; the new Princess Live! television studio; the largest pastry shop at sea; a special Chef’s Table Lumiere, a private dining experience that surrounds diners in a curtain of light; and balconies on all outside staterooms.
I’ll begin reporting about the Royal Princess from Southampton as soon as I step on board, which will be Tuesday afternoon. In the meantime, check out these posts:
A Royal Princess arrives in Southampton. Royal Princess will be officially named in Southampton on Thursday, June 13 by The Duchess of Cambridge. Photo courtesy Princess Cruises
The numbers are staggering: 30,000 islands, islets and rocks.
These chunks of earth comprise the Stockholm archipelago and imbue it with immense beauty. But the numbers say nothing of the feeling one experiences when cruising through the archipelago into or out of Stockholm. I’ve done it both ways, and for me, an avid cruiser who has cruised along this planet’s most fabled waterways, the archipelago ranks at the top. There were two moments that did it for me.
Read the rest of Cruising Stockholm’s Beautiful Archipelago.
Some of the world’s best fitness facilities are now being found in an unlikely place: at sea. As cruise lines invest heavily in facilities to get the heart pounding, cruise passengers who are disciplined need no longer worry about breaking their back-home regimens or putting on pounds while on cruise vacations. They can shed instead.
No one knows better than I do. I lost 35 pounds cruising. The irony is that I don’t know if I could have done it had it not been for the fitness facilities at sea (my new regimen began on Silversea Cruises). After all, ships are typically where people gain weight, right? But with good gyms on ships, working out has become part of my daily regimen when I’m at sea.
Also see these stories: Walking On The Red Sea & Slow Food On Silversea: A Transformation Of Self Begins | Slimmer In Six Months, Thanks To Silversea: How I Took Off 20+ Pounds | How I Lost 35 Pounds Thanks To Silversea
In fact, during the past three years, I spent more than half of the year on ships, and what I discovered was that the cruise ships are a great place to begin — and sustain — a physical transformation. On board, fitness facilities are only a few steps away, and there are few places where you can eat healthier food, if you choose to do so.
Read the rest of New Cruise Ships Focus On Fitness …
In the photo: Royal Princess’ fitness facilities will include Princess Sports Central, featuring venues for a variety of sporting activities, including a game of basketball in the Center Court. Photo courtesy Princess Cruises
Today I pedaled to the end of Sweden — and back. Technically, I may not have reached the end of this elongated country, because with countries and continents, it is difficult to say where one begins and ends.
The place where I stood today, however, felt like the end. In front of me was nothing but sea, although a map tells me that Denmark was less than 100 miles across the Kattegat, the sea that separates Denmark and Sweden.
The Kattegat reaches up into Norway, and all year round, ships can be seen sailing this stretch of sea. Each evening, for example, DFDS Seaways’ Crown Seaways and Pearl Seaways, which are ferries but with cabins, restaurants and other cruise-ship-like facilities, depart Copenhagen at 5 p.m. for the overnight journey to Oslo. I often see those vessels from my vantage point in Helsingborg and imagine myself on them, waking up the next morning while transitting the beautiful Oslo fjord.
During the summer, large cruise ships pass through the Kattegat almost everyday, familiar brands that you likely would know: Norwegian Cruise Line with its painted hulls, the gargantuan ships of MSC Cruises, the sleek small vessels of Silversea — nearly every cruise brand passes by at some point during the summer.
Back in Helsingborg, friends of mine live in a sprawling house on the edge of the Kattegat, facing Denmark. It is quite remarkable to sit on their terrace, glass of wine in hand (they are always gracious hosts), and watch the procession of big ships. On board, hundreds or thousands of passengers are setting out to explore the Baltic or the Norwegian fjords. They’ll return home with indelible images of this fascinating — and beautiful — part of the world.
Today, the Avid Cruiser pedaled, instead of cruised, along the Kattegat. I propelled myself about 20 miles from Helsingborg to the end of the road at Kullaberg, a gorgeous nature reserve situated on a peninsula of land protruding into the Kattegat. If you’re an active cruise passenger and avid cyclist, you can do it too the next time your ship calls in Helsingborg. It would be ambitious, but certainly possible. As you can see from the graphic below, I made the roundtrip in about three hours.
As my Strava iPhone app recorded, I rode 38.9 miles on a gorgeous day in the south of Sweden. © 2013 Apple iOS
At one point during my ride today, I thought about Breaking Away, the 1979 movie where a small-town teen obsessed with an Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl. My mind wandered from that to the Norwegian Breakaway. Our own Aaron Saunders raves about Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest vessel in his report, Norwegian Breakaway Revealed.
I’ll be back on a few ships myself this summer. In fact, it is a busy cruise week here in the Helsingborg region. Friday, I will have lunch on Eurodam (in Copenhagen, an hour away); Monday, Silver Whisper paid a visit to Helsingborg, another lunch, where I learned about plans for the Silver Galapagos, an exciting venture for Silversea Cruises and expedition cruisers like me (I enjoyed my cruise on Silver Explorer in 2011, and I look forward to cruising Silver Galapagos in November).
Until then, I think I’ll spend some more time “breaking away” in the south of Sweden. As someone who cycled across the United States in my 20s, I get a lot of pleasure from pedaling through beautiful landscapes. All along the way here today in Sweden, rhododendrons were in bloom, birds whistled melodious notes, the fragrance of flowers filled my nostrils — all on the way to the end of Sweden.
One thing I am sure glad of: My long ride today required 2,677 calories according to the Strava app on my iPhone. That makes me feel better about indulging in that decadent dessert — Fresh Forest Berry Basket with Marsala Wine Sabayon — on Silver Whisper this past Monday. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
In Denmark, Elsinore Inaugurates A New Harbor, Perfect For Small Luxury Vessels
On Saturday, we visited Helsingør (or as it is also known in English, Elsinore) for the inauguration of a new “culture harbor.”
The culture aspect derives from the fact that the harbor is set between the historic city center and one of theworld’s most famous Renaissance castles, Kronborg, the inspiration and setting for William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
“Today, we inaugurated a new culture harbor, Kronborg, which is a project that has been underway for seven years now,” Benny Carlsen, port manager for the Port of Elsinore, told us.
The new harbor can accommodate vessels up to 150 meters (about 500 feet). Next Sunday, June 2, Swan Hellenic’s Minerva will be the first to call at the harbor. Minerva measures 437 feet or about 133 meters, so there should be plenty of room to spare. We hope to be there to photograph the vessel in the harbor.
From my perspective, Helsingør could be a perfect port of call for small luxury ships. Click here to learn why and see photos from the inauguration.
In the photo: Benny Carlsen, port manager for the Port of Elsinore in Helsingør (Elsinore), Denmark. © 2013 Monica Frisk
