Princess Cruises ships are mostly large in scale yet manage to create the illusion of intimacy through the use of colour and decor in understated yet lovely public rooms adorned with multimillion-dollar art collections.

They were one of the first cruiselines to become more flexible and break traditions with their dining and entertainment options, introducing Personal Choice, an alternative for open-seating dining (when you wish and with whom you please) and entertainment features as diverse as those found in resorts ashore.

Princess Cruises have a huge selection of adult activities, which still include popular choices like bingo and art auctions, but also offer alternatives such as their ScholarShip@Sea enrichment programme featuring guest lecturers, cooking classes, wine-tasting seminars, pottery workshops, and computer and digital photography classes. Night time production shows tend toward Broadway-style revues presented in the main show lounge, and performers include comedians, magicians, jugglers, and acrobats.

Live bands play a wide range of musical styles for dancing and listening in smaller lounges and every ship in the fleet has a disco. During a Princess Cruise holiday, passengers will be invited to attend Pub Night when the cruise director's staff organise an evening of fun with passenger participation. Also during each cruise, at the end of the second formal night, champagne trickles down over a champagne waterfall, painstakingly created by the arrangement of champagne glasses in a pyramid shape.

Lovely chapels or the wide-open decks are equally romantic settings for weddings at sea although legally, ceremonies with the captain officiating can only be performed on certain Grand-class Princess vessels, an option not offered by any other cruiseline.

Menus are varied and extensive in the main dining rooms, with vegetarian and healthy lifestyle options always on the menu, and a special menu designed for children.

Princess Cruises pride themselves on top quality health, beauty and fitness facilities. Spa treatments include a variety of massages, body wraps, and facials and numerous hair and nail services are offered in the salons. Modern exercise equipment, a jogging track, and basic fitness classes are available at no charge and there's a nominal fee for personal training, body composition analysis, and specialised classes such as yoga and Pilates.

For young passengers ages 3 to 17, each ship has a playroom, teen centre, and programmes of supervised activities designed for different age groups: ages 3 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 to 17. Activities to engage youngsters include arts and crafts, pool games, scavenger hunts, deck parties, backstage and galley tours, games, and videos. Events such as dance parties in their own disco, theme parties, athletic contests, karaoke, pizza parties, and movie parties occupy teenage passengers.

Fully qualified staff also introduce elements of science and educational entertainment and children participate in learning programmes focused on the environment and wildlife in areas where the ships sail.

Princess Cruises pride themselves in their friendly and gracious crew who are dedicated to taking care of your every request and ensure every moment of the holiday is memorable.

With well appointed accommodations and affordable balcony stateroom options, travellers can visit the ancient marvels of the Mediterranean, the spectacular scenery of Scandinavia, the paradise islands of the Caribbean, or Alaska, where everything is bigger, wilder and unspoiled and only have to unpack once.

Princess Cruises also offer a range of itineraries in the Far East, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.