Princess’s Newest Ship Leaves Alaska for a 16-Night Run to Florida

Star Princess has finished her first Alaska season. The LNG-powered ship, Princess Cruises’ newest and largest, arrived in Seattle in early May and completed 20 sailings before wrapping up in late September, according to Cruise Industry News. She was expected to carry more than 90,000 passengers on roundtrip cruises from Seattle to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, with scenic cruising in Endicott Arm, Dawes Glacier and the Inside Passage.

She was one of the largest ships in Alaska this summer and joined an eight-ship Princess lineup that offered 180 departures from six ports to nearly 20 destinations. The 175,500-ton ship was delivered by Fincantieri in late 2025 and carries 4,000 passengers. Her maiden season was spent in the Mediterranean and Caribbean from ports in Spain and Florida, before an April crossing to Seattle through the Panama Canal.

Now she is heading east. After a West Coast coastal cruise, Star Princess began a 16-night repositioning voyage to Fort Lauderdale in early October. The itinerary departs Los Angeles, visits Mexico, Panama and the Southern Caribbean, includes a full Panama Canal transit, and calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, Panama City and Oranjestad. Such repositioning sailings are often popular with travelers who want a long, port-rich trip without the cost of a world cruise.

Winter will be spent on weeklong Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades. That season runs through April 2027, when the ship repositions again ahead of another Alaska summer. For travelers, the pattern is a useful template: the same ship alternates between two of the cruise industry’s most popular markets, with a Panama Canal crossing connecting them twice a year.

Sources: Cruise Industry News